Study Desk

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning ^(C1)Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the ^(F1)reigns of ^(C2)Uzziah, ^(C3)Jotham, ^(C4)Ahaz, and ^(C5)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

^(C1)Listen, heavens, and hear, ^(C2)earth; For the LORD has spoken: "^(C3)Sons I have raised and brought up, But they have ^(C4)revolted against Me.

-"An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, But Israel ^(C1)does not know, My people ^(C2)do not understand."

Oh, sinful nation, People weighed down with guilt, ^(F1)(C1)Offspring of evildoers, Sons who ^(C2)act corruptly! They have ^(C3)abandoned the LORD, They have ^(C4)despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away ^(F2)from Him.

Where will you be stricken again, As you ^(C1)continue in your rebellion? The entire head is ^(C2)sick And the entire heart is faint.

^(C1)From the sole of the foot even to the head There is ^(C2)nothing healthy in it, Only bruises, slashes, and raw wounds; ^(C3)Not pressed out nor bandaged, Nor softened with oil.

Your ^(C1)land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; As for your fields, strangers are devouring them in front of you; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.

The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a city under watch.

^(C1)If the LORD of armies Had not left us a few ^(C2)survivors, We would be like ^(C3)Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.

Hear ^(C1)the word of the LORD, You rulers of ^(C2)Sodom; Listen to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah!

"^(C1)What are your many sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I ^(F1)have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fattened cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

-"When you come ^(C1)to appear before Me, Who requires ^(F1)of you this trampling of My courtyards?

-"Do not go on bringing your worthless offerings, ^(C1)Incense is an abomination to Me. ^(C2)New moon and Sabbath, the ^(C3)proclamation of an assembly— I cannot ^(C4)endure wrongdoing and the festive assembly.

-"^(F1)I hate your new moon festivals and your ^(C1)appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am ^(C2)tired of bearing them.

-"So when you ^(C1)spread out your hands in prayer, ^(C2)I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you ^(C3)offer many prayers, I will not be listening. ^(C4)Your hands are ^(F1)covered with blood.

"^(C1)Wash yourselves, ^(C2)make yourselves clean; ^(C3)Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. ^(C4)Stop doing evil,

Learn to do good; ^(C1)Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor, ^(C2)Obtain justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow's case.

"Come now, and ^(C1)let us ^(F1)debate your case," Says the LORD, "^(C2)Though your sins are as scarlet, They shall become as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.

-"^(C1)If you are willing and obedient, You will ^(C2)eat the best of the land;

But if you refuse and rebel, You will be ^(C1)devoured by the sword." For ^(C2)the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

How the faithful city has become a ^(C1)prostitute, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once dwelt in her, But now murderers.

Your silver has become ^(F1)waste matter, Your drink diluted with water.

Your ^(C1)rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone ^(C2)loves a bribe And chases after gifts. They ^(C3)do not obtain justice for the ^(F1)orphan, Nor does the widow's case come before them.

Therefore the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, The ^(C1)Mighty One of Israel, declares, "Ah, I will have satisfaction against My adversaries, And ^(C2)avenge Myself on My enemies.

-"I will also turn My hand against you, And ^(C1)smelt away your impurities as with lye; And I will remove all your slag.

-"Then I will restore your ^(C1)judges as at first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the ^(C2)city of righteousness, A faithful city."

Zion will be ^(C1)redeemed with justice And her ^(F1)repentant ones with righteousness.

But ^(F1)wrongdoers and sinners together will be ^(C1)broken, And those who abandon the LORD will come to an end.

^(F1)You certainly will be ashamed of the ^(F2)(C1)oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed by the ^(C2)gardens which you have chosen.

For you will be like an ^(F1)oak whose ^(C1)leaf withers away, Or like a garden that has no water.

The strong man will become like ^(F1)flax fiber, And his work a spark. So they shall both ^(C1)burn together And there will be ^(C2)no one to extinguish them.

The word which ^(C1)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now it will come about that ^(C1)In the last days The ^(C2)mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established ^(F1)as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And ^(C3)all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; So that He may teach us ^(F1)about His ways, And that we may walk in His paths." For ^(F2)the law will go out ^(C1)from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

And He will judge between the nations, And will mediate for many peoples; And ^(C1)they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. ^(C2)Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

Come, ^(C1)house of Jacob, and let's walk in the ^(C2)light of the LORD.

