Woe to Ephraim
Woe to the proud crown of the adrunkards of bEphraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the fertile valley
Of those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and acourageous agent;
As a storm of bhail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of cmighty overflowing waters,
He has set it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is atrodden under foot.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the fertile valley,
Will be like the afirst‑ripe fig prior to summer,
Which one sees,
And as soon as it is in his hand,
He swallows it.
5 In that day aYahweh of hosts will become a beautiful bcrown
And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;
6 A aspirit of just judgment for him who sits in judgment,
A bmight to those who turn back the onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also areel with wine and stagger from strong drink:
bThe priest and cthe prophet reel with strong drink;
They are swallowed up by wine, they stagger from dstrong drink;
They reel while having evisions;
They totter when rendering a verdict.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy avomit, without a single clean place.
9 “aWhom would He instruct in knowledge,
And whom would He provide understanding about the report?
Those just bweaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 For He says,
‘aOrder on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through astammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is arest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of Yahweh to them will be,
“Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and astumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore, ahear the word of Yahweh, O bscoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have cut a acovenant with death,
And with Sheol we have made a pact.
bThe overflowing scourge will not reach us when it passes by,
For we have made cfalsehood our refuge and we have dhidden ourselves with lying.”
16 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh,
“aBehold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested bstone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
17 I will make ajustice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then bhail will sweep away the refuge of falsehood,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your acovenant with death will be bcanceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the aoverflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will become its ctrampling place.
19 As aoften as it passes through, it will take you;
For bmorning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be sheer cterror to understand the report.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the ablanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For Yahweh will rise up as at Mount aPerazim;
He will be stirred up as in the valley of bGibeon,
To work His cwork, His dunusual work,
And to labor in His labor, His exceptional labor.
22 So now do not carry on as ascoffers,
Lest your fetters be made stronger;
For I have heard from Lord Yahweh of hosts
Of complete bdestruction, one that is decreed, on all the earth.
23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?
Does he continually turn and harrow his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter acumin
And plant bwheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its area?
26 For his God disciplines and teaches him proper judgment.
27 For dill is not threshed with a athreshing sledge,
Nor is the wheel of a cart driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
But he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually disturb it,
He does not crush it longer.
29 This also comes from Yahweh of hosts,
Who has made His counsel awonderful and His wisdom bgreat.
Woe to Ariel
Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once acamped!
Add year to year, bobserve your feasts on schedule.
2 I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of mourning and amoaning;
And she will be like an Ariel to me.
3 And I will acamp against you encircling you,
And I will fortify siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up fortifications against you.
4 Then you will abe brought low;
From the earth you will speak,
And from the dust where you are prostrate
Your words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 But it will be that the multitude of your enemies will become like fine adust,
And the multitude of the bruthless ones like the chaff which blows away;
And it will happen cinstantly, suddenly.
6 From Yahweh of hosts you will be apunished with bthunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7 And it will be that the amultitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a bvision of the night.
8 And it will be as when a hungry man dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But he awakens, and his soul is empty,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But he awakens, and behold, he is faint,
And his soul is not quenched.
aThus the multitude of all the nations will be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.
9 aAstonish yourselves and be astonished,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They bbecome drunk, but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For Yahweh has poured over you a spirit of deep asleep;
He has bshut your eyes, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, the seers.
11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed abook, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the book will be given to the one who does not know how to read a book, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I do not know how to read a book.”
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because athis people draw near with their mouth
And honor Me with their lips,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their fear of Me is in the command of men learned by rote,
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal amarvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And bthe wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be hidden.”
15 Woe to those who deeply ahide their counsel from Yahweh,
And whose bdeeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “cWho sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,
That awhat is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
The Afflicted Will Rejoice
17 Is it not yet just a little while
Before Lebanon will be turned into a afruitful orchard,
And the fruitful orchard will be counted as a forest?
18 On that day the adeaf will hear bwords of a book,
And out of darkness and thick darkness the ceyes of the blind will see.
19 The aafflicted also will increase their gladness in Yahweh,
And the bneedy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the aruthless will come to an end and the bscoffer will be finished,
Indeed call who are watching out to do evil will be cut off;
21 Who cause a person to sin by a word,
And aensnare him who reproves at the gate,
And bdefraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore thus says Yahweh, who redeemed aAbraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob bshall not now be ashamed, and now his face shall not turn pale;
23 But when he sees his achildren, the bwork of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will csanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand trembling before the God of Israel.
24 Those who aerr in spirit will bknow discernment,
And those who criticize will cgain learning.
Alliance with Egypt Condemned
“Woe to the arebellious children,” declares Yahweh,
“Who bexecute counsel, but not Mine,
And cmake an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin,
2 Who ago down to Egypt—
But did not bask Me—
cTo find strength in the strong defense of Pharaoh
And to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore the strong defense of Pharaoh will be ayour shame
And the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your dishonor.
4 For atheir princes are at Zoan
And their messengers reach Hanes.
5 Everyone will be aashamed because of a people who cannot profit them,
Who are bnot for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.”
6 The oracle concerning the abeasts of the bNegev.
Through a land of cdistress and anguish,
From where come lioness and lion, viper and dflying fiery serpent,
They ecarry their wealth on the backs of young donkeys
And their treasures on fcamels’ humps,
To a people who cannot profit them;
7 Even Egypt, whose ahelp is vain and empty.
Therefore, I have called her
“bRahab who has ceased.”
8 Now go, awrite it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may be in the time to come
As a witness forever.
9 For this is a arebellious people, bfalse sons,
Sons who are not willing to clisten
To the law of Yahweh,
10 Who say to the aseers, “You must not see,”
And to those who have visions, “You must not bbehold visions for us of what is right,
cSpeak to us pleasant words,
Behold visions of illusions.
11 Get out of the way, aturn aside from the path,
bCease speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“aSince you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in boppression and deviousness and have relied on them,
13 Therefore this ainiquity will be to you
Like a bbreach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose breaking comes csuddenly in an instant,
14 Whose breaking is like the breaking of a apotter’s jar,
So ruthlessly shattered
That a potsherd will not be found among its pieces
To take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
15 For thus Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and arest you will be saved,
In bquietness and trust is your might.”
But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on ahorses,”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses,”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 aOne thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top
And as a standard on a hill.
Yahweh Is Gracious and Just
18 Therefore Yahweh awaits with longing to be gracious to you,
And therefore He is on bhigh to have compassion on you.
For Yahweh is a cGod of justice;
How blessed are all those who dwait for Him.
19 O people in Zion, ainhabitant in Jerusalem, you will bweep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will canswer you. 20 The Lord has given you abread of distress and water of oppression; He, your Teacher will no longer bhide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 And your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the away, walk in it,” whenever you bturn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will defile your graven aimages overlaid with your silver, and your molten aimages plated with your gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing and say to them, “bBe gone!”
23 Then He will agive you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and fat; on that day byour livestock will graze in a roomy pasture. 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been awinnowed with shovel and fork. 25 And it will be that on every lofty mountain and on aevery lifted up hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great bslaughter, when the towers fall. 26 aAnd the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day bYahweh binds up the cfracture of His people and dheals the bruise He has inflicted.
27 Behold, athe name of Yahweh comes from afar;
bBurning is His anger and heavy is His smoke;
His lips are filled with cindignation
And His tongue is like a dconsuming fire;
28 His abreath is like an overflowing torrent,
Which breaches to the neck,
To cshake the nations back and forth in a sieve of worthlessness,
And to put in the jaws of the peoples dthe bridle which staggers one to ruin.
29 You will have songs as in the night when you set yourself apart as holy for the festival,
And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
To go to the mountain of Yahweh, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And Yahweh will cause His splendid voice to be heard,
And the descending of His arm to be seen in raging anger,
And in the flame of a consuming fire
In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones.
31 For aat the voice of Yahweh bAssyria will be dismayed,
When He strikes with the crod.
32 And every blow of the aappointed staff,
Which Yahweh will cause to rest upon him,
Will be with the music of btambourines and lyres;
And in battles, cwaving weapons He will fight them.
33 For aTopheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The bbreath of Yahweh, like a torrent of cbrimstone, sets it afire.
Woe to Those Who Go down to Egypt
Woe to those who go down to aEgypt for help
And brely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very mighty,
But they do not have cregard for the dHoly One of Israel, nor seek Yahweh!
2 Yet He also is awise and will bbring about an evil demise
And does cnot turn His words aside,
But will arise against the house of devildoers
And against the help of the eworkers of iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are amen and not God,
And their bhorses are flesh and not spirit;
So Yahweh will cstretch out His hand,
And dhe who helps will stumble,
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.
4 For thus says Yahweh to me,
“As the alion or the young lion growls over its prey,
Against which a multitude of shepherds is called out,
And it will not be dismayed at their voice nor afflicted at their noise,
So will Yahweh of hosts come down to wage bwar on Mount Zion and on its hill.”
5 Like flying abirds so Yahweh of hosts will defend Jerusalem.
He will bdefend and deliver it;
He will pass over and provide a way of escape.
6 aReturn to Him against whom you have bdeeply rebelled, O sons of Israel. 7 For in that day every man will areject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your bhands have made for you as ba sin.
8 And the aAssyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a bsword not of man will devour him.
So he will cflee from the sword,
And his choice men will become dforced laborers.
9 “His arock will pass away because of terror,
And his princes will be dismayed at the bstandard,”
Declares Yahweh, whose cfire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
A King Will Reign Righteously
Behold, a aking will reign righteously
And princes will rule justly.
2 Each will be like a arefuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like bstreams of water in a dry country,
Like the ashade of a huge rock in a weary land.
3 Then athe eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will pay attention.
4 And the heart of the ahasty will discern knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
5 No longer will the awicked fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
6 For a wicked fool speaks wicked folly,
And his heart adoes wickedness:
To do bungodliness and to speak error against Yahweh,
In order to cmake the hungry person empty;
He even causes the thirsty to lack a drink.
7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He acounsels wicked schemes
To bwreak destruction on the afflicted with lying words,
cEven though the needy one speaks justly.
8 But athe noble man counsels noble plans;
And by noble plans he rises up.
9 Rise up, you awomen who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
bGive ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.
10 Within a year and a few days
You will quake, O complacent daughters;
aFor the grape harvest is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
aQuake, you complacent daughters;
bStrip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
12 aBeat your breasts for the desirable fields, for the fruitful vine,
13 aFor the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up,
Indeed, against all the joyful houses and the bexultant city.
14 Because athe palace has been abandoned, the populated bcity forsaken.
Hill and watchtower have become ccaves forever,
A joy for dwild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 Until the aSpirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a bfruitful orchard,
And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest.
16 Then ajustice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will live in the fruitful orchard.
17 And the awork of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, bquietness and security forever.
18 Then my people will live in a apeaceful abode,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed bresting places;
19 And it will ahail when the bforest comes down,
And cthe city will be utterly laid low.
20 How ablessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.
The King in His Beauty
Woe ato you, O destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he bwho is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you finish destroying, cyou will be destroyed;
As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ddeal treacherously with you.
2 O Yahweh, abe gracious to us; we have bhoped in You.
Be their cstrength every morning,
Our salvation also in the dtime of distress.
3 At the sound of the tumult apeoples flee;
At the blifting up of Yourself nations scatter.
4 Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.
5 Yahweh is aexalted, for He dwells on high;
He has bfilled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 And He will be the astability of your times,
A bwealth of salvation, wisdom, and cknowledge;
The dfear of Yahweh is his treasure.
7 Behold, their brave men cry in the streets;
The amessengers of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are desolate, the atraveler has ceased;
He has bbroken the covenant, he has rejected the cities;
He has no regard for man.
9 aThe land mourns and languishes,
bLebanon is humiliated and withers;
cSharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage.
10 “Now aI will be on high,” says Yahweh,
“Now I will be lifted up, now I will be lifted up.
11 You have aconceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
My bbreath will consume you like a fire.
12 The peoples will be burned to lime,
aLike cut thorns which are burned in the fire.
13 “You who are far away, ahear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 aSinners in Zion are in dread;
bTrembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can sojourn with cthe consuming fire?
Who among us can sojourn with continual dburning?”
15 He who awalks righteously and speaks uprightly;
He who rejects greedy gain of oppression,
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And bshuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
16 He will dwell on the heights,
aHis refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs;
bHis bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.
17 Your eyes will behold athe King in His beauty;
They will see ba far‑distant land.
18 Your heart will meditate on aterror:
“Where is bhe who counts?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of aunintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue which no one understands.
20 aBehold Zion, the city of our appointed times;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an babode at ease,
cA tent which will not be folded;
Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its cords ever be torn apart.
21 But there the Mighty One, Yahweh, will be for us
A place of arivers and wide canals
On which no boat with oars will go,
And on which no mighty ship will pass—
22 For Yahweh is our ajudge,
Yahweh is bour lawgiver,
Yahweh is cour king;
dHe will save us—
23 Your cords hang slack;
They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then the aprey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
bThe lame will take the plunder.
24 And no one who dwells there will say, “I am asick”;
The people who inhabit there will be bforgiven their iniquity.