Study Desk

but they will be put to shame, because Egypt is useless to them. It will give no help and will be of no use; it will cause them only shame and embarrassment."

This is what the Lord God , the Holy One of Israel, says: "If you come back to me and trust me, you will be saved. If you will be calm and trust me, you will be strong." But you don't want to do that.

The Lord has given you sorrow and hurt like the bread and water you ate every day. He is your teacher; he will not continue to hide from you, but you will see your teacher with your own eyes.

You have statues covered with silver and gold, but you will ruin them for further use. You will throw them away like filthy rags and say, "Go away!"

How terrible it will be for those people who go down to Egypt for help. They think horses will save them. They think their many chariots and strong horsemen will save them. But they don't trust God, the Holy One of Israel, or ask the Lord for help.

But he is wise and can bring them disaster. He does not change his warnings. He will rise up and fight against the evil people and against those who try to help evil people.

The Lord says this to me: "When a lion or a lion's cub kills an animal to eat, it stands over the dead animal and roars. A band of shepherds may be assembled against it, but the lion will not be afraid of their yelling or upset by their noise. So the Lord All-Powerful will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.

"Assyria will be defeated by a sword, but not the sword of a person; Assyria will be destroyed, but not by a person's sword. Assyria will run away from the sword of God, but its young men will be caught and made slaves.

But a good leader plans to do good, and those good things make him a good leader.

You women feel safe now, but after one year you will be afraid. There will be no grape harvest and no summer fruit to gather.

Women, you are calm now, but you should shake with fear. Women, you feel safe now, but you should tremble. Take off your nice clothes and put rough cloth around your waist to show your sadness.

But you will be happy as you plant seeds near every stream and as you let your cattle and donkeys wander freely.

How terrible it will be for you who destroy others but have not been destroyed yet. How terrible it will be for you, traitor, whom no one has turned against yet. When you stop destroying, others will destroy you. When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you.

There the Lord will be our Mighty One. That land is a place with streams and wide rivers, but there will be no enemy boats on those rivers; no powerful ship will sail on them.

Say to people who are frightened, "Be strong. Don't be afraid. Look, your God will come, and he will punish your enemies. He will make them pay for the wrongs they did, but he will save you."

You say you have battle plans and power for war, but your words mean nothing. Whom are you trusting for help so that you turn against me?

Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you, but Egypt is like a splintered walking stick. If you lean on it for help, it will stab your hand and hurt you. The king of Egypt will hurt all those who depend on him.

You might say, "We are depending on the Lord our God," but Hezekiah destroyed the Lord 's altars and the places of worship. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship only at this one altar."

But the commander said, "My master did not send me to tell these things only to you and your king. He sent me to speak also to those people sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine like you."

They told Isaiah, "This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of sorrow and punishment and disgrace, as when a child should be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it.