For You have ^(C1)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers ^(C2)like the Philistines. They also ^(F1)(C3)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.

Their land has also been filled with silver and gold And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with ^(C1)horses, And there is no end to their chariots.

Their land has also been ^(C1)filled with idols; They worship the ^(C2)work of their hands, That which their fingers have made.

So ^(C1)the common person has been humbled And the person of importance has been brought low, But ^(C2)do not forgive them.

^(C1)Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust ^(C2)From the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty.

The ^(F1)(C1)proud look of humanity will be brought low, And the ^(C2)arrogance of people will be humbled; And the LORD alone will be exalted on that day.

For the LORD of armies will have a day of reckoning Against ^(C1)everyone who is arrogant and haughty, And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be brought low.

And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the ^(C1)oaks of Bashan,

Against all the ^(C1)lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up,

Against every ^(C1)high tower, Against every fortified wall,

Against all the ^(C1)ships of Tarshish And against all the delightful ships.

And the pride of humanity will be humbled And the arrogance of people will be brought low; And the LORD alone will be exalted on that day,

And the ^(C1)idols will completely vanish.

People will ^(C1)go into caves of the rocks And into holes in the ^(F1)ground Away from the terror of the LORD And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises ^(C2)to terrify the earth.

On that day people will ^(C1)throw away to the moles and the ^(C2)bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship,

In order to ^(C1)go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs Before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth.

^(F1)(C1)Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For ^(F2)(C2)why should he be esteemed?

For behold, the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies ^(C1)is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the entire supply of bread And the entire supply of water;

^(C1)The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder,

The captain of fifty and the esteemed person, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter.

And I will make mere ^(C1)boys their leaders, And ^(F1)mischievous children will rule over them,

And the people will be ^(C1)oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his ^(C2)neighbor; The youth will assault the elder, And the contemptible person will assault the one honored.

When a man ^(C1)lays hold of his brother in his father's house, saying, "You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler! And these ruins will be under your ^(F1)authority,"

He will ^(F1)protest on that day, saying, "I will not be your ^(F2)(C1)healer, For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; You should not appoint me ruler of the people."

For ^(C1)Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, Because their ^(F1)(C2)speech and their actions are against the LORD, To ^(C3)rebel against ^(F2)His glorious presence.

^(F1)The expression of their faces testifies against them, And they ^(F2)display their sin like ^(C1)Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to ^(F3)them! For they have ^(C2)done evil to themselves.

Say to the ^(C1)righteous that it will go well for them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions.

Woe to the wicked! It will go badly for him, For ^(F1)(C1)what he deserves will be done to him.

My people! Their oppressors ^(C1)treat them violently, And women rule over them. My people! ^(C2)Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths.

^(C1)The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the people.

The LORD ^(C1)enters into judgment with the elders and leaders of His people, "It is you who have ^(F1)(C2)devoured the vineyard; The ^(C3)goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.

-"What do you mean by ^(C1)crushing My people And ^(F1)oppressing the face of the poor?" Declares the Lord ^(F2)GOD of armies.

Moreover, the LORD said, "Because the ^(C1)daughters of Zion are haughty And walk with ^(F1)heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And jingle the anklets on their feet,

The Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And the LORD will make their foreheads bare."

On that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, ^(C1)crescent ornaments,

dangling earrings, bracelets, veils,

^(C1)headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets,

^(F1)finger rings, ^(C1)nose rings,

festive robes, outer garments, shawls, purses,

papyrus garments, undergarments, headbands, and veils.

Now it will come about that instead of ^(C1)balsam oil there will be a stench; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of ^(C2)well-set hair, a ^(C3)plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a ^(C4)robe of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty.

Your men will ^(C1)fall by the sword And your ^(F1)mighty ones in battle.

And her ^(F1)(C1)gates will lament and mourn, And she will ^(C2)sit deserted on the ground.

For seven women will take hold of ^(C1)one man on that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; ^(C2)take away our disgrace!"

On that day the ^(C1)Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the ^(C2)fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of the ^(C3)survivors of Israel.

And it will come about that the one who is ^(C1)left in Zion and remains behind in Jerusalem will be called ^(C2)holy—everyone who is ^(C3)recorded for life in Jerusalem.

When the Lord has washed away the filth of the ^(C1)daughters of Zion and ^(F1)purged the ^(C2)bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the ^(C3)spirit of judgment and the ^(C4)spirit of ^(F2)burning,

then the LORD will create over the entire area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies ^(C1)a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the ^(C2)glory will be a canopy.

