Study Desk

Listen^(bm) and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.

When a farmer plows for planting,^(bn) does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?

When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?^(bo) Does he not plant wheat in its place,^[c] barley^(bp) in its plot,^[d] and spelt^(bq) in its field?

His God instructs him and teaches^(br) him the right way.

Caraway is not threshed^(bs) with a sledge,^(bt) nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod,^(bu) and cumin with a stick.

Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart^(bv) may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain.

All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful,^(bw) whose wisdom is magnificent.^(bx)

Woe^(a) to you, Ariel, Ariel,^(b) the city^(c) where David settled! Add year to year and let your cycle of festivals^(d) go on.

Yet I will besiege Ariel;^(e) she will mourn and lament,^(f) she will be to me like an altar hearth.^[a](g)

I will encamp against you on all sides; I will encircle^(h) you with towers and set up my siege works⁽ⁱ⁾ against you.

Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble^(j) out of the dust.^(k) Your voice will come ghostlike^(l) from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.^(m)

But your many enemies will become like fine dust,⁽ⁿ⁾ the ruthless^(o) hordes like blown chaff.^(p) Suddenly,^(q) in an instant,

the Lord Almighty will come^(r) with thunder^(s) and earthquake^(t) and great noise, with windstorm and tempest^(u) and flames of a devouring fire.^(v)

Then the hordes of all the nations^(w) that fight against Ariel,^(x) that attack her and her fortress and besiege her, will be as it is with a dream,^(y) with a vision in the night—

as when a hungry person dreams of eating, but awakens^(z) hungry still; as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking, but awakens faint and thirsty still.^(aa) So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion.^(ab)

Be stunned and amazed,^(ac) blind yourselves and be sightless;^(ad) be drunk,^(ae) but not from wine,^(af) stagger,^(ag) but not from beer.

The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:^(ah) He has sealed your eyes^(ai) (the prophets);^(aj) he has covered your heads (the seers).^(ak)

For you this whole vision^(al) is nothing but words sealed^(am) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, "Read this, please," they will answer, "I can't; it is sealed."

Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, "Read this, please," they will answer, "I don't know how to read."

The Lord says: "These people^(an) come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips,^(ao) but their hearts are far from me.^(ap) Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.^[b](aq)

Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder;^(ar) the wisdom of the wise^(as) will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.^(at)"

Woe to those who go to great depths to hide^(au) their plans from the Lord , who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us?^(av) Who will know?"^(aw)

You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!^(ax) Shall what is formed say to the one who formed^(ay) it, "You did not make me"? Can the pot say to the potter,^(az) "You know nothing"?^(ba)

In a very short time,^(bb) will not Lebanon^(bc) be turned into a fertile field^(bd) and the fertile field seem like a forest?^(be)

In that day^(bf) the deaf^(bg) will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness^(bh) the eyes of the blind will see.^(bi)

Once more the humble^(bj) will rejoice in the Lord ; the needy^(bk) will rejoice in the Holy One^(bl) of Israel.

The ruthless^(bm) will vanish,^(bn) the mockers^(bo) will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil^(bp) will be cut down—

those who with a word make someone out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court^(bq) and with false testimony^(br) deprive the innocent of justice.^(bs)

Therefore this is what the Lord , who redeemed^(bt) Abraham,^(bu) says to the descendants of Jacob: "No longer will Jacob be ashamed;^(bv) no longer will their faces grow pale.^(bw)

When they see among them their children,^(bx) the work of my hands,^(by) they will keep my name holy;^(bz) they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One^(ca) of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

Those who are wayward^(cb) in spirit will gain understanding;^(cc) those who complain will accept instruction."^(cd)

"Woe^(a) to the obstinate children,"^(b) declares the Lord , "to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance,^(c) but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin;

who go down to Egypt^(d) without consulting^(e) me; who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,^(f) to Egypt's shade for refuge.^(g)

But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame, Egypt's shade^(h) will bring you disgrace.⁽ⁱ⁾

Though they have officials in Zoan^(j) and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

everyone will be put to shame because of a people^(k) useless^(l) to them, who bring neither help^(m) nor advantage, but only shame and disgrace.⁽ⁿ⁾"

A prophecy^(o) concerning the animals of the Negev:^(p) Through a land of hardship and distress,^(q) of lions^(r) and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes,^(s) the envoys carry their riches on donkeys'^(t) backs, their treasures^(u) on the humps of camels, to that unprofitable nation,

to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.^(v) Therefore I call her Rahab^(w) the Do-Nothing.

Go now, write it on a tablet^(x) for them, inscribe it on a scroll,^(y) that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness.^(z)

For these are rebellious^(aa) people, deceitful^(ab) children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord 's instruction.^(ac)

They say to the seers,^(ad) "See no more visions^(ae)!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things,^(af) prophesy illusions.^(ag)

Leave this way,^(ah) get off this path, and stop confronting^(ai) us with the Holy One^(aj) of Israel!"

Therefore this is what the Holy One^(ak) of Israel says: "Because you have rejected this message,^(al) relied on oppression^(am) and depended on deceit,

this sin will become for you like a high wall,^(an) cracked and bulging, that collapses^(ao) suddenly,^(ap) in an instant.

It will break in pieces like pottery,^(aq) shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern."

This is what the Sovereign^(ar) Lord , the Holy One^(as) of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest^(at) is your salvation, in quietness and trust^(au) is your strength, but you would have none of it.^(av)

You said, ‘No, we will flee^(aw) on horses.'^(ax) Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift!

A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five^(ay) you will all flee^(az) away, till you are left^(ba) like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner^(bb) on a hill."

Yet the Lord longs^(bc) to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.^(bd) For the Lord is a God of justice.^(be) Blessed are all who wait for him!^(bf)

People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.^(bg) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!^(bh) As soon as he hears, he will answer^(bi) you.

Although the Lord gives you the bread^(bj) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers^(bk) will be hidden^(bl) no more; with your own eyes you will see them.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice^(bm) behind you, saying, "This is the way;^(bn) walk in it."

Then you will desecrate your idols^(bo) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;^(bp) you will throw them away like a menstrual^(bq) cloth and say to them, "Away with you!^(br)"

He will also send you rain^(bs) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich^(bt) and plentiful.^(bu) In that day^(bv) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.^(bw)

The oxen^(bx) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder^(by) and mash, spread out with fork^(bz) and shovel.

In the day of great slaughter,^(ca) when the towers^(cb) fall, streams of water will flow^(cc) on every high mountain and every lofty hill.

The moon will shine like the sun,^(cd) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals^(ce) the wounds he inflicted.

See, the Name^(cf) of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger^(cg) and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath,^(ch) and his tongue is a consuming fire.^(ci)

His breath^(cj) is like a rushing torrent,^(ck) rising up to the neck.^(cl) He shakes the nations in the sieve^(cm) of destruction; he places in the jaws of the peoples a bit^(cn) that leads them astray.

And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;^(co) your hearts will rejoice^(cp) as when people playing pipes^(cq) go up to the mountain^(cr) of the Lord , to the Rock^(cs) of Israel.

The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice^(ct) and will make them see his arm^(cu) coming down with raging anger^(cv) and consuming fire,^(cw) with cloudburst, thunderstorm^(cx) and hail.^(cy)

The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;^(cz) with his rod he will strike^(da) them down.

Every stroke the Lord lays on them with his punishing club^(db) will be to the music of timbrels^(dc) and harps, as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.^(dd)

Topheth^(de) has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath^(df) of the Lord , like a stream of burning sulfur,^(dg) sets it ablaze.^(dh)

Woe^(a) to those who go down to Egypt^(b) for help, who rely on horses,^(c) who trust in the multitude of their chariots^(d) and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One^(e) of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .^(f)

Yet he too is wise^(g) and can bring disaster;^(h) he does not take back his words.⁽ⁱ⁾ He will rise up against that wicked nation,^(j) against those who help evildoers.

But the Egyptians^(k) are mere mortals and not God;^(l) their horses^(m) are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand,⁽ⁿ⁾ those who help will stumble, those who are helped^(o) will fall; all will perish together.^(p)

This is what the Lord says to me: "As a lion^(q) growls, a great lion over its prey— and though a whole band of shepherds^(r) is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor^(s)— so the Lord Almighty will come down^(t) to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.

Like birds hovering^(u) overhead, the Lord Almighty will shield^(v) Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver^(w) it, he will ‘pass over'^(x) it and will rescue it."

Return,^(y) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted^(z) against.

For in that day^(aa) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold^(ab) your sinful hands have made.^(ac)

"Assyria^(ad) will fall by no human sword; a sword, not of mortals, will devour^(ae) them. They will flee before the sword and their young men will be put to forced labor.^(af)

Their stronghold^(ag) will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard^(ah) their commanders will panic,^(ai)" declares the Lord , whose fire^(aj) is in Zion, whose furnace^(ak) is in Jerusalem.

See, a king^(a) will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.^(b)

Each one will be like a shelter^(c) from the wind and a refuge from the storm,^(d) like streams of water^(e) in the desert^(f) and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,^(g) and the ears^(h) of those who hear will listen.

The fearful heart will know and understand,⁽ⁱ⁾ and the stammering tongue^(j) will be fluent and clear.

No longer will the fool^(k) be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.

For fools speak folly,^(l) their hearts are bent on evil:^(m) They practice ungodliness⁽ⁿ⁾ and spread error^(o) concerning the Lord ; the hungry they leave empty^(p) and from the thirsty they withhold water.

Scoundrels use wicked methods,^(q) they make up evil schemes^(r) to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy^(s) is just.^(t)

But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds^(u) they stand.^(v)

You women^(w) who are so complacent, rise up and listen^(x) to me; you daughters who feel secure,^(y) hear what I have to say!

In little more than a year^(z) you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail,^(aa) and the harvest of fruit will not come.

Tremble,^(ab) you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure!^(ac) Strip off your fine clothes^(ad) and wrap yourselves in rags.^(ae)

Beat your breasts^(af) for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines^(ag)

and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers^(ah)— yes, mourn^(ai) for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry.^(aj)

The fortress^(ak) will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted;^(al) citadel and watchtower^(am) will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys,^(an) a pasture for flocks,^(ao)

till the Spirit^(ap) is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field,^(aq) and the fertile field seems like a forest.^(ar)

The Lord 's justice^(as) will dwell in the desert,^(at) his righteousness^(au) live in the fertile field.

The fruit of that righteousness^(av) will be peace;^(aw) its effect will be quietness and confidence^(ax) forever.

My people will live in peaceful^(ay) dwelling places, in secure homes,^(az) in undisturbed places of rest.^(ba)

Though hail^(bb) flattens the forest^(bc) and the city is leveled^(bd) completely,

how blessed you will be, sowing^(be) your seed by every stream,^(bf) and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.^(bg)