Isaiah 6:1--11:16

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” 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.” 6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

6:10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;

make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!

Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”

6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,

“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,

and houses are uninhabited,

and the land is ruined and devastated,

6:12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,

and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.

6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”

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 prevail against it.

7:2 It was reported to the family of David, “Syria has allied with Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. 7:3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub 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. 7:4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, 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. 7:6 They say, “Let’s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we’ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king.” 7:7 For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“It will not take place;

it will not happen.

7:8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus,

and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.

Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation.

7:9 Ephraim’s leader is Samaria,

and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah.

If your faith does not remain firm,

then you will not remain secure.”

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.” 7:12 But Ahaz responded, “I don’t want to ask; I don’t want to put the Lord to a test.” 7:13 So Isaiah replied, “Pay attention, family of David. 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. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. 7:15 He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right. 7:16 Here is why this will be so: Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land whose two kings you fear will be desolate. 7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!”

7:18 At that time the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 7:19 All of them will come and make their home in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. 7:20 At that time the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; it will also shave off the beard. 7:21 At that time 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 time every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun with thorns and briers. 7:24 With bow and arrow men will hunt there, for the whole land will be covered with thorns and briers. 7:25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet and inscribe these words on it with an ordinary stylus: ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ 8:2 Then I will summon 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.”

8:5 The Lord spoke to me again: 8:6 “These people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 8:7 So look, the sovereign master is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel.”

8:9 You will be broken, O nations;

you will be shattered!

Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted!

Issue your orders, but they will not be executed!

For God is with us!

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:

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word.

Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies.

He is the one you must respect;

he is the one you must fear.

8:14 He will become a sanctuary,

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble –

to the two houses of Israel.

He will become a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem.

8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock,

and will fall and be seriously injured,

and will be ensnared and captured.”

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence,

seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers.

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,

who has rejected the family of Jacob;

I will wait for him.

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. 8:21 They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. 9:1 (8:23) The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious.

In earlier times he humiliated

the land of Zebulun,

and the land of Naphtali;

but now he brings honor

to the way of the sea,

the region beyond the Jordan,

and Galilee of the nations.

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light;

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness.

9:3 You have enlarged the nation;

you give them great joy.

They rejoice in your presence

as harvesters rejoice;

as warriors celebrate when they divide up the plunder.

9:4 For their oppressive yoke

and the club that strikes their shoulders,

the cudgel the oppressor uses on them,

you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat.

9:5 Indeed every boot that marches and shakes the earth

and every garment dragged through blood

is used as fuel for the fire.

9:6 For a child has been born to us,

a son has been given to us.

He shoulders responsibility

and is called:

Extraordinary Strategist,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

9:7 His dominion will be vast

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity.

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom,

establishing it and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness,

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.

God’s Judgment Intensifies

9:8 The sovereign master decreed judgment on Jacob,

and it fell on Israel.

9:9 All the people were aware of it,

the people of Ephraim and those living in Samaria.

Yet with pride and an arrogant attitude, they said,

9:10 “The bricks have fallen,

but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;

the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,

but we will replace them with cedars.”

9:11 Then the Lord provoked their adversaries to attack them,

he stirred up their enemies –

9:12 Syria from the east,

and the Philistines from the west,

they gobbled up Israelite territory.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again.

9:13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,

they did not seek reconciliation with the Lord who commands armies.

9:14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,

both the shoots and stalk in one day.

9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,

and the people being led were destroyed.

9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased with their young men,

he took no pity on their orphans and widows;

for the whole nation was godless and did wicked things,

every mouth was speaking disgraceful words.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again.

9:18 For evil burned like a fire,

it consumed thorns and briers;

it burned up the thickets of the forest,

and they went up in smoke.

9:19 Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched,

and the people became fuel for the fire.

People had no compassion on one another.

9:20 They devoured on the right, but were still hungry,

they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.

People even ate the flesh of their own arm!

9:21 Manasseh fought against Ephraim,

and Ephraim against Manasseh;

together they fought against Judah.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again.

10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead,

those who are always instituting unfair regulations,

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans.

10:3 What will you do on judgment day,

when destruction arrives from a distant place?

To whom will you run for help?

Where will you leave your wealth?

10:4 You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,

or to fall among those who have been killed.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again.

The Lord Turns on Arrogant Assyria

10:5 Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead,

a cudgel with which I angrily punish.

10:6 I sent him against a godless nation,

I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry,

to take plunder and to carry away loot,

to trample them down like dirt in the streets.

10:7 But he does not agree with this,

his mind does not reason this way,

for his goal is to destroy,

and to eliminate many nations.

10:8 Indeed, he says:

“Are not my officials all kings?

10:9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?

Hamath like Arpad?

Samaria like Damascus?

10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols,

whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s or Samaria’s.

10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,

so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.”

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

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations,

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers.

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.”

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it?

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

10:16 For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. His majestic glory will go up in smoke.

10:17 The light of Israel will become a fire,

their Holy One will become a flame;

it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s briers

and his thorns in one day.

10:18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard

will be completely destroyed,

as when a sick man’s life ebbs away.

10:19 There will be so few trees left in his forest,

a child will be able to count them.

10:20 At that time those left in Israel, those who remain of the family of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. Instead they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 10:21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. Destruction has been decreed; just punishment is about to engulf you. 10:23 The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land.

10:24 So here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands 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. 10:25 For very soon my fury will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.

10:27 At that time

the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders,

and their yoke from your neck;

the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.

10:28 They attacked Aiath,

moved through Migron,

depositing their supplies at Micmash.

10:29 They went through the pass,

spent the night at Geba.

Ramah trembled,

Gibeah of Saul ran away.

10:30 Shout out, daughter of Gallim!

Pay attention, Laishah!

Answer her, Anathoth!

10:31 Madmenah flees,

the residents of Gebim have hidden.

10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,

they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain –

at the hill of Jerusalem.

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power.

The tallest trees will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,

and mighty Lebanon will fall.

An Ideal King Establishes a Kingdom of Peace

11:1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock,

a bud will sprout from his roots.

11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him –

a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom,

a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans,

a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.

11:3 He will take delight in obeying the Lord.

He will not judge by mere appearances,

or make decisions on the basis of hearsay.

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly,

and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and order the wicked to be executed.

11:5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist,

integrity will be like a belt around his hips.

11:6 A wolf will reside with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together,

as a small child leads them along.

11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together.

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

11:8 A baby will play

over the hole of a snake;

over the nest of a serpent

an infant will put his hand.

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain.

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea.

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic. 11:11 At that time the sovereign master will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts.

11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth.

11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end,

and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated.

Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,

and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

11:14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west;

together they will loot the people of the east.

They will take over Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

11:15 The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea;

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind,

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams,

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people,

just as there was for Israel,

when they went up from the land of Egypt.