Study Desk

In the year that the ^(F1)(C1)commander came to ^(C2)Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

at that time the LORD spoke through ^(C1)Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and loosen the ^(C2)sackcloth from your hips and take your ^(C3)sandals off your feet." And he did so, going ^(C4)naked and barefoot.

Then the LORD said, "Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a ^(C1)sign and symbol against Egypt and ^(F1)(C2)Cush,

so the ^(C1)king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, ^(C2)young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the ^(F1)shame of Egypt.

"Then they will be ^(C1)terrified and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their ^(C2)pride.

"So the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, 'Behold, such is our hope, where we fled ^(C1)for help to be saved from the king of Assyria; and ^(C2)how are we ourselves to escape?'"

The ^(C1)pronouncement concerning the ^(F1)(C2)wilderness of the sea: As ^(C3)windstorms in the ^(F2)Negev come in turns, It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.

A ^(C1)harsh vision has been shown to me; The ^(C2)treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, ^(C3)Elam, lay siege, Media; I have put an end to all ^(F1)the groaning she has caused.

For this reason my ^(C1)loins are full of anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a ^(C2)woman in labor. I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.

My ^(F1)mind reels, ^(F2)horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been ^(C1)turned into trembling for me.

They ^(C1)set the table, they ^(F1)spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; "Rise up, captains, oil the shields!"

For this is what the Lord says to me: "Go, station the lookout, have him ^(C1)report what he sees.

-"When he sees ^(F1)a ^(C1)column of chariots, horsemen in pairs, A train of donkeys, a train of camels, He is to pay close attention, very close attention."

Then ^(F1)the lookout called, "^(C1)Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower, And I am stationed every night at my guard post.

-"Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs." And one said, "^(C1)Fallen, fallen is Babylon; And all the ^(C2)images of her gods ^(F1)are shattered on the ground."

My ^(C1)downtrodden people, and my ^(F1)afflicted of the threshing floor! What I have heard from the LORD of armies, The God of Israel, I make known to you.

The pronouncement concerning ^(F1)(C1)Edom: One keeps calling to me from ^(C2)Seir, "Watchman, ^(F2)how far gone is the night? Watchman, ^(F2)how far gone is the night?"

The watchman says, "Morning comes but also night. If you would inquire, inquire; Come back again."

The pronouncement about ^(C1)Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia you ^(F1)must spend the night, You caravans of ^(C2)Dedanites.

Bring water ^(F1)for the thirsty, You inhabitants of the land of ^(C1)Tema; Meet the fugitive with bread.

For they have ^(C1)fled from the swords, From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, And from the press of battle.

For this is what the Lord said to me: "In a ^(C1)year, as ^(F1)a hired worker would count it, all the splendor of ^(C2)Kedar will come to an end;

and the ^(C1)remainder of the number of bowmen, the warriors of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the LORD God of Israel ^(C2)has spoken."

The pronouncement concerning the ^(C1)valley of vision: What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the ^(C2)housetops?

You who were full of noise, You tumultuous town, you ^(C1)jubilant city; Your dead were ^(C2)not killed with the sword, Nor ^(F1)did they die in battle.

^(C1)All your rulers have fled together, And have been captured ^(F1)without the bow; All of you who were found were taken captive together, ^(F2)Though they had fled far away.

Therefore I say, "Look away from me, Let me ^(C1)weep bitterly, Do not ^(F1)try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."

^(C1)For the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies has a ^(C2)day of panic, ^(C3)subjugation, and confusion ^(C4)In the valley of vision, A breaking down of walls And a crying ^(F2)to the mountain.

^(C1)Elam picked up the quiver, With the chariots, ^(F1)infantry, and horsemen; And ^(C2)Kir uncovered the shield.

Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots, And the horsemen took positions at the gate.

And He removed the ^(F1)defense of Judah. On that day you ^(F2)depended on the weapons of the ^(C1)house of the forest,

And you saw that the breaches In the wall of the city of David were many; And you ^(C1)collected the waters of the lower pool.

Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem And tore down houses to fortify the wall.

And you made a reservoir ^(C1)between the two walls For the waters of the ^(C2)old pool. But you did not ^(F1)depend on Him who made it, Nor did you ^(F2)take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

Therefore on that day the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies called you to ^(C1)weeping, to wailing, To ^(C2)shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth.

Instead, there is ^(C1)joy and jubilation, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: "^(C2)Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die."

But the LORD of armies revealed Himself ^(F1)to me: "Certainly this ^(C1)wrongdoing ^(C2)will not be ^(F2)forgiven you ^(C3)Until you die," says the Lord ^(F3)GOD of armies.

This is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies says: "Come, go to this steward, To ^(C1)Shebna who is in charge of the royal household,

'What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have ^(C1)cut out a tomb for yourself here, You who cut out a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for ^(F1)yourself in the rock?

-'Behold, the LORD is about to hurl you violently, you strong man. And He is about to grasp you firmly

And wrap you up tightly like a ball, To be ^(C1)driven into a vast country; There you will die, And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master's house!'

-"I will ^(C1)depose you from your office, And ^(F1)I will pull you down from your position.

-"Then it will come about on that day, That I will summon My servant ^(C1)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

And I will clothe him with your tunic And tie your sash securely around him. I will hand your ^(F1)authority over to him, And he will become a ^(C1)father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

-"Then I will put ^(C1)the key of the ^(C2)house of David on his shoulder; When he opens, no one will shut, When he shuts, no one will ^(C3)open.

-"I will drive him like a ^(C1)peg in a firm place, And he will become a ^(C2)throne of glory to his father's house.

"So they will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the ^(F1)descendants, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.

"On that day," declares the LORD of armies, "the ^(C1)peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will even ^(C2)break off and fall, and the load that is hanging on it will be cut off, for the ^(C3)LORD has spoken."