Study Desk

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

Seraphim stood above Him, ^(c)each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one called out to another and said, "^(d)Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The ^[a](e)whole earth is full of His glory."

And the ^[b]foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the ^[c](f)temple was filling with smoke.

Then I said, "^(g)Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of ^(h)unclean lips, And I live among a ⁽ⁱ⁾people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the ^(j)King, the Lord of hosts."

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

He ^(l)touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and ^(m)your iniquity is taken away and your sin is ^[d]forgiven."

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

He said, "Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on ^(p)listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.'

"^(q)Render the hearts of this people ^[e](r)insensitive, Their ears ^[f]dull, And their eyes ^[g]dim, ^(s)Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."

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

"The Lord has ^(v)removed men far away, And the ^[h](w)forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

"Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an ^(x)oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The ^(y)holy seed is its stump."

Now it came about in the days of ^(a)Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that ^(b)Rezin the king of Aram and ^(c)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but ^(d)could not ^[a]conquer it.

When it was reported to the ^(e)house of David, saying, "The Arameans ^[b](f)have camped in ^(g)Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake ^[c]with the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son ^[d]Shear-jashub, at the end of the ^(h)conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the ^[e]fuller's field,

and say to him, ‘Take care and be ⁽ⁱ⁾calm, have no ^(j)fear and ^(k)do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering ^(l)firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the ^(m)son of Remaliah.

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

"Let us go up against Judah and ^[f]terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in ^[g]its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,"

thus says the Lord ^[h] God : "^(o)It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.

For the head of Aram is ^(p)Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, 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. ^(q)If you will not believe, you surely shall not ^[i]last."'"

Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

"Ask a ^(r)sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ^[j]make it deep as Sheol or high as ^[k]heaven."

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord !"

Then he said, "Listen now, O ^(s)house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will ^(t)try the patience of ^(u)my God as well?

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, ^(v)a ^[l]virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name ^[m](w)Immanuel.

He will eat ^(x)curds and honey ^[n]at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

^(y)For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, ^(z)the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have never come since the day that ^(aa)Ephraim separated from Judah, the ^(ab)king of Assyria."

In that day the Lord will ^(ac)whistle for the fly that is in the ^[o](ad)remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

They will all come and settle on the steep ^[p]ravines, on the ^(ae)ledges of the cliffs, ^(af)on all the thorn bushes and on all the ^[q]watering places.

In that day the Lord will ^(ag)shave with a ^(ah)razor, ^(ai)hired from regions beyond ^(aj)the ^[r]Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.

Now in that day a man may keep alive a ^(ak)heifer and a pair of sheep;

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

And it will come about in that day, ^(am)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become ^(an)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 hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for ^[s](ao)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

Then the Lord said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and ^(a)write on it ^[a]in ordinary letters: ^[b](b)Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.

And ^[c]I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, ^(c)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 ^[d](d)Maher-shalal-hash-baz;

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

Again the Lord spoke to me further, saying,

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

"Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the ⁽ⁱ⁾strong and abundant waters of the ^[e](j)Euphrates, Even the ^(k)king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will ^(l)rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.

"Then ^(m)it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will ⁽ⁿ⁾reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will ^[f]fill the breadth of ^[g]your land, O ^(o)Immanuel.

"^(p)Be broken, O peoples, and be ^[h](q)shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be ^[i]shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be ^[j]shattered.

"^(r)Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a ^[k]proposal, but ^(s)it will not stand, For ^[l](t)God is with us."

For thus the Lord spoke to me ^[m]with ^(u)mighty power and instructed me ^(v)not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

"You are not to say, ‘It is a ^(w)conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And ^(x)you are not to fear ^[n]what they fear or be in dread of it.

"It is the ^(y) Lord of hosts ^(z)whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.

"Then He shall become a ^(aa)sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a ^(ab)stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a ^(ac)trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

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

^(ae)Bind up the testimony, ^(af)seal the ^[o]law among ^(ag)my disciples.

And I will ^(ah)wait for the Lord ^(ai)who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him.

^(aj)Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for ^(ak)signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who ^(al)dwells on Mount Zion.

When they say to you, "^(am)Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people ^(an)consult their God? Should they ^(ao)consult the dead on behalf of the living?

To the ^[p](ap)law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because ^(aq)they have no dawn.

They will pass through ^[q]the land ^(ar)hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse ^[r]their king and their God as they face upward.

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

^[a]But there will be no more ^(a)gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He ^(b)treated the ^(c)land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the ^[b]Gentiles.

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

^(e)You shall multiply the nation, You ^(f)shall ^[d]increase ^[e]their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness ^[f]of harvest, As ^[g](g)men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For ^(h)You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their ⁽ⁱ⁾oppressor, as ^[h]at the battle of ^(j)Midian.

