Isaiah 31–33

The Folly of Not Trusting God

31Woe to those ^awho go down to Egypt for help,

And ^brely on horses,

Who trust in chariots because they are many,

And in horsemen because they are very strong,

But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,

^cNor seek the Lord!

²Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,

And ^dwill not ¹call back His words,

But will arise against the house of evildoers,

And against the help of those who work iniquity.

³Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;

And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.

When the Lord stretches out His hand,

Both he who helps will fall,

And he who is helped will fall down;

They all will perish ^etogether.

God Will Deliver Jerusalem

⁴For thus the Lord has spoken to me:

^f“As a lion roars,

And a young lion over his prey

(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,

He will not be afraid of their voice

Nor be disturbed by their noise),

So the Lord of hosts will come down

To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.

^5gLike birds flying about,

So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem.

Defending, He will also deliver it;

Passing over, He will preserve it.”

⁶Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have ^hdeeply revolted. ⁷For in that day every man shall ⁱthrow away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—^jsin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.

⁸“Then Assyria shall ^kfall by a sword not of man,

And a sword not of mankind shall ^ldevour him.

But he shall flee from the sword,

And his young men shall become forced labor.

^9mHe shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,

And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”

Says the Lord,

Whose fire is in Zion

And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

A Reign of Righteousness

32Behold, ^aa king will reign in righteousness,

And princes will rule with justice.

²A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,

And ^ba ¹cover from the tempest,

As rivers of water in a dry place,

As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

^3cThe eyes of those who see will not be dim,

And the ears of those who hear will listen.

⁴Also the heart of the ²rash will ^dunderstand knowledge,

And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.

⁵The foolish person will no longer be called ³generous,

Nor the miser said to be bountiful;

⁶For the foolish person will speak foolishness,

And his heart will work ^einiquity:

To practice ungodliness,

To utter error against the Lord,

To keep the hungry unsatisfied,

And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

⁷Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;

He devises wicked plans

To destroy the poor with ^flying words,

Even when the needy speaks justice.

⁸But a ⁴generous man devises generous things,

And by generosity he shall stand.

Consequences of Complacency

⁹Rise up, you women ^gwho are at ease,

Hear my voice;

You complacent daughters,

Give ear to my speech.

¹⁰In a year and some days

You will be troubled, you complacent women;

For the vintage will fail,

The gathering will not come.

¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease;

Be troubled, you complacent ones;

Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,

And gird sackcloth on your waists.

¹²People shall mourn upon their breasts

For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

^13hOn the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,

Yes, on all the happy homes in ⁱthe joyous city;

^14jBecause the palaces will be forsaken,

The bustling city will be deserted.

The forts and towers will become lairs forever,

A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—

¹⁵Until ^kthe Spirit is poured upon us from on high,

And ^lthe wilderness becomes a fruitful field,

And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.

The Peace of God’s Reign

¹⁶Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,

And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

^17mThe work of righteousness will be peace,

And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

¹⁸My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,

In secure dwellings, and in quiet ⁿresting places,

^19oThough hail comes down ^pon the forest,

And the city is brought low in humiliation.

²⁰Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,

Who send out freely the feet of ^qthe ox and the donkey.

A Prayer in Deep Distress

33Woe to you ^awho plunder, though you have not been plundered;

And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!

^bWhen you cease plundering,

You will be ^cplundered;

When you make an end of dealing treacherously,

They will deal treacherously with you.

²O Lord, be gracious to us;

^dWe have waited for You.

Be ¹their arm every morning,

Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

³At the noise of the tumult the people ^eshall flee;

When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;

⁴And Your plunder shall be gathered

Like the gathering of the caterpillar;

As the running to and fro of locusts,

He shall run upon them.

^5fThe Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;

He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,

And the strength of salvation;

The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

⁷Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,

^gThe ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

^8hThe highways lie waste,

The traveling man ceases.

ⁱHe has broken the covenant,

²He has despised the ³cities,

He regards no man.

^9jThe earth mourns and languishes,

Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;

Sharon is like a wilderness,

And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

Impending Judgment on Zion

¹⁰“Now ^kI will rise,” says the Lord;

“Now I will be exalted,

Now I will lift Myself up.

^11lYou shall conceive chaff,

You shall bring forth stubble;

Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

¹²And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;

^mLike thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

¹³Hear, ⁿyou who are afar off, what I have done;

And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

¹⁴The sinners in Zion are afraid;

Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:

“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring ^ofire?

Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

¹⁵He who ^pwalks righteously and speaks uprightly,

He who despises the gain of oppressions,

Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,

Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,

And ^qshuts his eyes from seeing evil:

¹⁶He will dwell on ⁴high;

His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;

Bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

The Land of the Majestic King

¹⁷Your eyes will see the King in His ^rbeauty;

They will see the land that is very far off.

¹⁸Your heart will meditate on terror:

^s“Where is the scribe?

Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

^19tYou will not see a fierce people,

^uA people of obscure speech, beyond perception,

Of a ⁵stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

^20vLook upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;

Your eyes will see ^wJerusalem, a quiet home,

A tabernacle that will not be taken down;

^xNot one of ^yits stakes will ever be removed,

Nor will any of its cords be broken.

²¹But there the majestic Lord will be for us

A place of broad rivers and streams,

In which no ⁶galley with oars will sail,

Nor majestic ships pass by

²²(For the Lord is our ^zJudge,

The Lord is our ^aLawgiver,

^bThe Lord is our King;

He will save us);

²³Your tackle is loosed,

They could not strengthen their mast,

They could not spread the sail.

Then the prey of great plunder is divided;

The lame take the prey.

²⁴And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;

^cThe people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.