18Listen, Ethiopia—land of fluttering sails that lies at the headwaters of the Nile,H1945H776H6767H3671H5676H5104H35682that sends ambassadors in swift boats down the river. Go, swift messengers! Take a message to a tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction, and whose land is divided by rivers.H7971H6735H3220H3627H1573H6440H4325H3212H7031H4397H1471H4900H4178H5971H3372H1973H1471H6978H4001H776H5104H9583All you people of the world, everyone who lives on the earth—when I raise my battle flag on the mountain, look! When I blow the ram’s horn, listen!H3427H8398H7931H776H7200H5375H5251H2022H8628H7782H80854For the Lord has told me this. “I will watch quietly from my dwelling place—as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day, or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”H3541H3068H559H8252H5027H4349H6703H2527H216H5645H2919H2527H71055Even before you begin your attack, while your plans are ripening like grapes, the Lord will cut off your new growth with pruning shears. He will snip off and discard your spreading branches.H6440H7105H6525H8552H1155H1580H5328H3772H2150H4211H5493H8456H51896Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields for the mountain vultures and wild animals. The vultures will tear at the corpses all summer. The wild animals will gnaw at the bones all winter.H5800H3162H5861H2022H929H776H5861H6972H929H776H27787At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells.H6256H7862H2986H3068H6635H5971H4900H4178H5971H3372H1973H1471H6978H4001H776H5104H958H4725H8034H3068H6635H2022H6726
Isaiah 19
A Message about Egypt
19This message came to me concerning Egypt. Look! The Lord is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.H4853H4714H3068H7392H7031H5645H935H4714H457H4714H5128H6440H3824H4714H4549H71302“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian—brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province.H5526H4714H4714H3898H376H251H376H7453H5892H5892H4467H44673The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.H7307H4714H1238H7130H1104H6098H1875H457H328H178H30494I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,” says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H853H4714H5534H3027H7186H113H5794H4428H4910H5002H113H3068H66355The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry.H4325H5405H3220H5104H2717H30016The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes.H2186H5104H2186H2975H4693H1809H2717H7070H5488H70607All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away.H6169H2975H6310H2975H4218H2975H3001H50868The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart.H1771H578H7993H2443H2975H56H6566H4365H6440H4325H5359There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers.H5647H8305H6593H707H2355H95410They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart.H1792H8356H6213H7938H99H531511What fools are the officials of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom? Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors?H8269H6814H191H6098H2450H3289H6547H1197H559H6547H1121H2450H1121H6924H442812Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh? Let them tell you what God plans, what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt.H335H645H2450H5046H3045H3068H6635H3289H471413The officials of Zoan are fools, and the officials of Memphis are deluded. The leaders of the people have led Egypt astray.H8269H6814H2973H8269H5297H5377H8582H4714H6438H762614The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his vomit.H3068H4537H5773H7307H7130H4714H8582H4639H7910H8582H689215There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless—the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.H4639H4714H7218H2180H3712H100H621316In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H3117H4714H802H2729H6342H6440H8573H3027H3068H6635H513017Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them.H127H3063H2283H4714H2142H6342H6440H6098H3068H6635H328918In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.H3117H2568H5892H776H4714H1696H8193H3667H7650H3068H6635H259H559H5892H204119In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the Lord at its border.H3117H4196H3068H8432H776H4714H4676H681H1366H306820It will be a sign and a witness that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them.H226H5707H3068H6635H776H4714H6817H3068H6440H3905H7971H3467H7227H533721The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make a vow to the Lord and will keep it.H3068H3045H4714H4714H3045H3068H3117H5647H2077H4503H5087H5088H3068H799922The Lord will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them.H3068H5062H4714H5062H7495H7725H3068H6279H749523In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God.H3117H4546H4714H804H804H935H4714H4714H804H4714H5647H80424And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them.H3117H3478H7992H4714H804H1293H7130H77625For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!”H3068H6635H1288H559H1288H4714H5971H804H4639H3027H3478H5159
Isaiah 20
A Message about Egypt and Ethiopia
20In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod,H8141H8661H935H795H5623H4428H804H7971H3898H795H39202the Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.H6256H1696H3068H3027H3470H1121H531H559H3212H6605H8242H4975H2502H5275H7272H6213H1980H6174H31823Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.H3068H559H5650H3470H1980H6174H3182H7969H8141H226H4159H4714H35684For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt.H4428H804H5090H4714H7628H3568H1546H5288H2205H6174H3182H8357H2834H6172H47145Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt!H2865H954H3568H4007H4714H85976They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’”H3427H339H559H3117H3541H4007H5127H5833H5337H6440H4428H804H4422
Isaiah 21
A Message about Babylon
