Study Desk

In the year of ^(C1)King Uzziah's death ^(C2)I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

Seraphim were standing above Him, ^(C1)each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew.

And one called out to another and said, "^(C1)Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of armies. The ^(F1)(C2)whole earth is full of His glory."

And the ^(F1)foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the ^(F2)(C1)temple was filling with smoke.

Then I said, "^(C1)Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of ^(C2)unclean lips, And I live among a ^(C3)people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the ^(C4)King, the LORD of armies."

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the ^(C1)altar with tongs.

He ^(C1)touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and ^(C2)your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin."

Then I heard the ^(C1)voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then ^(C2)I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on ^(C1)listening, but do not understand; And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.'

-"^(C1)Make the hearts of this people ^(F1)(C2)insensitive, Their ears ^(F2)dull, And their eyes ^(F3)blind, ^(C3)So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."

Then I said, "Lord, ^(C1)how long?" And He answered, "Until ^(C2)cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,

The LORD has ^(C1)completely removed people, And there ^(F1)are many ^(C2)forsaken places in the midst of the land.

-"Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an ^(C1)oak Whose stump remains when it is cut down. The ^(C2)holy seed is its stump."

Now it came about in the days of ^(C1)Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^(C2)Rezin the king of Aram and ^(C3)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but ^(C4)could not ^(F1)conquer it.

When it was reported to the ^(C1)house of David, saying, "The Arameans ^(C2)have taken a stand by ^(C3)Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake from the wind.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son ^(F1)Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^(C1)conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the ^(F2)fuller's field,

and say to him, 'Take care and be ^(C1)calm, have no ^(C2)fear and ^(C3)do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering ^(C4)logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the ^(C5)son of Remaliah.

'Because ^(C1)Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,

"Let's go up against Judah and ^(F1)terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,"

this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "^(C1)It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.

"For the head of Aram is ^(C1)Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people),

and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. ^(C1)If you will not believe, you certainly shall not ^(F1)last."'"

Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

"Ask for a ^(C1)sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ^(F1)make it deep as Sheol or high as ^(F2)heaven."

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I put the LORD to the test!"

Then he said, "Listen now, ^(C1)house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to ^(F1)try the patience of men, that you will ^(F2)(C2)try the patience of ^(C3)my God as well?

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^(C1)the ^(F1)virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him ^(F2)(C2)Immanuel.

"He will eat ^(F1)(C1)curds and honey ^(F2)at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

"^(C1)For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, ^(C2)the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

"The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have not come since the day that ^(C1)Ephraim separated from Judah—the days of the ^(C2)king of Assyria."

On that day the LORD will ^(C1)whistle for the fly that is in the ^(F1)(C2)remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

They will all come and settle on the steep ^(F1)ravines, on the ^(C1)ledges of the cliffs, ^(C2)on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places.

On that day the Lord will ^(C1)shave with a ^(C2)razor, ^(C3)hired from regions beyond ^(C4)the Euphrates River (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

Now on that day a person may keep alive only a ^(C1)heifer and a pair of sheep;

and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat ^(F1)curds, for everyone who is left within the land will eat ^(F1)(C1)curds and honey.

And it will come about on that day, ^(C1)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become ^(C2)briars and thorns.

People will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be briars and thorns.

As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the plow, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for ^(F1)(C1)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

Then the LORD said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and ^(C1)write on it ^(F1)in ordinary letters: ^(F2)(C2)Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

"And ^(F1)I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, ^(C1)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."

So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him ^(F1)(C1)Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

for ^(C1)before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of ^(C2)Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."

Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying,

"Inasmuch as these people have ^(C1)rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in ^(C2)Rezin and the son of Remaliah;

Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the ^(C1)strong and abundant waters of the ^(C2)Euphrates River, That is, the ^(C3)king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will ^(C4)rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.

-"Then ^(C1)it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will ^(C2)reach as far as the neck; And the spread of its wings will ^(F1)fill the expanse of ^(F2)your land, ^(C3)Immanuel.

