Isaiah 13
13Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon.H4853H894H3470H1121H531H23722“Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty.H5375H5251H8192H2022H7311H6963H5130H3027H935H6607H50813I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.”H6680H6942H7121H1368H639H5947H13464Hear the noise on the mountains! Listen, as the vast armies march! It is the noise and shouting of many nations. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has called this army together.H6963H1995H2022H1823H7227H5971H7588H6963H4467H1471H622H3068H6635H6485H6635H44215They come from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons. They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger. With them he will destroy the whole land.H935H4801H776H7097H8064H3068H3627H2195H2254H7766Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—the time for the Almighty to destroy.H3213H3117H3068H7138H935H7701H77067Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts,H3027H7503H582H3824H45498and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear.H926H6735H2256H270H2342H3205H8539H376H7453H6440H38519For see, the day of the Lord is coming—the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it.H3117H3068H935H394H5678H2740H639H7760H776H8047H8045H240010The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.H3556H8064H3685H1984H216H8121H2821H3318H3394H216H505011“I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.H6485H8398H7451H7563H5771H1347H2086H7673H8213H1346H618412I will make people scarcer than gold—more rare than the fine gold of Ophir.H582H3365H6337H120H3800H21113For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger.”H7264H8064H776H7493H4725H5678H3068H6635H3117H2740H63914Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd. They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land.H5080H6643H6629H6908H376H6437H5971H5127H376H77615Anyone who is captured will be cut down—run through with a sword.H4672H1856H5595H5307H271916Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.H5768H7376H5869H1004H8155H802H7901H769317“Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold.H5782H4074H2803H3701H2091H265418The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.”H7198H7376H5288H7376H7355H6529H990H5869H2347H112119Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.H894H6643H4467H8597H3778H1347H430H4114H5467H601720Babylon will never be inhabited again. It will remain empty for generation after generation. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.H5331H3427H7931H1755H1755H6163H167H7462H725721Desert animals will move into the ruined city, and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Owls will live among the ruins, and wild goats will go there to dance.H6728H7257H1004H4390H255H1323H3284H7931H8163H754022Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.H338H6030H490H8577H6027H1964H6256H7138H935H3117H4900
Isaiah 14
14But the Lord will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land. And people from many different nations will come and join them there and unite with the people of Israel.H3068H7355H3290H977H3478H3240H127H1616H3867H5596H1004H32902The nations of the world will help the Lord’s people to return, and those who come to live in their land will serve them. Those who captured Israel will themselves be captured, and Israel will rule over its enemies.H5971H3947H935H4725H1004H3478H5157H127H3068H5650H8198H7617H7617H7287H50653In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains,H3117H3068H5117H6090H7267H7186H5656H56474you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, “The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended.H5375H4912H4428H894H559H5065H7673H4062H76735For the Lord has crushed your wicked power and broken your evil rule.H3068H7665H4294H7563H7626H49106You struck the people with endless blows of rage and held the nations in your angry grip with unrelenting tyranny.H5221H5971H5678H1115H5627H4347H7287H1471H639H4783H1097H28207But finally the earth is at rest and quiet. Now it can sing again!H776H5117H8252H6476H74408Even the trees of the forest—the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon—sing out this joyous song. ‘Since you have been cut down, no one will come now to cut us down!’H1265H8055H730H3844H7901H3772H59279“In the place of the dead there is excitement over your arrival. The spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead stand up to see you.H7585H7264H7125H935H5782H7496H6260H776H6965H3678H4428H147110With one voice they all cry out, ‘Now you are as weak as we are!H6030H559H2470H491111Your might and power were buried with you. The sound of the harp in your palace has ceased. Now maggots are your sheet, and worms your blanket.’H1347H3381H7585H1998H5035H7415H3331H8438H437412“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.H5307H8064H1966H1121H7837H3213H1438H776H2522H147113For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.H559H3824H5927H8064H7311H3678H4605H3556H410H3427H2022H4150H3411H682814I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’H5927H1116H5645H1819H594515Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.H3381H7585H3411H95316Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?H7200H7688H995H376H776H7264H7493H446717Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’H7760H8398H4057H2040H5892H6605H1004H61518“The kings of the nations lie in stately glory, each in his own tomb,H4428H1471H7901H3519H376H100419but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit.H7993H6913H8581H5342H3830H2026H2944H2719H3381H68H953H6297H94720You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. The descendants of such an evil person will never again receive honor.H3161H6900H7843H776H2026H5971H2233H7489H5769H712121Kill this man’s children! Let them die because of their father’s sins! They must not rise and conquer the earth, filling the world with their cities.”H3559H4293H1121H5771H1H1077H6965H3423H776H4390H6440H8398H6145H589222This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says. “I, myself, have risen against Babylon! I will destroy its children and its children’s children,” says the Lord.H6965H5002H3068H6635H3772H894H8034H7605H5209H5220H5002H306823“I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”H7760H4180H7090H98H4325H2894H4292H8045H5002H3068H663524The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath. “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided.H3068H6635H7650H559H1819H3289H696525I will break the Assyrians when they are in Israel; I will trample them on my mountains. My people will no longer be their slaves nor bow down under their heavy loads.H7665H804H776H2022H947H5923H5493H5448H5493H792626I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nations.H6098H3289H776H3027H5186H147127The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”H3068H6635H3289H6565H3027H5186H772528This message came to me the year King Ahaz died.H8141H4428H271H4194H485329Do not rejoice, you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken—that the king who attacked you is dead. For from that snake a more poisonous snake will be born, a fiery serpent to destroy you!H8055H6429H7626H5221H7665H5175H8328H3318H6848H6529H8314H5774H831430I will feed the poor in my pasture; the needy will lie down in peace. But as for you, I will wipe you out with famine and destroy the few who remain.H1060H1800H7462H34H7257H983H4191H8328H7458H2026H761131Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities! Melt with fear, you Philistines! A powerful army comes like smoke from the north. Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.H3213H8179H2199H5892H6429H4127H935H6828H6227H909H415132What should we tell the Philistine messengers? Tell them, “The Lord has built Jerusalem; its walls will give refuge to his oppressed people.”H6030H4397H1471H3068H3245H6726H6041H5971H2620
Isaiah 15
15This message came to me concerning Moab. In one night the town of Ar will be leveled, and the city of Kir will be destroyed.H4853H4124H3915H6144H4124H7703H1820H3915H7024H4124H7703H1820 2Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.H5927H1006H1769H1116H1065H4124H3213H5015H4311H7218H7144H2206H1438 3They will wear burlap as they wander the streets. From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing.H2351H2296H8242H1406H7339H3213H1065H3381 4The people of Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out; their voices will be heard as far away as Jahaz! The bravest warriors of Moab will cry out in utter terror. They will be helpless with fear.H2809H2199H500H6963H8085H3096H2502H4124H7321H5315H3415 5My heart weeps for Moab. Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith. Their cries of distress can be heard all along the road to Horonaim.H3820H2199H4124H1280H6820H5697H7992H4608H3872H1065H5927H1870H2773H5782H2201H7667 6Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched. The tender plants are gone; nothing green remains.H4325H5249H4923H2682H3001H1877H3615H3418 7The people grab their possessions and carry them across the Ravine of Willows.H3502H6213H6486H5375H5158H6155 8A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab from one end to the other—from Eglaim to Beer-elim.H2201H5362H1366H4124H3215H97H3215H879 9The stream near Dibon runs red with blood, but I am still not finished with Dibon! Lions will hunt down the survivors—both those who try to escape and those who remain behind.H4325H1775H4390H1818H7896H3254H1775H738H6413H4124H7611H127
Isaiah 16
