Jeremiah 43:10-13

43:10 Then tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones which I have buried. He will pitch his royal tent over them. 43:11 He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war. 43:12 He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed. 43:13 He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

Jeremiah 44:30

44:30 I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”

Isaiah 19:1-25

The Lord Will Judge Egypt

19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:

Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud

and approaches Egypt.

The idols of Egypt tremble before him;

the Egyptians lose their courage.

19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt,

brothers will fight with each other,

as will neighbors,

cities, and kingdoms.

19:3 The Egyptians will panic,

and I will confuse their strategy.

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.

19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;

a powerful king will rule over them,”

says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

19:5 The water of the sea will be dried up,

and the river will dry up and be empty.

19:6 The canals will stink;

the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;

the bulrushes and reeds will decay,

19:7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river.

All the cultivated land near the river

will turn to dust and be blown away.

19:8 The fishermen will mourn and lament,

all those who cast a fishhook into the river,

and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.

19:9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;

those who weave will turn pale.

19:10 Those who make cloth will be demoralized;

all the hired workers will be depressed.

19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;

Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.

How dare you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?”

19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men?

Let them tell you, let them find out

what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,

the officials of Memphis are misled;

the rulers of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning;

they lead Egypt astray in all she does,

so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.

19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,

head or tail, shoots and stalk.

19:16 At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.

19:18 At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge the Lord’s authority at that time. 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 prayers and heal them.

19:23 At that time 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. 19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing in the earth. 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!”

Isaiah 29:1--32:20

Ariel is Besieged

29:1 Ariel is as good as dead –

Ariel, the town David besieged!

Keep observing your annual rituals,

celebrate your festivals on schedule.

29:2 I will threaten Ariel,

and she will mourn intensely

and become like an altar hearth before me.

29:3 I will lay siege to you on all sides;

I will besiege you with troops;

I will raise siege works against you.

29:4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard.

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld;

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.

29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,

the horde of tyrants like chaff that is blown away.

It will happen suddenly, in a flash.

29:6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies,

accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,

by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

29:7 It will be like a dream, a night vision.

There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,

those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty.

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched.

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

God’s People are Spiritually Insensitive

29:9 You will be shocked and amazed!

You are totally blind!

They are drunk, but not because of wine;

they stagger, but not because of beer.

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply.

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read 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 read and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.”

29:13 The sovereign master says,

“These people say they are loyal to me;

they say wonderful things about me,

but they are not really loyal to me.

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual.

29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –

an absolutely extraordinary deed.

Wise men will have nothing to say,

the sages will have no explanations.”

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead,

who do their work in secret and boast,

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”

29:16 Your thinking is perverse!

Should the potter be regarded as clay?

Should the thing made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?

Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?

Changes are Coming

29:17 In just a very short time

Lebanon will turn into an orchard,

and the orchard will be considered a forest.

29:18 At that time the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,

and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness.

29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;

the poor among humankind will take delight in the Holy One of Israel.

29:20 For tyrants will disappear,

those who taunt will vanish,

and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated –

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person,

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.

29:22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob:

“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;

their faces will no longer show their embarrassment.

29:23 For when they see their children,

whom I will produce among them,

they will honor my name.

They will honor the Holy One of Jacob;

they will respect the God of Israel.

29:24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding;

those who complain will acquire insight.

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me,

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit,

and thereby compound their sin.

30:2 They travel down to Egypt

without seeking my will,

seeking Pharaoh’s protection,

and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade.

30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,

and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.

30:4 Though his officials are in Zoan

and his messengers arrive at Hanes,

30:5 all will be put to shame

because of a nation that cannot help them,

who cannot give them aid or help,

but only shame and disgrace.”

30:6 This is a message about the animals in the Negev:

Through a land of distress and danger,

inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions,

by snakes and darting adders,

they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys,

their riches on the humps of camels,

to a nation that cannot help them.

30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping.

For this reason I call her

‘Proud one who is silenced.’”

30:8 Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence,

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness.

30:9 For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law.

30:10 They say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right!

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages.

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path.

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.”

30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

“You have rejected this message;

you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick,

and rely on that kind of behavior.

30:13 So this sin will become your downfall.

You will be like a high wall

that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;

it crumbles suddenly, in a flash.

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged.

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough

to scoop a hot coal from a fire

or to skim off water from a cistern.”

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered;

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength,

but you are unwilling.

30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’

so you will indeed flee.

You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’

so your pursuers will be fast.

30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier;

at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away,

until the remaining few are as isolated

as a flagpole on a mountaintop

or a signal flag on a hill.”

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you.

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.

30:19 For people will live in Zion;

in Jerusalem you will weep no more.

When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;

when he hears it, he will respond to you.

30:20 The sovereign master will give you distress to eat

and suffering to drink;

but your teachers will no longer be hidden;

your eyes will see them.

30:21 You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols

and your gold-plated images.

You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,

saying to them, “Get out!”

30:23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,

and the ground will produce crops in abundance.

At that time your cattle will graze in wide pastures.

30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing

will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.

30:25 On every high mountain

and every high hill

there will be streams flowing with water,

at the time of great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.

30:26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare

and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,

like the light of seven days,

when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones

and heals their severe wound.

30:27 Look, the name of the Lord comes from a distant place

in raging anger and awesome splendor.

He speaks angrily

and his word is like destructive fire.

30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff;

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction.

30:29 You will sing

as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.

You will be happy like one who plays a flute

as he goes to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock who shelters Israel.

30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout

and intervene in power,

with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire,

with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.

30:31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria;

he will beat them with a club.

30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel,

with which the Lord will beat them,

will be accompanied by music from the tambourine and harp,

and he will attack them with his weapons.

30:33 For the burial place is already prepared;

it has been made deep and wide for the king.

The firewood is piled high on it.

The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,

will ignite it.

Egypt Will Disappoint

31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead,

those who rely on war horses,

and trust in Egypt’s many chariots

and in their many, many horsemen.

But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel

and do not seek help from the Lord.

31:2 Yet he too is wise and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree.

He will attack the wicked nation,

and the nation that helps those who commit sin.

31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;

their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.

The Lord will strike with his hand;

the one who helps will stumble

and the one being helped will fall.

Together they will perish.

The Lord Will Defend Zion

31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:

“The Lord will be like a growling lion,

like a young lion growling over its prey.

Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,

it is not afraid of their shouts

or intimidated by their yelling.

In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest,

so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem.

He will protect and deliver it;

as he passes over he will rescue it.

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

31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made;

a sword not made by humankind will destroy them.

They will run away from this sword

and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

31:9 They will surrender their stronghold because of fear;

their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.”

This is what the Lord says –

the one whose fire is in Zion,

whose firepot is in Jerusalem.

Justice and Wisdom Will Prevail

32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness;

officials will promote justice.

32:2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind

and a refuge from a rainstorm;

like streams of water in a dry region

and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.

32:3 Eyes will no longer be blind

and ears will be attentive.

32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment

and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.

32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;

a deceiver will no longer be called principled.

32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things;

his mind plans out sinful deeds.

He commits godless deeds

and says misleading things about the Lord;

he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite

and gives the thirsty nothing to drink.

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil;

he dreams up evil plans

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right.

32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;

his honorable character gives him security.

The Lord Will Give True Security

32:9 You complacent women,

get up and listen to me!

You carefree daughters,

pay attention to what I say!

32:10 In a year’s time

you carefree ones will shake with fear,

for the grape harvest will fail,

and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

32:11 Tremble, you complacent ones!

Shake with fear, you carefree ones!

Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves –

put sackcloth on your waist!

32:12 Mourn over the field,

over the delightful fields

and the fruitful vine!

32:13 Mourn over the land of my people,

which is overgrown with thorns and briers,

and over all the once-happy houses

in the city filled with revelry.

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded city is abandoned.

Hill and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited.

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there.

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven.

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest.

32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert

and fairness will live in the orchard.

32:17 Fairness will produce peace

and result in lasting security.

32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,

in secure homes,

and in safe, quiet places.

32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed

and the city is annihilated,

32:20 you will be blessed,

you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams,

you who let your ox and donkey graze.