Therefore let us enact<n id="1" /> a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord,<n id="2" /> and that of those who respect<n id="3" /> the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

<p class="poetry">I am oppressed and needy!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">May the Lord pay attention to me!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">You are my helper and my deliverer!p> <p class="poetry">O my God, do not delay!p>

<p class="poetry">Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,p> <p class="poetry">O sovereign <sc>Lordsc> and king!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,p> <p class="poetry">O God of Israel!p>

<p class="poetry">In my time of trouble I sought<n id="1" /> the Lord.p> <p class="poetry">I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I<n id="3" /> refused to be comforted.p>

<p class="poetry">At that time<n id="1" /> the sovereign master<n id="2" /> will wash the excrement<n id="3" /> from Zion&#8217;s women,p> <p class="poetry">he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem&#8217;s midst,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">as he comes to judgep> <p class="poetry">and to bring devastation.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the year of King Uzziah&#8217;s death,<n id="1" /> I saw the sovereign master<n id="2" /> seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, &#8220;Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?&#8221;<n id="1" /> I answered, &#8220;Here I am, send me!&#8221;

<p class="poetry">I replied, &#8220;How long, sovereign master?&#8221; He said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,p> <p class="poetry">and houses are uninhabited,p> <p class="poetry">and the land is ruined and devastated,p>

For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign.<n id="1" /> Look, this<n id="2" /> young woman<n id="3" /> is about to conceive<n id="4" /> and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him<n id="5" /> Immanuel.<n id="6" />

At that time<n id="1" /> the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River,<n id="2" /> the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair;<n id="3" /> it will also shave off the beard.

<p class="poetry">Then the guard<n id="1" /> cries out:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;On the watchtower, O sovereign master,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I stand all day long;p> <p class="poetry">at my postp> <p class="poetry">I am stationed every night.p>

<p class="bodytext">For this is what the sovereign master<n id="1" /> has told me: &#8220;Within exactly one year<n id="2" /> all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies told me this:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,&#8221;<n id="2" /> says the sovereign master, the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies.p>

<p class="poetry">This is what the sovereign master, the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies, says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace,<n id="1" /> and tell him:<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the <sc>Lord,sc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Look, I am laying<n id="1" /> a stone in Zion,p> <p class="poetry">an approved<n id="2" /> stone,p> <p class="poetry">set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">The one who maintains his faith will not panic.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">So now, do not mock,p> <p class="poetry">or your chains will become heavier!p> <p class="poetry">For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,p> <p class="poetry">from the sovereign master, the <sc>Lordsc> who commands armies, against the entire land.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">For this is what the master, the <sc>Lordsc>, the Holy One of Israel says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but you are unwilling.p>

<p class="poetry">The sovereign master<n id="1" /> will give you distress to eatp> <p class="poetry">and suffering to drink;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but your teachers will no longer be hidden;p> <p class="poetry">your eyes will see them.<n id="3" />p>

Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

Certainly you will not refuse one of my master&#8217;s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.<n id="1" />