Study Desk

The officials of Zoan^(y) are nothing but fools; the wise counselors^(z) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.^(aa) How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am one of the wise men,^(ab) a disciple of the ancient kings"?

Where are your wise men^(ac) now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned^(ad) against Egypt.

The officials of Zoan^(ae) have become fools, the leaders of Memphis^(af) are deceived; the cornerstones^(ag) of her peoples have led Egypt astray.

The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness;^(ah) they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers^(ai) around in his vomit.

There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed.^(aj)

In that day^(ak) the Egyptians will become weaklings.^(al) They will shudder with fear^(am) at the uplifted hand^(an) that the Lord Almighty raises against them.

And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,^(ao) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning^(ap) against them.

In that day^(aq) five cities^(ar) in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance^(as) to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.^[a](at)

In that day^(au) there will be an altar^(av) to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,^(aw) and a monument^(ax) to the Lord at its border.

It will be a sign and witness^(ay) to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior^(az) and defender, and he will rescue^(ba) them.

So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge^(bb) the Lord . They will worship^(bc) with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.^(bd)

The Lord will strike^(be) Egypt with a plague;^(bf) he will strike them and heal them. They will turn^(bg) to the Lord , and he will respond to their pleas and heal^(bh) them.

In that day^(bi) there will be a highway^(bj) from Egypt to Assyria.^(bk) The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship^(bl) together.

In that day^(bm) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,^(bn) a blessing^[b](bo) on the earth.

The Lord Almighty will bless^(bp) them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people,^(bq) Assyria my handiwork,^(br) and Israel my inheritance.^(bs)"

A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush

In the year that the supreme commander,^(a) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod^(b) and attacked and captured it—

at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.^(c) He said to him, "Take off the sackcloth^(d) from your body and the sandals^(e) from your feet." And he did so, going around stripped^(f) and barefoot.^(g)

Then the Lord said, "Just as my servant^(h) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,⁽ⁱ⁾ as a sign^(j) and portent^(k) against Egypt^(l) and Cush,^[a](m)

so the king⁽ⁿ⁾ of Assyria will lead away stripped^(o) and barefoot the Egyptian captives^(p) and Cushite^(q) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared^(r)—to Egypt's shame.^(s)

Those who trusted^(t) in Cush^(u) and boasted in Egypt^(v) will be dismayed and put to shame.^(w)

In that day^(x) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened^(y) to those we relied on,^(z) those we fled to for help^(aa) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?^(ab)'"

A prophecy^(a) against the Desert^(b) by the Sea: Like whirlwinds^(c) sweeping through the southland,^(d) an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.

A dire^(e) vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays,^(f) the looter takes loot. Elam,^(g) attack! Media,^(h) lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

At this my body is racked with pain,⁽ⁱ⁾ pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;^(j) I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered^(k) by what I see.

My heart^(l) falters, fear makes me tremble;^(m) the twilight I longed for has become a horror⁽ⁿ⁾ to me.

They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink!^(o) Get up, you officers, oil the shields!^(p)

This is what the Lord says to me: "Go, post a lookout^(q) and have him report what he sees.

When he sees chariots^(r) with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels,^(s) let him be alert, fully alert."

And the lookout^[a](t) shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.

Look, here comes a man in a chariot^(u) with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon^(v) has fallen,^(w) has fallen! All the images of its gods^(x) lie shattered^(y) on the ground!'"

My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,^(z) I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.

A prophecy against Dumah^[b]:^(aa) Someone calls to me from Seir,^(ab) "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?"

The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again."

A prophecy^(ac) against Arabia:^(ad) You caravans of Dedanites,^(ae) who camp in the thickets of Arabia,

bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema,^(af) bring food for the fugitives.

They flee^(ag) from the sword,^(ah) from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.

This is what the Lord says to me: "Within one year, as a servant bound by contract^(ai) would count it, all the splendor^(aj) of Kedar^(ak) will come to an end.

The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.^(al)" The Lord , the God of Israel, has spoken.^(am)

A prophecy^(a) against the Valley^(b) of Vision:^(c) What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs,^(d)

you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult^(e) and revelry?^(f) Your slain^(g) were not killed by the sword,^(h) nor did they die in battle.

All your leaders have fled⁽ⁱ⁾ together; they have been captured^(j) without using the bow. All you who were caught were taken prisoner together, having fled while the enemy was still far away.

