In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ¹  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’”

They put it on their shoulder and carry it; they put it in its place and it just stands there; it does not ¹  move from its place. Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply; it does not deliver him from his distress.

At that time ¹  this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city! The Lord’s ²  deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. ³ 

I do this ¹  so people ²  will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am the Lord, I have no peer.

I ¹  post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. ²  You who pray to ³  the Lord, don’t be silent!

Your very best valleys were full of chariots; ¹  horsemen confidently took their positions ²  at the gate.

I will lay siege to you on all sides; ¹  I will besiege you with troops; ²  I will raise siege works against you.

Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate! You, prove to me that you are right! ¹ 

Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ¹  Let him announce it and explain it to me – since I established an ancient people – ²  let them announce future events! ³ 

Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹  Indeed, ²  you depart from me ³  and go up and invite them into bed with you. ⁴  You purchase favors from them, ⁵  you love their bed, and gaze longingly ⁶  on their genitals. ⁷ 

I will perform a mighty act among them ¹  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ²  Lud ³  (known for its archers ⁴ ), Tubal, Javan, ⁵  and to the distant coastlands ⁶  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

“I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, ¹  brothers will fight with each other, as will neighbors, cities, and kingdoms. ² 

They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, ¹  seeking Pharaoh’s protection, and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. ² 

But as for you who abandon the Lord and forget about worshiping at ¹  my holy mountain, who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’ ²  and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’ ³  –

The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; ¹  he will again choose Israel as his special people ²  and restore ³  them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family ⁴  of Jacob.

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.

To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ¹  he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make ²  an idol that will not fall over.

Then the Lord provoked ¹  their adversaries to attack them, ²  he stirred up ³  their enemies –

The one who suffers ¹  will soon be released; he will not die in prison, ²  he will not go hungry. ³ 

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! ¹  The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, ²  demolished ³  its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁴