Isaiah 34; Isaiah 35; Isaiah 36; Colossians 2

1 Nations, come near and listen to me! Pay attention to what I'm about to say. Let the earth and everything in it listen. Let the world and everything that comes out of it pay attention.

2 The LORD is angry with all of the nations. His anger burns against all of their armies. He will totally destroy them. He will have them killed.

3 Those who are killed won't be buried. Their dead bodies will be thrown on the ground. They will give off a very bad smell. Their blood will cover the mountains.

4 All of the stars in the heavens will vanish. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll. All of the stars in the sky will fall like dried-up leaves from a vine. They will drop like wrinkled figs from a fig tree.

5 The sword of the LORD will finish its deadly work in the sky. Then it will come down to strike Edom. He will totally destroy that nation.

6 His sword will be red with blood. It will be covered with fat. The blood will flow like the blood of lambs and goats being sacrificed. The fat will be like the fat taken from the kidneys of rams. That's because the LORD will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will kill many people in Edom.

7 The people and their leaders will be killed like wild oxen and young bulls. Their land will be wet with their blood. The dust will be covered with their fat.

8 That's because the LORD has set aside a day to pay Edom back. He has set aside a year to pay them back for what they did to the city of Zion.

9 The streams of Edom will be turned into tar. Its dust will be turned into blazing sulfur. Its land will become burning tar.

10 The fire will keep burning night and day. It can't be put out. Its smoke will go up forever. Edom will lie empty for all time to come. No one will ever travel through it again.

11 The desert owl and screech owl will make it their home. The great owl and the raven will build their nests there. God will use his measuring line to show how completely Edom will be destroyed. He will use his plumb line to show how empty Edom will become.

12 Edom's nobles won't have anything left there that can be called a kingdom. All of its princes will vanish.

13 Thorns will cover its forts. Bushes and weeds will cover its safest places. It will become a home for wild dogs. It will become a place where owls live.

14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas. Wild goats will call out to each other. Night creatures will also sleep there. They will find places where they can rest.

15 Owls will make their nests and lay their eggs there. And they will hatch them. They will take care of their little ones under the shadow of their wings. Male and female falcons will also gather there.

16 Look in the scroll of the Lord. There you will read that none of those animals will be missing. Male and female alike will be there. The LORD himself has commanded it. And his Spirit will gather them together.

17 The LORD will decide what part of the land goes to each animal. Then he will give each one its share. It will belong to them forever. And they will live there for all time to come.

1 The desert and the dry ground will be glad. The dry places will be full of joy. Flowers will grow there. Like the first crocus in the spring,

2 the desert will bloom with flowers. It will be very glad and shout with joy. The glorious beauty of Lebanon will be given to it. It will be as beautiful as the rich lands of Carmel and Sharon. Everyone will see the glory of the Lord. They will see the beauty of our God.

3 Strengthen the hands of those who are weak. Help those whose knees give way.

4 Say to those whose hearts are afraid, "Be strong. Do not fear. Your God will come. He will pay your enemies back. He will come to save you."

5 Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened. The ears of those who can't hear will be unplugged.

6 Those who can't walk will leap like a deer. And those who can't speak will shout with joy. Water will pour out in dry places. Streams will flow in the desert.

7 The burning sand will become a pool of water. The thirsty ground will become bubbling springs. In the places where wild dogs once lay down, tall grass and papyrus will grow.

8 A wide road will go through the land. It will be called The Way of Holiness. Only those who are pure and clean can travel on it. Only those who lead a holy life can use it. Evil and foolish people can't walk on it.

9 No lions will use it. No wild animals will be on it. None of them will be there. Only people who have been set free will walk on it.

10 Those the LORD has saved will return to their land. They will sing as they enter the city of Zion. Joy that lasts forever will be like beautiful crowns on their heads. They will be filled with gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing will be gone.

1 Sennacherib attacked and captured all of the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria.

2 He sent his field commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He sent him along with a large army. The commander stopped at the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. It was on the road to the Washerman's Field.

3 Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to him. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was in charge of the palace. Shebna was the secretary. Joah, the son of Asaph, kept the records.

4 The field commander said to them, "Give Hezekiah this message. Tell him, " 'Sennacherib is the great king of Assyria. He says, "Why are you putting your faith in what your king says?

5 You say you have a military plan. You say you have a strong army. But your words don't mean anything. Who are you depending on? Why don't you want to stay under my control?

