Study Desk

There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers.

Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the Lord of Heaven's Armies has laid out his plans against them.

It 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.

The 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.

For 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!"

Then 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.

For 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.

Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt!

My mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark.

Look! 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!

He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert."

That'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."

Judah's defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons.

You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls.

Between 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.

At 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.

But 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!"

The 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.

"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?

For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you,