Therefore I said, "Turn away from me; let me weep^(k) bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people."^(l)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day^(m) of tumult and trampling⁽ⁿ⁾ and terror^(o) in the Valley of Vision,^(p) a day of battering down walls^(q) and of crying out to the mountains.

Elam^(r) takes up the quiver,^(s) with her charioteers and horses; Kir^(t) uncovers the shield.

Your choicest valleys^(u) are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates.^(v)

The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah, and you looked in that day^(w) to the weapons^(x) in the Palace of the Forest.^(y)

You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through^(z) in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool.^(aa)

You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses^(ab) to strengthen the wall.^(ac)

You built a reservoir between the two walls^(ad) for the water of the Old Pool,^(ae) but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard^(af) for the One who planned^(ag) it long ago.

The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day^(ah) to weep^(ai) and to wail, to tear out your hair^(aj) and put on sackcloth.^(ak)

But see, there is joy and revelry,^(al) slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine!^(am) "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!"^(an)

The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:^(ao) "Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned^(ap) for," says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: "Go, say to this steward, to Shebna^(aq) the palace^(ar) administrator:^(as)

What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave^(at) for yourself^(au) here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

"Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl^(av) you away, you mighty man.

He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw^(aw) you into a large country. There you will die and there the chariots^(ax) you were so proud of will become a disgrace to your master's house.

I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted^(ay) from your position.^(az)

"In that day^(ba) I will summon my servant,^(bb) Eliakim^(bc) son of Hilkiah.

I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash^(bd) around him and hand your authority^(be) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.

I will place on his shoulder^(bf) the key^(bg) to the house of David;^(bh) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.^(bi)

I will drive him like a peg^(bj) into a firm place;^(bk) he will become a seat^[a] of honor^(bl) for the house of his father.

All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

"In that day,^(bm)" declares the Lord Almighty, "the peg^(bn) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down." The Lord has spoken.^(bo)

A prophecy against Tyre:^(a) Wail,^(b) you ships^(c) of Tarshish!^(d) For Tyre is destroyed^(e) and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.

Be silent,^(f) you people of the island and you merchants^(g) of Sidon,^(h) whom the seafarers have enriched.

On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor;⁽ⁱ⁾ the harvest of the Nile^[a](j) was the revenue of Tyre,^(k) and she became the marketplace of the nations.

Be ashamed, Sidon,^(l) and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: "I have neither been in labor nor given birth;^(m) I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters."

When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish⁽ⁿ⁾ at the report from Tyre.^(o)

Cross over to Tarshish;^(p) wail, you people of the island.

Is this your city of revelry,^(q) the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands?

Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants^(r) are princes, whose traders^(s) are renowned in the earth?

The Lord Almighty planned^(t) it, to bring down^(u) her pride in all her splendor and to humble^(v) all who are renowned^(w) on the earth.

Till^[b] your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor.

The Lord has stretched out his hand^(x) over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble.^(y) He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed.^(z)

He said, "No more of your reveling,^(aa) Virgin Daughter^(ab) Sidon, now crushed! "Up, cross over to Cyprus;^(ac) even there you will find no rest."

Look at the land of the Babylonians,^[c](ad) this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians^(ae) have made it a place for desert creatures;^(af) they raised up their siege towers,^(ag) they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin.^(ah)

Wail, you ships^(ai) of Tarshish;^(aj) your fortress is destroyed!^(ak)

At that time Tyre^(al) will be forgotten for seventy years,^(am) the span of a king's life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

"Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute;^(an) play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered."

At the end of seventy years,^(ao) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution^(ap) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.^(aq)

Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord ;^(ar) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord ,^(as) for abundant food and fine clothes.^(at)

See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth^(a) and devastate^(b) it; he will ruin its face and scatter^(c) its inhabitants—

it will be the same for priest as for people,^(d) for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer,^(e) for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.^(f)

The earth will be completely laid waste^(g) and totally plundered.^(h) The Lord has spoken⁽ⁱ⁾ this word.

The earth dries up^(j) and withers,^(k) the world languishes and withers, the heavens^(l) languish with the earth.^(m)

The earth is defiled⁽ⁿ⁾ by its people; they have disobeyed^(o) the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.^(p)

Therefore a curse^(q) consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up,^(r) and very few are left.