Isaiah

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1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah.1

Obedience, not Sacrifice

Purifying Judgment

The Future Glory of Jerusalem

2:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz.1

The Lord's Day of Judgment

A Coming Leadership Crisis

Washing Away Impurity

3:1846 At that time47 the sovereign master will remove the glitter48 of the ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets,49 amulets, 3:21 rings, nose rings, 3:22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns.50

The Branch of the Lord

A Love Song Gone Sour

Disaster is Coming

Isaiah's Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah's death,1 I saw the sovereign master2 seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs3 stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,4 and they used the remaining two to fly. 6:3 They called out to one another, "The LORD who leads armies5 has absolute sovereign authority!6 His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!" 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames,7 and the temple was filled with smoke.

6:5 I said, "Too bad for me! I am destroyed,8 for my lips are contaminated by sin,9 and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.10 My eyes have seen the king, the LORD who leads armies."11 6:6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven."12 6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, "Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?"13 I answered, "Here I am, send me!" 6:9 He said, "Go and tell these people:

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to attack1 it.

7:2 It was reported to the family2 of David, "Syria has allied with3 Ephraim." They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.4 7:3 So the LORD told Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-jashub5 and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.6 7:4 Tell him, `Make sure you stay calm!7 Don't be afraid! Don't be intimidated8 by these two stubs of smoking logs,9 or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 7:5 Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise.10 7:6 They say, "Let's attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it.11 Then we'll set up the son of Tabeel as its king."12 7:7 For this reason the sovereign master,13 the LORD, says:

7:10 The LORD again spoke to Ahaz: 7:11 "Ask for a confirming sign from the LORD your God. You can even ask for something miraculous."16 7:12 But Ahaz responded, "I don't want to ask; I don't want to put the LORD to a test."17 7:13 So Isaiah replied,18 "Pay attention,19 family20 of David.21 Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? 7:14 For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign.22 Look, this23 young woman24 is about to conceive25 and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him26 Immanuel.27 7:15 He will eat sour milk28 and honey, which will help him know how29 to reject evil and choose what is right. 7:16 Here is why this will be so:30 Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land31 whose two kings you fear, will be desolate.32 7:17 The LORD will bring on you, your people, and your father's family a time33 unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah--the king of Assyria!34

7:18 At that time35 the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.36 7:19 All of them will come and make their home37 in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes.38 7:20 At that time39 the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River,40 the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair;41 it will also shave off the beard. 7:21 At that time42 a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats. 7:22 From the abundance of milk they produce, he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey. 7:23 At that time43 every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun44 with thorns and briers. 7:24 With bow and arrow45 men will hunt46 there, for the whole land will be covered47 with thorns and briers. 7:25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers.48 Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.49

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The LORD told me, "Take a large tablet1 and inscribe these words2 on it with an ordinary stylus:3 `Maher Shalal Hash Baz.'4 8:2 Then I will summon5 as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah." 8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD told me, "Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz, 8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, `My father' or `My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."6

8:5 The LORD spoke to me again: 8:6 "These people7 have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah8 and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah.9 8:7 So look, the sovereign master10 is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River11--the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks.12 8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land,13 O Immanuel."14

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the LORD told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people:20

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:191They will say to you, "Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations.2 Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?"3 8:20 Then you must recall the LORD's instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen.4 Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened.5 8:21 They will pass through the land6 destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God7 as they look upward. 8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees8 distress and darkness, gloom9 and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land.10 9:1 (8:23)11 The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious.12

God's Judgment Intensifies

The Lord Turns on Arrogant Assyria

10:12 But when the sovereign master20 finishes judging21 Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I22 will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays.23 10:13 For he says:

10:20 At that time38 those left in Israel, those who remain of the family39 of Jacob, will no longer rely on one who abuses them.40 Instead they will truly41 rely on the LORD, Israel's sovereign king.42 10:21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.43 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as44 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back.45 Destruction has been decreed;46 just punishment47 is about to engulf you.48 10:23 The sovereign master, the LORD who leads armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land.49

10:24 So50 here is what the sovereign master, the LORD who leads armies, says: "My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did.51 10:25 For very soon my fury52 will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction. 10:26 The LORD who leads armies is about to beat them53 with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb.54 He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.55

An Ideal King Establishes a Kingdom of Peace

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time26 a root from Jesse27 will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance,28 and his residence will be majestic. 11:11 At that time29 the sovereign master30 will again lift his hand31 to reclaim32 the remnant of his people33 from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros,34 Cush,35 Elam, Shinar,36 Hamath, and the seacoasts.37

