Study Desk

Come near, you nations, and listen;^(a) pay attention, you peoples!^(b) Let the earth^(c) hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!^(d)

The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath^(e) is on all their armies. He will totally destroy^[a](f) them, he will give them over to slaughter.^(g)

Their slain^(h) will be thrown out, their dead bodies⁽ⁱ⁾ will stink;^(j) the mountains will be soaked with their blood.^(k)

All the stars in the sky will be dissolved^(l) and the heavens rolled up^(m) like a scroll; all the starry host will fall⁽ⁿ⁾ like withered^(o) leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

My sword^(p) has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom,^(q) the people I have totally destroyed.^(r)

The sword^(s) of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice^(t) in Bozrah^(u) and a great slaughter^(v) in the land of Edom.

And the wild oxen^(w) will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls.^(x) Their land will be drenched with blood,^(y) and the dust will be soaked with fat.

For the Lord has a day^(z) of vengeance,^(aa) a year of retribution,^(ab) to uphold Zion's cause.

Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur;^(ac) her land will become blazing pitch!

It will not be quenched^(ad) night or day; its smoke will rise forever.^(ae) From generation to generation^(af) it will lie desolate;^(ag) no one will ever pass through it again.

The desert owl^[b](ah) and screech owl^[c] will possess it; the great owl^[d] and the raven^(ai) will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom^(aj) the measuring line of chaos^(ak) and the plumb line^(al) of desolation.

Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes^(am) will vanish^(an) away.

Thorns^(ao) will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(ap) She will become a haunt for jackals,^(aq) a home for owls.^(ar)

Desert creatures^(as) will meet with hyenas,^(at) and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures^(au) will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest.

The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings;^(av) there also the falcons^(aw) will gather, each with its mate.

Look in the scroll^(ax) of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing,^(ay) not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth^(az) that has given the order,^(ba) and his Spirit will gather them together.

He allots their portions;^(bb) his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.^(bc)

The desert^(a) and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.^(b) Like the crocus,^(c)

²it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.^(d) The glory of Lebanon^(e) will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel^(f) and Sharon;^(g) they will see the glory^(h) of the Lord , the splendor of our God.⁽ⁱ⁾

Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees^(j) that give way;

say^(k) to those with fearful hearts,^(l) "Be strong, do not fear;^(m) your God will come,⁽ⁿ⁾ he will come with vengeance;^(o) with divine retribution he will come to save^(p) you."

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened^(q) and the ears of the deaf^(r) unstopped.

Then will the lame^(s) leap like a deer,^(t) and the mute tongue^(u) shout for joy.^(v) Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams^(w) in the desert.

The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground^(x) bubbling springs.^(y) In the haunts where jackals^(z) once lay, grass and reeds^(aa) and papyrus will grow.

And a highway^(ab) will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness;^(ac) it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean^(ad) will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

No lion^(ae) will be there, nor any ravenous beast;^(af) they will not be found there. But only the redeemed^(ag) will walk there,

and those the Lord has rescued^(ah) will return. They will enter Zion with singing;^(ai) everlasting joy^(aj) will crown their heads. Gladness^(ak) and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(al)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(a)

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's^(b) reign, Sennacherib^(c) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.^(d)

Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish^(e) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer's Field,^(f)

Eliakim^(g) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,^(h) Shebna⁽ⁱ⁾ the secretary,^(j) and Joah^(k) son of Asaph the recorder^(l) went out to him.

The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: "‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?

You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel^(m) against me?

Look, I know you are depending⁽ⁿ⁾ on Egypt,^(o) that splintered reed^(p) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him.

But if you say to me, "We are depending^(q) on the Lord our God"—isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,^(r) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar"?^(s)

"‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses^(t)—if you can put riders on them!

How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even though you are depending on Egypt^(u) for chariots^(v) and horsemen^[a]?^(w)

Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord ? The Lord himself told^(x) me to march against this country and destroy it.'"

Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah^(y) said to the field commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(z) since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall."

But the commander replied, "Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?^(aa)"

Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,^(ab) "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!^(ac)

This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive^(ad) you. He cannot deliver you!

Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver^(ae) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.'^(af)

"Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree^(ag) and drink water from your own cistern,^(ah)

until I come and take you to a land like your own^(ai)—a land of grain and new wine,^(aj) a land of bread and vineyards.

"Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.' Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?^(ak) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?^(al) Have they rescued Samaria^(am) from my hand?

Who of all the gods^(an) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"^(ao)

But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him."^(ap)

Then Eliakim^(aq) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder^(ar) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,^(as) and told him what the field commander had said.