21This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea. Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.H4853H4057H3220H5492H5045H2498H935H4057H3372H7762I see a terrifying vision. I see the betrayer betraying, the destroyer destroying. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, attack and lay siege. I will make an end to all the groaning Babylon caused.H7186H2380H5046H898H898H7703H7703H5927H5867H6696H4074H585H76733My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me, like those of a woman in labor. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am too afraid to look.H4975H4390H2479H6735H270H6735H3205H5753H8085H926H72004My mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark.H3824H8582H6427H1204H5399H2837H7760H27315Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle. You are being attacked!H6186H7979H6822H6844H398H8354H6965H8269H4886H40436Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, “Put a watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees.H136H559H3212H5975H6822H5046H72007He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert.”H7200H7393H6776H6571H7393H2543H7393H1581H7181H7182H7227H71828Then the watchman called out, “Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post.H7121H738H136H5975H8548H4707H3119H5324H4931H39159Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!”H935H7393H376H6776H6571H6030H559H894H5307H5307H6456H430H7665H77610O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, everything the God of Israel has told me.H4098H1121H1637H8085H3068H6635H430H3478H5046
A Message about Edom
11This message came to me concerning Edom. Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, “Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?”H4853H1746H7121H8165H8104H3915H8104H391512The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.”H8104H559H1242H857H3915H1158H1158H7725H857
A Message about Arabia
13This message came to me concerning Arabia. O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia.H4853H6152H3293H6152H3885H736H172014O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees.H3427H776H8485H857H4325H7125H6771H6923H3899H507415They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle.H5074H6440H2719H6440H5203H2719H6440H1869H7198H6440H3514H442116The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.H136H559H8141H8141H7916H3519H6938H361517Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the Lord, the God of Israel, have spoken!”H7605H4557H7198H1368H1121H6938H4591H3068H430H3478H1696
Isaiah 22
A Message about Jerusalem
22This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision. What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops?H4853H1516H2384H645H5927H14062The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this reveling city? Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease.H4392H8663H1993H5892H5947H7151H2491H2491H2719H4191H44213All your leaders have fled. They surrendered without resistance. The people tried to slip away, but they were captured, too.H7101H5074H3162H631H7198H4672H631H3162H1272H73504That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep; do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.”H559H8159H1065H4843H213H5162H7701H1323H59715Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.H3117H4103H4001H3998H136H3069H6635H1516H2384H6979H7023H7771H20226Elamites are the archers, with their chariots and charioteers. The men of Kir hold up the shields.H5867H5375H827H7393H120H6571H7024H6168H40437Chariots fill your beautiful valleys, and charioteers storm your gates.H4005H6010H4390H7393H6571H7896H7896H81798Judah’s defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons.H1540H4539H3063H5027H3117H5402H1004H32939You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool.H7200H1233H5892H1732H7231H6908H4325H8481H129510You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls.H5608H1004H3389H1004H5422H1219H234611Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.H6213H4724H2346H4325H3465H1295H5027H6213H7200H3335H735012At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.H3117H136H3069H6635H7121H1065H4553H7144H2296H824213But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”H8342H8057H2026H1241H7819H6629H398H1320H8354H3196H398H8354H4279H419114The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H1540H241H3068H6635H5771H3722H4191H559H136H3069H6635
A Message for Shebna
15This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message.H559H136H3069H6635H3212H935H5532H7644H100416“Who do you think you are, and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself—a monument high up in the rock?H2672H6913H6311H2672H6913H4791H2710H4908H555317For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you,H3068H2904H1397H2925H5844H584418crumple you into a ball, and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master!H6801H6801H6802H1754H7342H3027H776H4191H4818H3519H7036H113H100419“Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position.H1920H4673H4612H204020And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you.H3117H7121H5650H471H1121H251821I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.H3847H3801H2388H73H5414H4475H3027H1H3427H3389H1004H306322I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.H4668H1004H1732H5414H7926H6605H5462H5462H660523He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall.H8628H3489H539H4725H3519H3678H1H100424They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family.”H8518H3519H1H1004H6631H6849H3627H6996H3627H101H3627H503525But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3117H5002H3068H6635H3489H8628H539H4725H4185H1438H5307H4853H3772H3068H1696
Psalms 113
113Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord!H1984H3050H1984H5650H3068H1984H8034H30682Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.H1288H8034H3068H6258H5704H57693Everywhere—from east to west—praise the name of the Lord.H4217H8121H3996H3068H8034H19844For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens.H3068H7311H1471H3519H80645Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high?H3068H430H3427H13616He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth.H8213H7200H8064H7767He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.H6965H1800H6083H7311H34H8308He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people!H3427H5081H5081H59719He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!H6135H3427H1004H8056H517H1121H1984H3050
Dublin, OH
—land of fluttering sails that lies at the headwaters of the Nile,H1945