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

14:1 The LORD will certainly have compassion on Jacob;2 he will again choose Israel as his special people3 and restore4 them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family5 of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the LORD's land.6 They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 14:3 When the LORD gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:7

The Lord Will Judge the Philistines

14:28 In the year King Ahaz died,60 this message was revealed:61

The Lord Will Judge Moab

16:13 This is the message the LORD previously announced about Moab. 16:14 Now the LORD makes this announcement: "Within exactly three years27 Moab's splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left."28

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

The Lord Will Judge a Distant Land in the South

The Lord Will Judge Egypt

19:16 At that time26 the Egyptians27 will be like women.28 They will tremble and fear because the LORD who leads armies brandishes his fist against them.29 19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the LORD who leads armies is planning to do to them.30

19:18 At that time31 five cities32 in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD who leads armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.33 19:19 At that time34 there will be an altar for the LORD in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar35 dedicated to the LORD at its border. 19:20 It36 will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of37 the LORD who leads armies. When they cry out to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender38 who will rescue them. 19:21 The LORD will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they39 will acknowledge the LORD's authority40 at that time.41 They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them. 19:22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the LORD and he will listen to their prayers42 and heal them.

19:23 At that time43 there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.44 19:24 At that time45 Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing46 in the earth.47 19:25 The LORD who leads armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying,48 "Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession,49 Israel!"

20:1 The LORD revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it.1 20:2 At that time the LORD announced through2 Isaiah son of Amoz: "Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet." He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments3 and barefoot. 20:3 Later the LORD explained, "In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated.4 20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed.5 20:6 At that time6 those who live on this coast7 will say, `Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?'"

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

Bad News for Seir

The Lord Will Judge Arabia

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master24 has told me: "Within exactly one year25 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left."26 Indeed,27 the LORD God of Israel has spoken.

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

22:14 The LORD who leads armies told me this:34 "Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,"35 says the sovereign master, the LORD who leads armies.

22:20 "At that time48 I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 22:21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him.49 He will become a protector of50 the residents of Jerusalem and of the people51 of Judah. 22:22 I will place the key52 to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. 22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place;53 he will bring honor and respect to his father's family.54 22:24 His father's family will gain increasing prominence because of him,55 including the offspring and the offshoots.56 All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.'57

22:25 "At that time,"58 says the LORD who leads armies, "the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off."59 Indeed,60 the LORD has spoken.

The LORD Will Judge Tyre

23:15 At that time29 Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years,30 the typical life span of a king.31 At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song:32

23:17 At the end of seventy years the LORD will revive34 Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth's kingdoms.35 23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the LORD. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the LORD's presence and used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes.36

The LORD Will Judge the Earth

The Lord Will Become King

Judah Will Celebrate

God's People Anticipate Vindication

27:12 At that time32 the LORD will shake the tree,33 from the Euphrates River34 to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites.35 27:13 At that time36 a large37 trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost38 in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in39 the land of Egypt. They will worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

The LORD Will Judge Samaria

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

Ariel is Besieged

God's People are Spiritually Insensitive

29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation20 is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read21 and say, "Read this," he responds, "I can't, because it is sealed." 29:12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can't read22 and say, "Read this," he says, "I can't read."23

Changes are Coming

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

Egypt Will Disappoint

The Lord Will Defend Zion

31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled!17 31:7 For at that time18 everyone will get rid of19 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made.20

Justice and Wisdom Will Prevail

The Lord Will Give True Security

The Lord Will Restore Zion

The Lord Will Judge Edom

Total Transformation

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser1 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser2 stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.3 36:3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.

36:4 The chief adviser said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: `This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: "What is your source of confidence?4 36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.5 In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 36:6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, `We are trusting in the LORD our God.' But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, `You must worship at this altar.' 36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master's minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.6 36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the LORD that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The LORD told me, `March up against this land and destroy it!'"'"7

36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, "Speak to your servants in Aramaic,8 for we understand it. Don't speak with us in the Judahite dialect9 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall." 36:12 But the chief adviser said, "My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you.10 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!"11

36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,12 "Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 36:14 This is what the king says: `Don't let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 36:15 Don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the LORD by saying, "The LORD will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria." 36:16 Don't listen to Hezekiah!' For this is what the king of Assyria says, `Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me.13 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own--a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, "The LORD will rescue us." Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?14 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?15 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?16 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?'"17 36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, "Don't respond to him."

