31What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.H1945H3381H4714H5833H8172H5483H982H7393H7227H6571H3966H6105H8159H6918H3478H1875H30682In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers.H2450H935H7451H5493H1697H6965H1004H7489H5833H6466H2053For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the Lord raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble, and those being helped will fall. They will all fall down and die together.H4714H120H410H5483H1320H7307H3068H5186H3027H5826H3782H5826H5307H3615H31624But this is what the Lord has told me. “When a strong young lion stands growling over a sheep it has killed, it is not frightened by the shouts and noise of a whole crowd of shepherds. In the same way, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will come down and fight on Mount Zion.H3068H559H738H3715H1897H2964H4393H7462H7121H2865H6963H6031H1995H3068H6635H3381H6633H2022H6726H13895The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it.”H6833H5774H3068H6635H1598H3389H1598H5337H6452H44226Though you are such wicked rebels, my people, come and return to the Lord.H7725H1121H3478H6009H56277I know the glorious day will come when each of you will throw away the gold idols and silver images your sinful hands have made.H3117H376H3988H457H3701H457H2091H3027H6213H23998“The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by the swords of men. The sword of God will strike them, and they will panic and flee. The strong young Assyrians will be taken away as captives.H804H5307H2719H376H2719H120H398H5127H6440H2719H970H45229Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,” says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.H5674H5553H4032H8269H2865H5251H5002H3068H217H6726H8574H3389
Isaiah 32
Israel’s Ultimate Deliverance
32Look, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him.H4428H4427H6664H8269H8323H49412Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.H376H4224H7307H5643H2230H6388H4325H6724H6738H3515H5553H5889H7763Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.H5869H7200H8159H241H8085H71814Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly.H3824H4116H995H1847H3956H5926H4116H1696H67035In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Scoundrels will not be respected.H5036H7121H5081H3596H559H77716For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the Lord. They deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty.H5036H1696H5039H3820H6213H205H6213H2612H1696H8442H3068H7324H5315H7457H4945H6771H26377The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil. They plot crooked schemes. They lie to convict the poor, even when the cause of the poor is just.H3627H3596H7451H3289H2154H2254H6041H6035H8267H561H34H1696H49418But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.H5081H3289H5081H5081H69659Listen, you women who lie around in ease. Listen to me, you who are so smug.H6965H802H7600H8085H6963H982H1323H238H56510In a short time—just a little more than a year—you careless ones will suddenly begin to care. For your fruit crops will fail, and the harvest will never take place.H3117H8141H7264H982H1210H3615H625H93511Tremble, you women of ease; throw off your complacency. Strip off your pretty clothes, and put on burlap to show your grief.H2729H7600H7264H982H6584H6209H2290H250412Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms and your fruitful grapevines.H5594H7699H2531H7704H6509H161213For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.H127H5971H5927H6975H8068H1004H4885H5947H715114The palace and the city will be deserted, and busy towns will be empty. Wild donkeys will frolic and flocks will graze in the empty forts and watchtowersH759H5203H1995H5892H5800H6076H975H4631H5704H5769H4885H6501H4829H573915until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.H7307H6168H4791H4057H3759H3759H2803H329316Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field.H4941H7931H4057H6666H3427H375917And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.H4639H6666H7965H5656H6666H8252H983H5704H576918My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest.H5971H3427H7965H5116H4009H4908H7600H449619Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down,H1258H3381H3293H5892H8213H821820the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.H835H2232H4325H7971H7272H7794H2543
Isaiah 33
A Message about Assyria
33What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others but have never been destroyed yourselves. You betray others, but you have never been betrayed. When you are done destroying, you will be destroyed. When you are done betraying, you will be betrayed.H1945H7703H7703H898H898H8552H7703H7703H5239H898H8982But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble.H3068H2603H6960H2220H1242H3444H6256H68693The enemy runs at the sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee!H6963H1995H5971H5074H7427H1471H53104Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines, so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!H7998H622H625H2625H4944H1357H82645Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness.H3068H7682H7931H4791H4390H6726H4941H66666In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.H2451H1847H530H6256H2633H3444H3374H3068H2147But now your brave warriors weep in public. Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.H691H6817H2351H4397H7965H1058H47518Your roads are deserted; no one travels them anymore. The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses. They have no respect for anyone.H4546H8074H5674H734H7673H6565H1285H3988H5892H2803H5829The land of Israel wilts in mourning. Lebanon withers with shame. The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.H776H56H535H3844H2659H7060H8289H6160H1316H3760H528710But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up. Now I will show my power and might.H6965H559H3068H7426H537511You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble. Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.H2029H2842H3205H7179H7307H784H39812Your people will be burned up completely, like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.H5971H4955H7875H6975H3683H3341H78413Listen to what I have done, you nations far away! And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”H8085H7350H6213H7138H3045H136914The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. “Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry. “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”H2400H6726H6342H7461H270H2611H1481H398H784H1481H5769H416815Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—H1980H6666H1696H4339H3988H1215H4642H5287H3709H8551H7810H331H241H8085H1818H6105H5869H7200H745116these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance.H7931H4791H4869H4679H5553H3899H5414H4325H53917Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.H5869H2372H4428H3308H7200H776H480118You will think back to this time of terror, asking, “Where are the Assyrian officers who counted our towers? Where are the bookkeepers who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”H3820H1897H367H5608H8254H5608H402619You will no longer see these fierce, violent people with their strange, unknown language.H7200H3267H5971H5971H6012H8193H8085H3932H3956H99820Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals. You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure. It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut and whose stakes are firmly fixed.H2372H6726H7151H4150H5869H7200H3389H7600H5116H168H6813H3489H5331H5265H2256H542321The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon.H117H3068H4725H7342H3027H5104H2975H3212H1077H590H7885H117H6716H567422For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.H3068H8199H3068H2710H3068H4428H346723The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God. Even the lame will take their share!H2256H5203H3653H2388H8650H6566H5251H5706H4766H7998H2505H6455H962H95724The people of Israel will no longer say, “We are sick and helpless,” for the Lord will forgive their sins.H7934H559H2470H5971H3427H5375H5771
Isaiah 34
A Message for the Nations
34Come here and listen, O nations of the earth. Let the world and everything in it hear my words.H7126H1471H8085H7181H3816H776H8085H4393H8398H66312For the Lord is enraged against the nations. His fury is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, dooming them to slaughter.H7110H3068H1471H2534H6635H2763H5414H28743Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land. The mountains will flow with their blood.H2491H7993H889H5927H6297H2022H4549H18184The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree.H6635H8064H4743H8064H1556H5612H6635H5034H5929H5034H1612H5034H83845And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, it will fall upon Edom, the nation I have marked for destruction.H2719H7301H8064H3381H123H5971H2764H49416The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood and covered with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of rams prepared for sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom.H2719H3068H4390H1818H1878H2459H1818H3733H6260H2459H3629H352H3068H2077H1224H1419H2874H776H1237Even men as strong as wild oxen will die—the young men alongside the veterans. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched with fat.H7214H3381H6499H47H776H7301H1818H6083H1878H24598For it is the day of the Lord’s revenge, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel.H3117H3068H5359H8141H7966H7379H67269The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire.H5158H2015H2203H6083H1614H776H1197H220310This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore.H3518H3915H3119H6227H5927H5769H1755H1755H2717H5674H5331H533111It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven. For God will measure that land carefully; he will measure it for chaos and destruction.H6893H7090H3423H3244H6158H7931H5186H6957H8414H68H92212It will be called the Land of Nothing, and all its nobles will soon be gone.H7121H2715H4410H8269H65713Thorns will overrun its palaces; nettles and thistles will grow in its forts. The ruins will become a haunt for jackals and a home for owls.H5518H5927H759H7057H2336H4013H5116H8577H2681H1323H328414Desert animals will mingle there with hyenas, their howls filling the night. Wild goats will bleat at one another among the ruins, and night creatures will come there to rest.H6728H6298H338H8163H7121H7453H3917H7280H4672H449415There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs. She will hatch her young and cover them with her wings. And the buzzards will come, each one with its mate.H7091H7077H4422H1234H1716H6738H1772H6908H802H746816Search the book of the Lord, and see what he will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true.H1875H5612H3068H7121H259H2007H5737H802H6485H7468H6310H6680H7307H690817He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to those creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation.H5307H1486H3027H2505H6957H3423H5704H5769H1755H1755H7931
Isaiah 35
Hope for Restoration
35Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.H4057H6723H7797H6160H1523H6524H22612Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God.H6524H6524H1523H1525H7444H3519H3844H5414H1926H3760H8289H7200H3519H3068H1926H4303With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.H2388H7504H3027H553H3782H12904Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”H559H4116H3820H2388H3372H430H935H5359H430H1576H935H34675And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.H5869H5787H6491H241H2795H66056The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.H6455H1801H354H3956H483H7442H4057H4325H1234H5158H61607The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.H8273H98H6774H4002H4325H5116H8577H7258H2682H7070H15738And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.H4547H1870H7121H1870H6944H2931H5674H1980H191H85829Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it.H738H6530H2416H5927H4672H1350H198010Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.H6299H3068H7725H935H6726H7440H5769H8057H7218H5381H8057H8342H3015H585H5127
Psalms 116
116I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.H157H3068H8085H6963H84692Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!H5186H241H7121H31173Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.H2256H4194H661H4712H7585H4672H4672H6869H30154Then I called on the name of the Lord. “Please, Lord, save me!”H7121H8034H3068H3068H577H4422H53155How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!H2587H3068H6662H430H73556The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me.H3068H8104H6612H1809H34677Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.H7725H4494H5315H3068H15808He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.H2502H5315H4194H5869H1832H7272H17629And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!H1980H6440H3068H776H241610I believed in you, so I said, “I am deeply troubled, Lord.”H539H1696H3966H603111In my anxiety I cried out to you, “These people are all liars!”H559H2648H120H357612What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?H7725H3068H840813I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.H5375H3563H3444H7121H8034H306814I will keep my promises to the Lord in the presence of all his people.H7999H5088H3068H597115The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.H3368H5869H3068H4194H262316O Lord, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.H3068H577H5650H5650H1121H519H6605H414717I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.H2076H2077H8426H7121H8034H306818I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people—H7999H5088H3068H597119in the house of the Lord in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!H2691H3068H1004H8432H3389H1984H3050
Dublin, OH
and watchtowersH759
