Isaiah 18; Isaiah 19; Isaiah 20; Isaiah 21; Isaiah 22

Isaiah 18

1 How terrible it will be for the land beyond the rivers of Cush. It is filled with the sound of wings.

2 That land sends messengers across the sea; they go on the water in boats made of reeds. Go, quick messengers, to a people who are tall and smooth-skinned, who are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations. Their land is divided by rivers.

3 All you people of the world, look! Everyone who lives in the world, look! You will see a banner raised on a mountain. You will hear a trumpet sound.

4 The Lord said to me, "I will quietly watch from where I live, like heat in the sunshine, like the dew in the heat of harvest time."

5 The time will come, after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest, when new grapes will be budding and growing. The enemy will cut the plants with knives; he will cut down the vines and take them away.

6 They will be left for the birds of the mountains and for the wild animals. Birds will feed on them all summer, and wild animals will eat them that winter."

7 At that time a gift will be brought to the Lord All-Powerful from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned, who are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations. Their land is divided by rivers. These gifts will be brought to the place of the Lord All-Powerful, to Mount Zion.

Isaiah 19

1 This is a message about Egypt: Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud to enter Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before him, and Egypt's courage will melt away.

2 The Lord says, "I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves. People will fight with their relatives; neighbors will fight neighbors; cities will fight cities; kingdoms will fight kingdoms.

3 The Egyptians will be afraid, and I will ruin their plans. They will ask advice from their idols and spirits of the dead, from their mediums and fortune-tellers."

4 The Lord God All-Powerful says, "I will hand Egypt over to a hard master, and a powerful king will rule over them."

5 The sea will become dry, and the water will disappear from the Nile River.

6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will decrease and dry up. All the water plants will rot;

7 all the plants along the banks of the Nile will die. will dry up, blow away, and disappear.

8 The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile, will groan and cry; those who fish in the Nile will be sad.

9 All the people who make cloth from flax will be sad, and those who weave linen will lose hope.

10 Those who weave cloth will be broken. All those who work for money will be sad.

11 The officers of the city of Zoan are fools; the wise men who advise the king of Egypt give wrong advice. How can you say to him, 'I am wise'? How can you say, 'I am from the old family of the kings'?

12 Egypt, where are your wise men? Let them show you what the Lord All-Powerful has planned for Egypt.

13 The officers of Zoan have been fooled; the leaders of Memphis have believed false things. lead that nation the wrong way.

14 The Lord has made the leaders confused. They have led Egypt to wander in the wrong ways, like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.

15 There is nothing Egypt can do; no one there can help.

16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his hand to strike them down.

17 The land of Judah will bring fear to Egypt. Anyone there who hears the name Judah will be afraid, because the Lord All-Powerful has planned terrible things for them.

18 At that time five cities in Egypt will speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan, and they will promise to be loyal to the Lord All-Powerful. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction.

19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt and a monument to the Lord at the border of Egypt.

20 This will be a sign and a witness to the Lord All-Powerful in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send someone to save and defend them. He will rescue them from those who hurt them.

21 So the Lord will show himself to the Egyptians, and then they will know he is the Lord. They will worship God and offer many sacrifices. They will make promises to the Lord and will keep them.

22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord, and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.

23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship God together.

24 At that time Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together, which will be a blessing for the earth.

25 The Lord All-Powerful will bless them, saying, "Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!"

Isaiah 20

1 Sargon king of Assyria sent a military com mander to Ashdod to attack that city. So the commander attacked and captured it.

2 Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, "Take the rough cloth off your body, and take your sandals off your feet." So Isaiah obeyed and walked around naked and barefoot.

3 Then the Lord said, "Isaiah my servant has walked around naked and barefoot for three years as a sign against Egypt and Cush.

4 The king of Assyria will carry away prisoners from Egypt and Cush. Old people and young people will be led away naked and barefoot, with their buttocks bare. So the Egyptians will be shamed.

5 People who looked to Cush for help will be afraid, and those who were amazed by Egypt's glory will be shamed.

6 People who live near the sea will say, 'Look at those countries. We trusted them to help us. We ran to them so they would save us from the king of Assyria. So how will we be able to escape?'"

Isaiah 21

1 This is a message about the Desert by the Sea: Disaster is coming from the desert like wind blowing in the south. It is coming from a terrible country.