"^(C1)Be broken, you peoples, and be ^(F1)(C2)shattered; And listen, all remote places of the earth. ^(F2)Get ready, yet be ^(F1)shattered; ^(F2)Get ready, yet be ^(F1)shattered.

-"^(C1)Devise a plan, but it will fail; State a ^(F1)proposal, but ^(C2)it will not stand, For ^(F2)(C3)God is with us."

For so the LORD spoke to me ^(F1)with ^(C1)mighty power and instructed me ^(C2)not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

"You are not to say, 'It is a ^(C1)conspiracy!' Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy, And ^(C2)you are not to fear ^(F1)what they fear or be in dread of it.

-"It is the ^(C1)LORD of armies ^(C2)whom you are to regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.

-"Then He will become a ^(C1)sanctuary; But to both houses of Israel, He will be a ^(C2)stone of stumbling and a rock ^(F1)of offense, And a snare and a ^(C3)trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

-"Many ^(C1)will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will be snared and caught."

^(C1)Bind up the testimony, ^(C2)seal the ^(F1)Law among ^(C3)my disciples.

And I will ^(C1)wait for the LORD ^(C2)who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will wait eagerly for Him.

^(C1)Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for ^(C2)signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of armies, who ^(C3)dwells on Mount Zion.

When they say to you, "^(C1)Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should a people not ^(C2)consult their God? Should they ^(C3)consult the dead in behalf of the living?

To the ^(F1)(C1)Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because ^(C2)they have no dawn.

They will pass through ^(F1)the land ^(C1)dejected and hungry, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will become enraged and curse ^(F2)their king and their God as they face upward.

Then they will ^(C1)look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be ^(C2)driven away into darkness.

^(F1)But there will be no more ^(C1)gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He ^(C2)treated the ^(C3)land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the ^(F2)Gentiles.

^(F1)(C1)The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.

^(C1)You will multiply the nation, You ^(C2)will ^(F1)increase ^(F2)their joy; They will rejoice in Your presence As with the joy ^(F3)of harvest, As people ^(C3)rejoice when they divide the spoils.

For ^(C1)You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their ^(C2)oppressor, as ^(F1)at the battle of ^(C3)Midian.

For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

For a ^(C1)Child will be born to us, a ^(C2)Son will be given to us; And the ^(C3)government will ^(F1)rest ^(C4)on His shoulders; And His name will be called ^(C5)Wonderful Counselor, ^(C6)Mighty God, Eternal ^(C7)Father, Prince of ^(C8)Peace.

There will be ^(C1)no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the ^(C2)throne of David and over ^(F1)his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with ^(C3)justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. ^(C4)The zeal of the LORD of armies will accomplish this.

The Lord sends a ^(F1)message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel.

And all the people know it, That is, ^(C1)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in ^(C2)arrogance of heart:

"The bricks have fallen down, But we will ^(C1)rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars."

Therefore the LORD raises superior adversaries against them from ^(C1)Rezin And provokes their enemies,

The Arameans from the east and the ^(C1)Philistines from the west; And they ^(C2)devour Israel with ^(F1)gaping jaws. ^(C3)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.

Yet the people ^(C1)do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they ^(C2)seek the LORD of armies.

So the LORD cuts off ^(C1)head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush ^(C2)in a single day.

The head is ^(C1)the elder and esteemed man, And the prophet who teaches ^(C2)falsehood is the tail.

^(C1)For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are ^(F1)confused.

Therefore the Lord does ^(C1)not rejoice over their young men, ^(C2)Nor does He have compassion on their ^(F1)orphans or their widows; For every one of them is ^(C3)godless and an ^(C4)evildoer, And every ^(C5)mouth is speaking foolishness. ^(C6)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.

^(C1)For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns; It also sets the thickets of the forest aflame And they roll upward in a column of smoke.

