Isaiah 9; Isaiah 10; Isaiah 11; Isaiah 12

1 There will be no way for them to escape from this time of trouble. The land of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali was once disgraced, but the future will bring honor to this region, from the Mediterranean eastward to the land on the other side of the Jordan, and even to Galilee itself, where the foreigners live.

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them.

3 You have given them great joy, Lord; you have made them happy. They rejoice in what you have done, as people rejoice when they harvest grain or when they divide captured wealth.

4 For you have broken the yoke that burdened them and the rod that beat their shoulders. You have defeated the nation that oppressed and exploited your people, just as you defeated the army of Midian long ago.

5 The boots of the invading army and all their bloodstained clothing will be destroyed by fire.

6 A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty God," "Eternal Father," "Prince of Peace."

7 His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David's successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The Lord Almighty is determined to do all this.

8 The Lord has pronounced judgment on the kingdom of Israel, on the descendants of Jacob.

9 All the people of Israel, everyone who lives in the city of Samaria, will know that he has done this. Now they are proud and arrogant. They say,

10 "The brick buildings have fallen down, but we will replace them with stone buildings. The beams of sycamore wood have been cut down, but we will replace them with the finest cedar."

11 The Lord has stirred up their enemies to attack them.

12 Syria on the east and Philistia on the west have opened their mouths to devour Israel. Yet even so the Lord's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

13 The people of Israel have not repented; even though the Lord Almighty has punished them, they have not returned to him.

14 In a single day the Lord will punish Israel's leaders and its people; he will cut them off, head and tail.

15 The old and honorable men are the head - and the tail is the prophets whose teachings are lies!

16 Those who lead these people have misled them and totally confused them.

17 And so the Lord will not let any of the young men escape, and he will not show pity on any of the widows and orphans, because all the people are godless and wicked and everything they say is evil. Yet even so the Lord's anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

18 The wickedness of the people burns like a fire that destroys thorn bushes and thistles. It burns like a forest fire that sends up columns of smoke.

19 Because the Lord Almighty is angry, his punishment burns like a fire throughout the land and destroys the people, and it is each of us for ourselves.

20 Everywhere in the country people snatch and eat any bit of food they can find, but their hunger is never satisfied. They even eat their own children!

21 The people of Manasseh and the people of Ephraim attack each other, and together they attack Judah. Yet even so the Lord's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

1 You are doomed! You make unjust laws that oppress my people.

2 That is how you keep the poor from having their rights and from getting justice. That is how you take the property that belongs to widows and orphans.

3 What will you do when God punishes you? What will you do when he brings disaster on you from a distant country? Where will you run to find help? Where will you hide your wealth?

4 You will be killed in battle or dragged off as prisoners. Yet even so the Lord's anger will not be ended; his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

5 The Lord said, "Assyria! I use Assyria like a club to punish those with whom I am angry.

6 I sent Assyria to attack a godless nation, people who have made me angry. I sent them to loot and steal and trample the people like dirt in the streets."

7 But the Assyrian emperor has his own violent plans in mind. He is determined to destroy many nations.

8 He boasts, "Every one of my commanders is a king!

9 I conquered the cities of Calno and Carchemish, the cities of Hamath and Arpad. I conquered Samaria and Damascus.

10 I reached out to punish those kingdoms that worship idols, idols more numerous than those of Jerusalem and Samaria.

11 I have destroyed Samaria and all its idols, and I will do the same to Jerusalem and the images that are worshiped there."

12 But the Lord says, "When I finish what I am doing on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish the emperor of Assyria for all his boasting and all his pride."

13 The emperor of Assyria boasts, "I have done it all myself. I am strong and wise and clever. I wiped out the boundaries between nations and took the supplies they had stored. Like a bull I have trampled the people who live there.

14 The nations of the world were like a bird's nest, and I gathered their wealth as easily as gathering eggs. Not a wing fluttered to scare me off; no beak opened to scream at me!"

15 But the Lord says, "Can an ax claim to be greater than the one who uses it? Is a saw more important than the one who saws with it? A club doesn't lift up a person; a person lifts up a club."

16 The Lord Almighty is going to send disease to punish those who are now well-fed. In their bodies there will be a fire that burns and burns.