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

For a ^(k)child will be born to us, a ^(l)son will be given to us; And the ^(m)government will ^[i]rest ⁽ⁿ⁾on His shoulders; And His name will be called ^(o)Wonderful Counselor, ^(p)Mighty God, Eternal ^(q)Father, Prince of ^(r)Peace.

There will be ^(s)no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the ^(t)throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with ^(u)justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. ^(v)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

The Lord sends a ^[j]message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel.

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

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

Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from ^(z)Rezin And spurs their enemies on,

The Arameans on the east and the ^(aa)Philistines on the west; And they ^(ab)devour Israel with ^[k]gaping jaws. ^(ac)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Yet the people ^(ad)do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they ^(ae)seek the Lord of hosts.

So the Lord cuts off ^(af)head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush ^(ag)in a single day.

The head is ^(ah)the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches ^(ai)falsehood is the tail.

^(aj)For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are ^[l]brought to confusion.

Therefore the Lord does ^(ak)not take pleasure in their young men, ^(al)Nor does He have pity on their ^[m]orphans or their widows; For every one of them is ^(am)godless and an ^(an)evildoer, And every ^(ao)mouth is speaking foolishness. ^(ap)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

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

By the ^(ar)fury of the Lord of hosts the ^(as)land is burned up, And the ^(at)people are like fuel for the fire; No ^(au)man spares his brother.

^[n]They slice off what is on the right hand but still are ^(av)hungry, And ^[o]they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the ^(aw)flesh of his own arm.

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

Woe to those who ^(a)enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record ^[a]unjust decisions,

So as ^(b)to ^[b]deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So ^(c)that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the ^[c]orphans.

Now ^(d)what will you do in the ^(e)day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come ^(f)from afar? ^(g)To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your ^[d]wealth?

Nothing remains but to crouch ^[e]among the ^(h)captives Or fall ^[f]among the ⁽ⁱ⁾slain. ^(j)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Woe to ^(k)Assyria, the ^(l)rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is ^(m)My indignation,

I send it against a ⁽ⁿ⁾godless nation And commission it against the ^(o)people of My fury To capture booty and ^(p)to seize plunder, And to ^[g]trample them down like ^(q)mud in the streets.

Yet it ^(r)does not so intend, Nor does ^[h]it plan so in its heart, But rather it is ^[i]its purpose to destroy And to cut off ^[j]many nations.

For it says, "Are not my princes ^[k]all kings?

"Is not ^(s)Calno like ^(t)Carchemish, Or ^(u)Hamath like Arpad, Or ^(v)Samaria like ^(w)Damascus?

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

Shall I not ^[l]do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and ^(y)her idols?"

So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His ^(z)work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will ^[m]punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and ^(aa)the pomp of ^[n]his haughtiness."

For ^(ab)he has said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding; And I ^(ac)removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a mighty man I brought down ^[o]their inhabitants,

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

Is the ^(ae)axe to ^(af)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 ^(ag)a ^[p]club wielding those who lift it, Or like ^(ah)a rod lifting him who is not wood.

Therefore the Lord, the ^[q] God of hosts, will send a ^(ai)wasting disease among his ^(aj)stout warriors; And under his ^(ak)glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

And the ^(al)light of Israel will become a fire and his ^(am)Holy One a flame, And it will ^(an)burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

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

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

Now in that day the ^(aq)remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob ^(ar)who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly ^(as)rely on the Lord , the Holy One of Israel.

A ^(at)remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the ^(au)mighty God.

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

For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, ^(ax)the Lord ^[r] God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.

Therefore thus says the Lord ^[s] God of hosts, "O My people who dwell in ^(ay)Zion, ^(az)do not fear the Assyrian ^[t]who ^(ba)strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did.

For in a very ^(bb)little while ^(bc)My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction."

The Lord of hosts will ^(bd)arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of ^(be)Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His ^(bf)staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up ^(bg)the way He did in Egypt.

So it will be in that day, that ^[u]his ^(bh)burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because ^(bi)of fatness.

He has come against Aiath, He has passed through ^(bj)Migron; At ^(bk)Michmash he deposited his ^(bl)baggage.

They have gone through ^(bm)the pass, saying, "^(bn)Geba will be our lodging place." ^(bo)Ramah is terrified, and ^(bp)Gibeah of Saul has fled away.

Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of ^(bq)Gallim! Pay attention, Laishah and ^[v]wretched ^(br)Anathoth!

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

Yet today he will halt at ^(bs)Nob; He ^(bt)shakes his fist at the mountain of the ^[w](bu)daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

Behold, the Lord, the ^[x] God of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash; Those also who are ^(bv)tall in stature will be cut down And those who are lofty will be abased.

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