And there will be a ^(C1)shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and ^(F1)protection from the storm and the rain.

Let me sing now for my beloved A song of my beloved about His vineyard. My beloved had a ^(C1)vineyard on ^(F1)a fertile hill.

He dug it all around, cleared it of stones, And planted it with ^(F1)the ^(C1)choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, And also carved out a ^(F2)wine vat in it; Then He ^(C2)expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only ^(F3)worthless ones.

"And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, ^(C1)Judge between Me and My vineyard.

-"^(C1)What more was there to do for My vineyard ^(F1)that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce ^(F2)worthless ones?

-"So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will ^(C1)remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will ^(C2)break down its wall and it will become ^(C3)trampled ground.

-"I will ^(C1)lay it waste; It will not be pruned nor hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds not to ^(C2)rain on it."

For the ^(C1)vineyard of the LORD of armies is the house of Israel, And the people of Judah are His delightful plant. So He waited for justice, but behold, there was ^(C2)bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Woe to those who ^(C1)attach house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!

In my ears the LORD of armies has sworn, "^(C1)Many houses shall certainly become ^(C2)desolate, Even great and fine ones, without occupants.

-"For ^(C1)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one ^(F1)bath of wine, And a ^(F2)(C2)homer of seed will yield only an ^(F3)ephah of grain."

Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue ^(C1)intoxicating drink, Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!

Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and ^(C1)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they ^(C2)do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

Therefore My people go into exile for their ^(C1)lack of knowledge; And their ^(F1)(C2)nobles are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.

Therefore ^(C1)Sheol has enlarged its ^(F1)throat and opened its mouth beyond measure; And ^(F2)Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.

So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low, ^(C1)The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.

But the ^(C1)LORD of armies will be ^(C2)exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself ^(C3)holy in righteousness.

^(C1)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And strangers will eat in the ruins of the ^(F1)wealthy.

Woe to those who drag ^(C1)wrongdoing with the cords of ^(F1)deceit, And sin as if with cart ropes;

^(C1)Who say, "Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it; And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach And come to pass, so that we may know it!"

Woe to those who ^(C1)call evil good, and good evil; Who ^(F1)(C2)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who ^(F1)substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are ^(C1)wise in their own eyes And ^(F1)clever in their own sight!

^(C1)Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,

^(C1)Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe, And ^(C2)take away the ^(F1)rights of the ones who are in the right!

Therefore, ^(C1)as a tongue of fire consumes stubble, And dry grass collapses in the flame, So their ^(C2)root will become ^(C3)like rot, and their blossom ^(F1)blow away like dust; For they have ^(C4)rejected the Law of the LORD of armies, And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.

For this reason the ^(C1)anger of the LORD has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them. And the ^(C2)mountains quaked, and their ^(C3)corpses ^(F1)lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. ^(C4)Despite all this, His anger ^(F2)is not spent, But His ^(C5)hand is still stretched out.

He will also lift up a ^(C1)flag to the distant ^(F1)nation, And ^(C2)whistle for it ^(C3)from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will ^(C4)come with speed swiftly.

^(C1)No one in it is tired or stumbles, No one slumbers or sleeps; Nor is the ^(C2)undergarment at his waist loosened, Nor his sandal strap broken.

^(F1)(C1)Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses ^(F2)seem like flint, and its chariot ^(C2)wheels like a storm wind.

Its ^(C1)roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions; It growls as it ^(C2)seizes the prey And carries it off with ^(C3)no one to save it.

And it will ^(C1)roar against it on that day like the roaring of the sea. If one ^(C2)looks across to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

In the year of ^(C1)King Uzziah's death ^(C2)I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

Seraphim were standing above Him, ^(C1)each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew.

And one called out to another and said, "^(C1)Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of armies. The ^(F1)(C2)whole earth is full of His glory."

And the ^(F1)foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the ^(F2)(C1)temple was filling with smoke.

Then I said, "^(C1)Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of ^(C2)unclean lips, And I live among a ^(C3)people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the ^(C4)King, the LORD of armies."

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the ^(C1)altar with tongs.

He ^(C1)touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and ^(C2)your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin."

Then I heard the ^(C1)voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then ^(C2)I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on ^(C1)listening, but do not understand; And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.'

