The sovereign master ¹  says, “These people say they are loyal to me; ²  they say wonderful things about me, ³  but they are not really loyal to me. ⁴  Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual. ⁵ 

So I will choose severe punishment ¹  for them; I will bring on them what they dread, because I called, and no one responded, I spoke and they did not listen. They did evil before me; ²  they chose to do what displeases me.”

When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, ¹  and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,

So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: ¹  “Jacob will no longer be ashamed; their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. ² 

For when they see their children, whom I will produce among them, ¹  they will honor ²  my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; ³  they will respect ⁴  the God of Israel.

Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! ¹  Shout, don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Go up into the rocky cliffs, hide in the ground. Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, ¹  from his royal splendor!

They went through the pass, spent the night at Geba. Ramah trembled, Gibeah of Saul ran away.

They ¹  will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, ²  trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ³  and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth. ⁴ 

Predict how future events will turn out, ¹  so we might know you are gods. Yes, do something good or bad, so we might be frightened and in awe. ² 

Look, all his associates ¹  will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. ²  Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame.

For this reason all hands hang limp, ¹  every human heart loses its courage. ² 

The one who runs away from the sound of the terror will fall into the pit; ¹  the one who climbs out of the pit, will be trapped by the snare. For the floodgates of the heavens ²  are opened up ³  and the foundations of the earth shake.

so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the openings under the rocky overhangs, ¹  trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ²  and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth. ³ 

So ¹  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. ² 

They panic – cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red. ¹ 

“I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹  Why are you afraid of mortal men, of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ² 

I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, ¹  whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s ²  or Samaria’s.

The cities of Aroer are abandoned. ¹  They will be used for herds, which will lie down there in peace. ² 

Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. ¹