6 " ' "You are depending on Egypt. Why are you doing that? Egypt is nothing but a broken papyrus stem. Try leaning on it. It will only cut your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who depends on him.

7 " ' "Suppose you say to me, 'We are depending on the LORD our God.' Didn't Hezekiah remove your god's high places and altars? Didn't Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship at the altar in Jerusalem'?

8 " ' "Come on. Make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I'll give you 2,000 horses. But only if you can put riders on them!

9 You are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen. You can't drive away even the least important officer among my master's officials.

10 " ' "Besides, do you think I've come without being sent by the LORD? Have I come to attack and destroy this land without receiving a message from him? The LORD himself told me to march out against your country. He told me to destroy it." ' "

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah spoke to the field commander. They said, "Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew. If you do, the people who are on the wall will be able to understand you."

12 But the commander replied, "My master sent me to say these things. Are these words only for your master and you to hear? Aren't they also for the men who are sitting on the wall? They are going to suffer just like you. They'll have to eat their own waste. They'll have to drink their own urine."

13 Then the commander stood up and spoke in the Hebrew language. He called out, "Pay attention to what the great king of Assyria is telling you.

14 He says, 'Don't let Hezekiah trick you. He can't save you!

15 Don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord. Don't believe him when he says, "You can be sure that the LORD will save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria." '

16 "Don't listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, 'Make a peace treaty with me. Come over to my side. Then every one of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree. Every one of you will drink water from your own well.

17 You will do that until I come back. Then I'll take you to a land that is just like yours. It's a land that has a lot of grain and fresh wine. It has plenty of bread and vineyards.

18 " 'Don't let Hezekiah fool you. He's telling you a lie when he says, "The LORD will save us." Has the god of any nation ever saved his land from the powerful hand of the king of Assyria?

19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they saved Samaria from my power?

20 Which one of all of the gods of those countries has been able to save his land from me? So how can the LORD save Jerusalem from my power?' "

21 But the people remained silent. They didn't say anything. That's because King Hezekiah had commanded, "Don't answer him."

22 Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, went to Hezekiah. Eliakim was in charge of the palace. The secretary Shebna went with him. So did Joah, the son of Asaph. Joah kept the records. All of them went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn. They told him what the field commander had said.

1 I want you to know how hard I am working for you. I'm concerned for those who are in Laodicea. I'm also concerned for everyone who has not met me in person.

2 I want their hearts to be made cheerful and strong. I want them to be joined together in love. Then their understanding will be rich and complete. They will know the mystery of God. That mystery is Christ.

3 All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him.

4 But I don't want anyone to fool you with fast talk that only sounds good.

5 So even though I am away from you in body, I am with you in spirit. I am glad to see that you are doing everything in good order. And I am happy that your faith in Christ is so strong.

6 You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living in him.

7 Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.

8 Make sure no one captures you. They will try to capture you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic things the people of this world believe. They don't depend on Christ.

9 God's whole nature is living in Christ in human form.

10 Because you belong to Christ, you have everything you need. He is the ruler over every power and authority.

11 When you received Christ, you were also circumcised by putting away your sinful nature. Human hands didn't circumcise you. Christ did.

12 When you were baptized, you were buried together with him. You were raised to life together with him by believing in God's power. God raised Jesus from the dead.

13 At one time you were dead in your sins. Your sinful nature was not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all of our sins.

14 He wiped out the written Law with its rules. The Law was against us. It opposed us. He took it away and nailed it to the cross.

15 He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He made a public show of them. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross.

16 So don't let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don't let anyone judge you about holy days. I'm talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days.

17 They are only a shadow of the things that were going to come. But what is real is found in Christ.

18 Some people enjoy pretending they aren't proud. They worship angels. But don't let people like that hold you back from winning the prize. They tell you every little thing about what they have seen. Their minds are not guided by the Holy Spirit. So they are proud of their useless ideas.

19 They aren't connected to the Head. But the whole body grows from the Head. The muscles and tendons hold the body together. And God causes it to grow.

20 The people of the world believe certain basic things. You died with Christ as far as things like that are concerned. So why do you act as if you still belong to the world? Here are the rules you follow.

21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"

22 Rules like that are all going to die out as time goes by. They are only based on human rules and teachings.

23 It is true that those rules seem wise. Because of them, people give themselves over to their own kind of worship. They pretend they aren't proud. They treat their bodies very badly. But rules like that don't help. They don't stop people from chasing after sinful pleasures.