17 God, the light of Israel, will become a fire. Israel's holy God will become a flame, which in a single day will burn up everything, even the thorns and thistles.

18 The rich forests and farmlands will be totally destroyed, in the same way that a fatal sickness destroys someone.

19 There will be so few trees left that even a child will be able to count them.

20 A time is coming when the people of Israel who have survived will not rely any more on the nation that almost destroyed them. They will truly put their trust in the Lord, Israel's holy God.

21 A few of the people of Israel will come back to their mighty God.

22 Even though now there are as many people of Israel as there are grains of sand by the sea, only a few will come back. Destruction is in store for the people, and it is fully deserved.

23 Yes, throughout the whole country the Sovereign Lord Almighty will bring destruction, as he said he would.

24 The Sovereign Lord Almighty says to his people who live in Zion, "Do not be afraid of the Assyrians, even though they oppress you as the Egyptians used to do.

25 In only a little while I will finish punishing you, and then I will destroy them.

26 I, the Lord Almighty, will beat them with my whip as I did the people of Midian at Oreb Rock. I will punish Assyria as I punished Egypt.

27 When that time comes, I will free you from the power of Assyria, and their yoke will no longer be a burden on your shoulders."

28 The enemy army has captured the city of Ai! They have passed through Migron! They left their supplies at Michmash!

29 They have crossed the pass and are spending the night at Geba! The people in the town of Ramah are terrified, and the people in King Saul's hometown of Gibeah have run away.

30 Shout, people of Gallim! Listen, people of Laishah! Answer, people of Anathoth!

31 The people of Madmenah and Gebim are running for their lives.

32 Today the enemy are in the town of Nob, and there they are shaking their fists at Mount Zion, at the city of Jerusalem.

33 The Lord Almighty will bring them crashing down like branches cut off a tree. The proudest and highest of them will be cut down and humiliated.

34 The Lord will cut them down as trees in the heart of the forest are cut down with an ax, as even the finest trees of Lebanon fall!

1 The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.

2 The spirit of the Lord will give him wisdom and the knowledge and skill to rule his people. He will know the Lord's will and honor him,

3 and find pleasure in obeying him. He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;

4 he will judge the poor fairly and defend the rights of the helpless. At his command the people will be punished, and evil persons will die.

5 He will rule his people with justice and integrity.

6 Wolves and sheep will live together in peace, and leopards will lie down with young goats. Calves and lion cubs will feed together, and little children will take care of them.

7 Cows and bears will eat together, and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace. Lions will eat straw as cattle do.

8 Even a baby will not be harmed if it plays near a poisonous snake.

9 On Zion, God's sacred hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil. The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord as the seas are full of water.

10 A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor.

11 When that day comes, the Lord will once again use his power and bring back home those of his people who are left in Assyria and Egypt, in the lands of Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, and Hamath, and in the coastlands and on the islands of the sea.

12 The Lord will raise a signal flag to show the nations that he is gathering together again the scattered people of Israel and Judah and bringing them back from the four corners of the earth.

13 The kingdom of Israel will not be jealous of Judah any more, and Judah will not be the enemy of Israel.

14 Together they will attack the Philistines on the west and plunder the people who live to the east. They will conquer the people of Edom and Moab, and the people of Ammon will obey them.

15 The Lord will dry up the Gulf of Suez, and he will bring a hot wind to dry up the Euphrates, leaving only seven tiny streams, so that anyone can walk across.

16 There will be a highway out of Assyria for those of his people Israel who have survived there, just as there was for their ancestors when they left Egypt.

1 A day is coming when people will sing, "I praise you, Lord! You were angry with me, but now you comfort me and are angry no longer.

2 God is my savior; I will trust him and not be afraid. The Lord gives me power and strength; he is my savior.

3 As fresh water brings joy to the thirsty, so God's people rejoice when he saves them."

4 A day is coming when people will sing, "Give thanks to the Lord! Call for him to help you! Tell all the nations what he has done! Tell them how great he is!

5 Sing to the Lord because of the great things he has done. Let the whole world hear the news.

6 Let everyone who lives in Zion shout and sing! Israel's holy God is great, and he lives among his people."