Through My Bible Yr 01 – December 28

Through My Bible – December 28

Isaiah 30:18 – 32:20 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

¹⁸ But the Lord is eager to be gracious to you.
He waits on high to have mercy on you,
for the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all those who long for him.

²⁷ Look! The name of the Lord is coming from far away,
burning with anger, in a column of thick smoke.
His lips are full of anger,
and his tongue is a consuming fire.
²⁸ His breath is a stream at flood stage,
surging all the way up to your neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve to destroy them,
and he puts a bridle in their mouths to lead them to destruction.
²⁹ You will sing as you do on the night of a holy festival,
    with glad hearts,
as when they go up with flutes to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.
³⁰ The Lord will cause the majestic splendor of his voice to be heard.
He will make them see his arm come crashing down in fierce anger,
like the flames of a consuming fire,
like driving rain, a furious storm with hailstones.
³¹ The voice of the Lord will terrify Assyria.
He will strike it with his rod.
³² Every stroke of the punishing rod ^[4] which the Lord will lay on them
    will be accompanied by the music of drums and lyres.
He himself will fight, battling them, swinging weapons.
³³ Topheth has long been made ready.
It is prepared for the king,
a flaming funeral pyre, deep and wide, with plenty of wood.
The breath of the Lord, like a river of liquid fire, sets it ablaze.

¹ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,

who put their faith in horses,
who trust in chariots because there are many of them,
who trust in charioteers ^[5] because they are very powerful.
They do not trust in the Holy One of Israel.
They do not seek the Lord.
² The Lord is wise, and he will bring disaster.
He will not go back on his word,
but he will deal with those who do evil,
and with those who help the wicked.
³ The Egyptians are merely men, not gods.
Their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand to punish,
both the helper and the one seeking help will fall.
Together they will perish.

⁴ This is what the Lord said to me:
    When a lion or a young lion snarls over its prey,
    and a band of shepherds is called out to drive it away,
    it is not afraid of their shouts,
    and it is not bothered by the noise they make.
    In the same way, the Lord of Armies will fearlessly come down
        to fight on Mount Zion and on its heights.
⁵ Like a hovering ^[6] bird,
the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem.
He will protect it and deliver it.
He will pass over it and preserve it.
⁶ O people of Israel, return to the one you have so completely betrayed. ⁷ In that day every one of you will throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—things you made, which caused you to sin.

⁸ Assyria will fall, but not by a human sword.
A sword will devour him, but not one wielded by men.
He will flee from the sword,
but his young men will be forced into slavery.
⁹ His rocky stronghold will pass away because of fear,
and his officials will abandon their banner in panic,
declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion,
whose blast furnace is in Jerusalem.

¹ See, a king will reign in righteousness,

and officials will govern with justice.
² Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water for a dry place,
like the shade of a massive cliff in a parched land.
³ The eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
⁴ Hasty hearts ^[7] will gain understanding,
and stammering tongues will speak clearly.

⁵ The fool will no longer be called noble,
nor will rogues be treated like respectable people. ^[8]
6 The fool speaks folly,
and his heart plots evil:
to do what is ungodly,
to tell lies about the Lord,
to deny food to the hungry,
and to refuse even one drink for the thirsty.
⁷ The rogue’s ways are evil.
He plots evil to ruin the humble with lies,
even when the poor speak with justice.

⁸ But the noble man plans noble deeds,
and by noble deeds he stands.

⁹ Get up, you complacent women, and listen!
You carefree girls, hear what I have to say!
¹⁰ In a little more than a year, you carefree women will be worried,
because the grape harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
¹¹ Tremble, you complacent women!
Be worried, you carefree girls!
Strip yourselves naked,
and put sackcloth around your waist.
¹² Beat your breasts in mourning
    for the pleasant fields,
    for the fruitful vines,
¹³ because my people’s land will yield only thorns and briers.
Weep for all the houses where you partied,
    in the city where you celebrated.
¹⁴ Then the fortress will be abandoned.
The crowded city will be deserted.
The citadel and the watchtower will become
    rugged ruins ^[9] for a long time,
    enjoyed by wild donkeys,
    and a pasture for flocks,
¹⁵ until the Spirit is poured out on us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
¹⁶ Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness will live in the fertile field.
¹⁷ The result of righteousness will be peace,
and righteousness will bring lasting tranquility and security.
¹⁸ My people will live in a peaceful place,
in secure dwellings,
and in quiet resting places.
¹⁹ Even if hail destroys the forest,
or if the city is totally leveled,
²⁰ how blessed you will be,
as you sow seed beside streams,
and let your cattle and donkeys run free.

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 30:20 The Hebrew reads teachers, perhaps referring to the prophets, but the singular he occurs throughout verses 20-26.
2. Isaiah 30:22 The Hebrew words refer to a cloth stained with menstrual blood. Blood made a person who contacted it ceremonially unclean.
3. Isaiah 30:24 Or seasoned feed
4. Isaiah 30:32 Or the appointed rod
5. Isaiah 31:1 Or horsemen
6. Isaiah 31:5 Or swooping
7. Isaiah 32:4 Or rash minds
8. Isaiah 32:5 Or celebrities
9. Isaiah 32:14 Or animals’ dens