16Send lambs from Sela as tribute to the ruler of the land. Send them through the desert to the mountain of beautiful Zion.H7971H3733H4910H776H5554H4057H2022H1323H67262The women of Moab are left like homeless birds at the shallow crossings of the Arnon River.H5074H5775H7971H7064H1323H4124H4569H7693“Help us,” they cry. “Defend us against our enemies. Protect us from their relentless attack. Do not betray us now that we have escaped.H935H6098H6213H6415H7896H6738H3915H8432H6672H5641H5080H1540H50744Let our refugees stay among you. Hide them from our enemies until the terror is past.” When oppression and destruction have ended and enemy raiders have disappeared,H5080H1481H4124H1933H5643H6440H7703H4160H656H7701H3615H7429H8552H7765then God will establish one of David’s descendants as king. He will rule with mercy and truth. He will always do what is just and be eager to do what is right.H2617H3678H3559H3427H571H168H1732H8199H1875H4941H4106H66646We have heard about proud Moab—about its pride and arrogance and rage. But all that boasting has disappeared.H8085H1347H4124H3966H1341H1346H1347H5678H9077The entire land of Moab weeps. Yes, everyone in Moab mourns for the cakes of raisins from Kir-hareseth. They are all gone now.H4124H3213H4124H3213H808H7025H1897H52188The farms of Heshbon are abandoned; the vineyards at Sibmah are deserted. The rulers of the nations have broken down Moab—that beautiful grapevine. Its tendrils spread north as far as the town of Jazer and trailed eastward into the wilderness. Its shoots reached so far west that they crossed over the Dead Sea.H7709H2809H535H1612H7643H1167H1471H1986H8291H5060H3270H8582H4057H7976H5203H5674H32209So now I weep for Jazer and the vineyards of Sibmah; my tears will flow for Heshbon and Elealeh. There are no more shouts of joy over your summer fruits and harvest.H1058H1065H3270H1612H7643H7301H1832H2809H500H1959H7019H7105H530710Gone now is the gladness, gone the joy of harvest. There will be no singing in the vineyards, no more happy shouts, no treading of grapes in the winepresses. I have ended all their harvest joys.H8057H622H1524H3759H3754H7442H7321H1869H1869H3196H3342H1959H767311My heart’s cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth.H4578H1993H3658H4124H7130H702512The people of Moab will worship at their pagan shrines, but it will do them no good. They will cry to the gods in their temples, but no one will be able to save them.H7200H4124H3811H1116H935H4720H6419H320113The Lord has already said these things about Moab in the past.H1697H3068H1696H4124H22714But now the Lord says, “Within three years, counting each day, the glory of Moab will be ended. From its great population, only a few of its people will be left alive.”H3068H1696H559H7969H8141H8141H7916H3519H4124H7034H7227H1995H7605H4592H4213H3808H3524
Isaiah 17
17This message came to me concerning Damascus: “Look, the city of Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins.H4853H1834H1834H5493H5892H4654H45962The towns of Aroer will be deserted. Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed, with no one to chase them away.H5892H6177H5800H5739H7257H27293The fortified towns of Israel will also be destroyed, and the royal power of Damascus will end. All that remains of Syria will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,” declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H4013H7673H669H4467H1834H7605H758H3519H1121H3478H5002H3068H66354“In that day Israel’s glory will grow dim; its robust body will waste away.H3117H3519H3290H1809H4924H1320H73295The whole land will look like a grainfield after the harvesters have gathered the grain. It will be desolate, like the fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.H7105H622H7054H7114H7641H2220H3950H7641H6010H74976Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel.H5955H7604H5363H2132H8147H7969H1620H7218H534H702H2568H6509H5585H5002H3068H430H34787Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.H3117H120H8159H6213H5869H7200H6918H34788They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.H8159H4196H4639H3027H7200H676H6213H842H25539Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.H3117H4581H5892H5800H2793H534H5800H6440H1121H3478H807710Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you. So you may plant the finest grapevines and import the most expensive seedlings.H7911H430H3468H2142H6697H4581H5193H5282H5194H2232H2114H215611They may sprout on the day you set them out; yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.H3117H5194H7735H1242H2233H6524H7105H5067H3117H2470H605H351112Listen! The armies of many nations roar like the roaring of the sea. Hear the thunder of the mighty forces as they rush forward like thundering waves.H1945H1995H7227H5971H1993H1993H3220H7588H3816H7582H3524H432513But though they thunder like breakers on a beach, God will silence them, and they will run away. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind, like a tumbleweed whirling before a storm.H3816H7582H7588H7227H4325H1605H5127H4801H7291H4671H2022H6440H7307H1534H6440H549214In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder us, a fitting end for those who destroy us.H6256H6153H1091H1242H2506H8154H1486H962
Dublin, OH
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