2 I have seen a terrible vision. I see traitors turning against you and people taking your wealth. Elam, attack the people! Media, surround the city and attack it! I will bring an end to the pain the city causes.

3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am in pain; my pains are like the pains of giving birth. What I hear makes me very afraid; what I see causes me to shake with fear.

4 I am worried, and I am shaking with fear. My pleasant evening has become a night of fear.

5 They set the table; they spread the rugs; they eat and drink. Leaders, stand up. Prepare the shields for battle!

6 The Lord said to me, "Go, place a lookout for the city and have him report what he sees.

7 If he sees chariots and teams of horses, donkeys, or camels, he should pay very close attention."

8 Then the lookout called out, "My master, each day I stand in the watchtower watching; every night I have been on guard.

9 Look, I see a man coming in a chariot with a team of horses." The man gives back the answer, "Babylon has fallen. It has fallen! All the statues of her gods lie broken on the ground."

10 My people are crushed like grain on the threshing floor. My people, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord All-Powerful, from the God of Israel.

11 This is a message about Dumah: Someone calls to me from Edom, "Watchman, how much of the night is left? Watchman, how much longer will it be night?"

12 The watchman answers, "Morning is coming, but then night will come again. If you have something to ask, then come back and ask."

13 This is a message about Arabia: spent the night near some trees in Arabia.

14 They gave water to thirsty travelers; the people of Tema gave food to those who were escaping.

15 They were running from swords, from swords ready to kill, from bows ready to shoot, from a hard battle.

16 This is what the Lord said to me: "In one year all the glory of the country of Kedar will be gone. (This is a year as a hired helper counts time.)

17 At that time only a few of the archers, the soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive." The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

Isaiah 22

1 This is a message about the Valley of Vision: What is wrong with you people? Why are you on your roofs?

2 This city was a very busy city, full of noise and wild parties. Now your people have been killed, but not with swords, nor did they die in battle.

3 All your leaders ran away together, but they have been captured without using a bow. All you who were captured tried to run away before the enemy came.

4 So I say, "Don't look at me. Let me cry loudly. Don't hurry to comfort me about the destruction of Jerusalem."

5 The Lord God All-Powerful has chosen a special day of riots and confusion. People will trample each other in the Valley of Vision. The city walls will be knocked down, and the people will cry out to the mountain.

6 The soldiers from Elam will gather their arrows and their chariots and men on horses. Kir will prepare their shields.

7 Your nicest valleys will be filled with chariots. Horsemen will be ordered to guard the gates of the city.

8 The walls protecting Judah will fall. the weapons kept at the Palace of the Forest.

9 You saw that the walls of Jerusalem had many cracks that needed repairing. You stored up water in the lower pool.

10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you tore down houses to repair the walls with their stones.

11 You made a pool between the two walls to save water from the old pool, but you did not trust the God who made these things; you did not respect the One who planned them long ago.

12 The Lord God All-Powerful told the people to cry and be sad, to shave their heads and wear rough cloth.

13 But look, the people are happy and are having wild parties. They kill the cattle and the sheep; they eat the food and drink the wine. They say, "Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die."

14 The Lord All-Powerful said to me: "You people will die before this guilt is forgiven." The Lord God All-Powerful said this.

15 This is what the Lord God All-Powerful says: "Go to this servant Shebna, the manager of the palace.

16 Say to him, 'What are you doing here? Who said you could cut out a tomb for your self here? Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place? Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock?

17 Look, mighty one! The Lord will throw you away. He will take firm hold of you

18 and roll you tightly into a ball and throw you into another country. There you will die, and there your fine chariots will remain. You are a disgrace to your master's house.

19 I will force you out of your important job, and you will be thrown down from your important place.'

20 "At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

21 I will take your robe and put it on him and give him your belt. I will hand over to him the important job you have, and he will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and the family of Judah.

22 I will put the key to the house of David around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it; if he closes a door, no one will be able to open it.

23 He will be like an honored chair in his father's house. I will make him strong like a peg that is hammered into a strong board.

24 All the honored and important things of his family will depend on him; all the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on him.

25 "At that time," says the Lord All-Powerful, "the peg hammered into the strong board will weaken. It will break and fall, and everything hanging on it will be destroyed." The Lord says this.