36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn1 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD's temple. 37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,2 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 37:3 "This is what Hezekiah says:3 `This is a day of distress, insults,4 and humiliation,5 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.6 37:4 Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.7 When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.8 So pray for this remnant that remains.'"9

37:5 When King Hezekiah's servants came to Isaiah, 37:6 Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master this: `This is what the LORD says: "Don't be afraid because of the things you have heard--these insults the king of Assyria's servants have hurled against me.10 37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind;11 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down12 with a sword in his own land."'"

37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.13 37:9 The king14 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia15 was marching out to fight him.16 He again sent17 messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 37:10 "Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: `Don't let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, "Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria." 37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.18 Do you really think you will be rescued?19 37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors20 destroyed--the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar--rescued by their gods?21 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair,22 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'"

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter23 from the messengers and read it.24 Then Hezekiah went up to the LORD's temple and spread it out before the LORD. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: 37:16 "O LORD who leads armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs!25 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky26 and the earth. 37:17 Pay attention, LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, LORD, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God.27 37:18 It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations28 and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations,29 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.30 37:20 Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD."31

37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: `Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,32 37:22 this is what the LORD says about him:33

37:3052 "This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth:53 This year you will eat what grows wild,54 and next year55 what grows on its own. But the year after that56 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.57 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.58

37:36 The LORD's messenger63 went out and killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When they64 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!65 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.66 37:38 One day,67 as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch,68 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.69 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

The Lord Hears Hezekiah's Prayer

38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.1 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, "This is what the LORD says, `Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.'" 38:2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 38:3 "Please, LORD. Remember how I have served you2 faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,3 and how I have carried out your will."4 Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.5

38:4 The LORD told Isaiah,6 38:5 "Go and tell Hezekiah: `This is what the LORD God of your ancestor7 David says: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life, 38:6 and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city."'" 38:218 Isaiah ordered, "Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the skin blister and he will get well." 38:22 Hezekiah said, "What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the LORD's temple?" 38:7 Isaiah replied,9 "This is your sign from the LORD confirming that the LORD will do what he has said: 38:8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz."10 And then the shadow went back ten steps.11

Hezekiah's Song of Thanks

38:9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:

Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 39:2 Hezekiah welcomed1 them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.2 39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men say? Where do they come from?" Hezekiah replied, "They come from the distant land of Babylon." 39:4 Isaiah3 asked, "What have they seen in your palace?" Hezekiah replied, "They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries." 39:5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of the LORD who leads armies: 39:6 `Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors4 have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the LORD. 39:7 `Some of your very own descendants that you father5 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" 39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The LORD's word which you have announced is appropriate."6 Then he thought,7 "For8 there will be peace and stability during my lifetime."

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

The Lord is Incomparable

The Lord Challenges the Nations

The Lord Encourages His People

The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

The Lord Intervenes

The Lord Reasons with His People

The Lord Will Rescue His People

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

The Lord Will Do Something New

The Lord Rebukes His People

The Lord Will Renew Israel

The Absurdity of Idolatry

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

The Lord Gives a Warning

The Lord is the Nations' Only Hope

The Lord Carries His People

Babylon Will Fall

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

Ideal Israel Delivers the Exiles

The Lord Remembers Zion

The Servant Perseveres

There is Hope for the Future

Zion's Time to Celebrate

The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant

Zion Will Be Secure

The Lord Gives an Invitation

The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter

The Lord Denounces Israel's Paganism

The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion

Injustice Brings Alienation from God

Israel Confesses its Sin

The Lord Intervenes

59:21 "As for me, this is my promise to49 them," says the LORD. "My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,"50 says the LORD.

Zion's Future Splendor

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

The Victorious Divine Warrior

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly

66:17 "As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards,31 those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice32--they will all be destroyed together,"33 says the LORD. 66:18 "I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming34 to gather all the nations and ethnic groups;35 they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them36 and then send some of those who remain to the nations--to Tarshish, Pul,37 Lud38 (known for its archers39), Tubal, Javan,40 and to the distant coastlands41 that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen42 from all the nations as an offering to the LORD. They will bring them43 on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels44 to my holy hill Jerusalem," says the LORD, "just as the Israelites bring offerings to the LORD's temple in ritually pure containers. 66:21 And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites," says the LORD. 66:22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me," says the LORD, "so your descendants and your name will remain. 66:23 From one month45 to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people46 will come to worship me,"47 says the LORD. 66:24 "They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die,48 and the fire that consumes them will not die out.49 All people will find the sight abhorrent."50