By the ^(C1)wrath of the LORD of armies the ^(C2)land is burned, And the ^(C3)people are like fuel for the fire; No ^(C4)one spares his brother.

^(F1)They devour what is on the right hand but are still ^(C1)hungry, And ^(F2)they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the ^(C2)flesh of his own arm.

Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, ^(C1)And together they are against Judah. ^(C2)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to those who ^(C1)enact unjust statutes And to those who constantly record ^(F1)harmful decisions,

So as ^(C1)to ^(F1)deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor among My people of their rights, So ^(C2)that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the ^(F2)orphans.

Now ^(C1)what will you do in the ^(C2)day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come ^(C3)from afar? ^(C4)To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?

Nothing remains but to crouch ^(F1)among the ^(C1)captives Or fall ^(F1)among those ^(C2)killed. ^(C3)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to ^(C1)Assyria, the ^(C2)rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is ^(C3)My indignation,

I send it against a ^(C1)godless nation And commission it against the ^(C2)people of My fury To capture spoils and ^(C3)to seize plunder, And to ^(F1)trample them down like ^(C4)mud in the streets.

Yet it ^(C1)does not so intend, Nor does ^(F1)it plan so in its heart, But rather it is ^(F2)its purpose to destroy And to eliminate ^(F3)many nations.

For it says, "Are not my officers ^(F1)all kings?

-"Is not ^(C1)Calno like ^(C2)Carchemish, Or ^(C3)Hamath like Arpad, Or ^(C4)Samaria like ^(C5)Damascus?

-"As my hand has reached to the ^(C1)kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

Shall I not do the same to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(C1)her idols?"

So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(C1)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will ^(F1)punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(C2)the arrogant pride of his eyes."

For ^(C1)he has said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I ^(C2)removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down ^(F1)their inhabitants,

And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a ^(C1)nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped."

Is the ^(C1)axe to ^(C2)boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like ^(C3)a ^(F1)club wielding those who lift it, Or like ^(C3)a rod lifting the one who is not wood.

Therefore the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will send a ^(C1)wasting disease among his ^(C2)stout warriors; And under his ^(C3)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

And the ^(C1)Light of Israel will become a fire and ^(F1)Israel's ^(C2)Holy One a flame, And it will ^(C3)burn and devour ^(F2)his thorns and his briars in a single day.

And He will ^(C1)destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.

And the ^(C1)rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down.

Now on that day the ^(C1)remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^(C2)who have escaped, will no longer rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^(C3)rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

A ^(C1)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(C2)mighty God.

For ^(C1)though your people, Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A ^(C2)destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

For a complete destruction, one that is determined, ^(C1)the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies will execute in the midst of the whole land.

Therefore this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies says: "My people, you who dwell in ^(C1)Zion, ^(C2)do not fear the Assyrian ^(F2)who ^(C3)strikes you with the rod, and lifts up his staff against you the way Egypt did.

"For in a very ^(C1)little while ^(C2)My indignation against you will be ended and My anger will be directed toward their destruction."

The LORD of armies will ^(C1)wield a whip against him like the defeat of ^(C2)Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^(C3)staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up ^(C4)the way He did in Egypt.

So it will be on that day, that ^(F1)his ^(C1)burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because ^(C2)of fatness.

He has come against Aiath, He has passed through ^(C1)Migron; At ^(C2)Michmash he deposited his ^(C3)baggage.

They have gone through ^(C1)the pass, saying, "^(C2)Geba will be our encampment for the night." ^(C3)Ramah is terrified, and ^(C4)Gibeah of Saul has fled.

Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of ^(C1)Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and ^(F1)wretched ^(C2)Anathoth!

Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.

Yet today he will halt at ^(C1)Nob; He ^(C2)shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^(F1)(C3)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

Behold, the Lord, the ^(F1)GOD of armies, will lop off the branches with terrifying power; Those also who are ^(C1)tall in stature will be cut down, And those who are lofty will be brought low.

He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And ^(C1)Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.