-"^(C1)Make the hearts of this people ^(F1)(C2)insensitive, Their ears ^(F2)dull, And their eyes ^(F3)blind, ^(C3)So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."

Then I said, "Lord, ^(C1)how long?" And He answered, "Until ^(C2)cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,

The LORD has ^(C1)completely removed people, And there ^(F1)are many ^(C2)forsaken places in the midst of the land.

-"Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an ^(C1)oak Whose stump remains when it is cut down. The ^(C2)holy seed is its stump."

Now it came about in the days of ^(C1)Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^(C2)Rezin the king of Aram and ^(C3)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but ^(C4)could not ^(F1)conquer it.

When it was reported to the ^(C1)house of David, saying, "The Arameans ^(C2)have taken a stand by ^(C3)Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake from the wind.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son ^(F1)Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^(C1)conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the ^(F2)fuller's field,

and say to him, 'Take care and be ^(C1)calm, have no ^(C2)fear and ^(C3)do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering ^(C4)logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the ^(C5)son of Remaliah.

'Because ^(C1)Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,

"Let's go up against Judah and ^(F1)terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,"

this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "^(C1)It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.

"For the head of Aram is ^(C1)Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people),

and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. ^(C1)If you will not believe, you certainly shall not ^(F1)last."'"

Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

"Ask for a ^(C1)sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ^(F1)make it deep as Sheol or high as ^(F2)heaven."

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I put the LORD to the test!"

Then he said, "Listen now, ^(C1)house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to ^(F1)try the patience of men, that you will ^(F2)(C2)try the patience of ^(C3)my God as well?

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^(C1)the ^(F1)virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him ^(F2)(C2)Immanuel.

"He will eat ^(F1)(C1)curds and honey ^(F2)at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

"^(C1)For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, ^(C2)the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

"The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have not come since the day that ^(C1)Ephraim separated from Judah—the days of the ^(C2)king of Assyria."

On that day the LORD will ^(C1)whistle for the fly that is in the ^(F1)(C2)remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

They will all come and settle on the steep ^(F1)ravines, on the ^(C1)ledges of the cliffs, ^(C2)on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places.

On that day the Lord will ^(C1)shave with a ^(C2)razor, ^(C3)hired from regions beyond ^(C4)the Euphrates River (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

Now on that day a person may keep alive only a ^(C1)heifer and a pair of sheep;

and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat ^(F1)curds, for everyone who is left within the land will eat ^(F1)(C1)curds and honey.

And it will come about on that day, ^(C1)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become ^(C2)briars and thorns.

People will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be briars and thorns.

As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the plow, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for ^(F1)(C1)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

Then the LORD said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and ^(C1)write on it ^(F1)in ordinary letters: ^(F2)(C2)Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

"And ^(F1)I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, ^(C1)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."

So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him ^(F1)(C1)Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

for ^(C1)before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of ^(C2)Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."

Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying,

"Inasmuch as these people have ^(C1)rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in ^(C2)Rezin and the son of Remaliah;

Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the ^(C1)strong and abundant waters of the ^(C2)Euphrates River, That is, the ^(C3)king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will ^(C4)rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.

-"Then ^(C1)it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will ^(C2)reach as far as the neck; And the spread of its wings will ^(F1)fill the expanse of ^(F2)your land, ^(C3)Immanuel.

"^(C1)Be broken, you peoples, and be ^(F1)(C2)shattered; And listen, all remote places of the earth. ^(F2)Get ready, yet be ^(F1)shattered; ^(F2)Get ready, yet be ^(F1)shattered.

-"^(C1)Devise a plan, but it will fail; State a ^(F1)proposal, but ^(C2)it will not stand, For ^(F2)(C3)God is with us."

For so the LORD spoke to me ^(F1)with ^(C1)mighty power and instructed me ^(C2)not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

"You are not to say, 'It is a ^(C1)conspiracy!' Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy, And ^(C2)you are not to fear ^(F1)what they fear or be in dread of it.

-"It is the ^(C1)LORD of armies ^(C2)whom you are to regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.

-"Then He will become a ^(C1)sanctuary; But to both houses of Israel, He will be a ^(C2)stone of stumbling and a rock ^(F1)of offense, And a snare and a ^(C3)trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

-"Many ^(C1)will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will be snared and caught."

^(C1)Bind up the testimony, ^(C2)seal the ^(F1)Law among ^(C3)my disciples.

And I will ^(C1)wait for the LORD ^(C2)who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will wait eagerly for Him.

^(C1)Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for ^(C2)signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of armies, who ^(C3)dwells on Mount Zion.

When they say to you, "^(C1)Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should a people not ^(C2)consult their God? Should they ^(C3)consult the dead in behalf of the living?

To the ^(F1)(C1)Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because ^(C2)they have no dawn.

They will pass through ^(F1)the land ^(C1)dejected and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse ^(F2)their king and their God as they face upward.

Then they will ^(C1)look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be ^(C2)driven away into darkness.

^(F1)But there will be no more ^(C1)gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He ^(C2)treated the ^(C3)land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the ^(F2)Gentiles.

^(F1)(C1)The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.

^(C1)You will multiply the nation, You ^(C2)will ^(F1)increase ^(F2)their joy; They will rejoice in Your presence As with the joy ^(F3)of harvest, As people ^(C3)rejoice when they divide the spoils.

For ^(C1)You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their ^(C2)oppressor, as ^(F1)at the battle of ^(C3)Midian.

For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

For a ^(C1)Child will be born to us, a ^(C2)Son will be given to us; And the ^(C3)government will ^(F1)rest ^(C4)on His shoulders; And His name will be called ^(C5)Wonderful Counselor, ^(C6)Mighty God, Eternal ^(C7)Father, Prince of ^(C8)Peace.

There will be ^(C1)no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the ^(C2)throne of David and over ^(F1)his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with ^(C3)justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. ^(C4)The zeal of the LORD of armies will accomplish this.

The Lord sends a ^(F1)message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel.

And all the people know it, That is, ^(C1)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in ^(C2)arrogance of heart:

"The bricks have fallen down, But we will ^(C1)rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars."

Therefore the LORD raises superior adversaries against them from ^(C1)Rezin And provokes their enemies,

The Arameans from the east and the ^(C1)Philistines from the west; And they ^(C2)devour Israel with ^(F1)gaping jaws. ^(C3)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.

Yet the people ^(C1)do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they ^(C2)seek the LORD of armies.

So the LORD cuts off ^(C1)head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush ^(C2)in a single day.

The head is ^(C1)the elder and esteemed man, And the prophet who teaches ^(C2)falsehood is the tail.

^(C1)For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are ^(F1)confused.

Therefore the Lord does ^(C1)not rejoice over their young men, ^(C2)Nor does He have compassion on their ^(F1)orphans or their widows; For every one of them is ^(C3)godless and an ^(C4)evildoer, And every ^(C5)mouth is speaking foolishness. ^(C6)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.

^(C1)For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns; It also sets the thickets of the forest aflame And they roll upward in a column of smoke.

By the ^(C1)wrath of the LORD of armies the ^(C2)land is burned, And the ^(C3)people are like fuel for the fire; No ^(C4)one spares his brother.

^(F1)They devour what is on the right hand but are still ^(C1)hungry, And ^(F2)they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the ^(C2)flesh of his own arm.

Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, ^(C1)And together they are against Judah. ^(C2)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to those who ^(C1)enact unjust statutes And to those who constantly record ^(F1)harmful decisions,

So as ^(C1)to ^(F1)deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor among My people of their rights, So ^(C2)that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the ^(F2)orphans.

Now ^(C1)what will you do in the ^(C2)day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come ^(C3)from afar? ^(C4)To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?

Nothing remains but to crouch ^(F1)among the ^(C1)captives Or fall ^(F1)among those ^(C2)killed. ^(C3)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to ^(C1)Assyria, the ^(C2)rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is ^(C3)My indignation,

I send it against a ^(C1)godless nation And commission it against the ^(C2)people of My fury To capture spoils and ^(C3)to seize plunder, And to ^(F1)trample them down like ^(C4)mud in the streets.

Yet it ^(C1)does not so intend, Nor does ^(F1)it plan so in its heart, But rather it is ^(F2)its purpose to destroy And to eliminate ^(F3)many nations.

For it says, "Are not my officers ^(F1)all kings?

-"Is not ^(C1)Calno like ^(C2)Carchemish, Or ^(C3)Hamath like Arpad, Or ^(C4)Samaria like ^(C5)Damascus?

-"As my hand has reached to the ^(C1)kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(C1)her idols?"

So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(C1)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will ^(F1)punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(C2)the arrogant pride of his eyes."

For ^(C1)he has said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I ^(C2)removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down ^(F1)their inhabitants,

And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^(C1)nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped."

Is the ^(C1)axe to ^(C2)boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like ^(C3)a ^(F1)club wielding those who lift it, Or like ^(C3)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.

Therefore the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will send a ^(C1)wasting disease among his ^(C2)stout warriors; And under his ^(C3)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

And the ^(C1)Light of Israel will become a fire and ^(F1)Israel's ^(C2)Holy One a flame, And it will ^(C3)burn and devour ^(F2)his thorns and his briars in a single day.

And He will ^(C1)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.

And the ^(C1)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.

Now on that day the ^(C1)remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^(C2)who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^(C3)rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

A ^(C1)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(C2)mighty God.

For ^(C1)though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A ^(C2)destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ^(C1)the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

Therefore this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies says: "My people, you who dwell in ^(C1)Zion, ^(C2)do not fear the Assyrian ^(F2)who ^(C3)strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did.

"For in a very ^(C1)little while ^(C2)My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction."

The LORD of armies will ^(C1)wield a whip against him like the defeat of ^(C2)Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^(C3)staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ^(C4)the way He did in Egypt.

So it will be on that day, that ^(F1)his ^(C1)burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ^(C2)of fatness.

He has come against Aiath, He has passed through ^(C1)Migron; At ^(C2)Michmash he deposited his ^(C3)baggage.

They have gone through ^(C1)the pass, saying, "^(C2)Geba will be our encampment for the night." ^(C3)Ramah is terrified, and ^(C4)Gibeah of Saul has fled.

Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^(C1)Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and ^(F1)wretched ^(C2)Anathoth!

Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

Yet today he will halt at ^(C1)Nob; He ^(C2)shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^(F1)(C3)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

Behold, the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power; Those also who are ^(C1)tall in stature will be cut down, And those who are lofty will be brought low.

He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And ^(C1)Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

Then a ^(C1)shoot will spring from the ^(C2)stem of Jesse, And a ^(C3)Branch from ^(C4)his roots will bear fruit.

The ^(C1)Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of ^(C2)wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and ^(C3)strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes ^(C1)see, Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;

But with ^(C1)righteousness He will judge the ^(C2)poor, And decide with fairness for the ^(C3)humble of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the ^(C4)rod of His mouth, And with the ^(C5)breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

Also ^(C1)righteousness will be the belt around His hips, And ^(C2)faithfulness the belt around His waist.

And the ^(C1)wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion ^(F1)and the fattened steer will be together; And a little boy will lead them.

Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the ^(C1)lion will eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.

They will ^(C1)not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the ^(C2)earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

Then on that day The ^(C1)nations will resort to the ^(C2)root of Jesse, Who will stand as a ^(C3)signal flag for the peoples; And His ^(C4)resting place will be ^(F1)glorious.

Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover with His hand the second time The ^(C1)remnant of His people who will remain, From ^(C2)Assyria, ^(C3)Egypt, Pathros, Cush, ^(C4)Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the ^(F1)(C5)islands of the sea.

And He will lift up a ^(C1)flag for the nations And ^(C2)assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

Then the ^(C1)jealousy of Ephraim will depart, And those who harass Judah will be eliminated; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, And Judah will not harass Ephraim.

They will ^(C1)swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the ^(C2)west; Together they will ^(C3)plunder the ^(F1)people of the east; ^(F2)They will possess ^(C4)Edom and ^(C5)Moab, And the sons of Ammon will be ^(F3)subject to them.

And the LORD will ^(F1)(C1)utterly destroy The tongue of the ^(F2)Sea of Egypt; And He will ^(C2)wave His hand over the ^(C3)Euphrates River With His scorching wind; And He will strike it into seven streams And make people walk over in dry sandals.

And there will be a ^(C1)highway from Assyria For the ^(C2)remnant of His people who will be left, Just as there was for Israel On ^(C3)the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.

Then you will say on that day, "^(C1)I will give thanks to You, LORD; For although ^(C2)You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me.

-"Behold, ^(C1)God is my salvation, I will ^(C2)trust and not be afraid; For ^(C3)the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation."

Therefore you will joyously ^(C1)draw water From the ^(C2)springs of salvation.

And on that day you will ^(C1)say, "^(C2)Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. ^(C3)Make known His deeds among the peoples; ^(F1)Make them remember that His name is exalted."