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.

Pay attention to me, my people! Listen to me, my people! For ¹  I will issue a decree, ²  I will make my justice a light to the nations. ³ 

For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, ¹  a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. ² 

He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ¹  he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they ²  come quickly and swiftly.

¹ On a bare hill raise a signal flag, shout to them, wave your hand, so they might enter the gates of the princes!

A carpenter takes measurements; ¹  he marks out an outline of its form; ²  he scrapes ³  it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, ⁴  like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. ⁵ 

Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden, O God of Israel, deliverer!

Who are these who float along ¹  like a cloud, who fly like doves to their shelters? ² 

Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “Look, I am laying ¹  a stone in Zion, an approved ²  stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ³  The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ⁴ 

A man uses it to make a fire; ¹  he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ² 

Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen this? Can a country ¹  be brought forth in one day? Can a nation be born in a single moment? Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ¹  a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ²  and a snake’s food will be dirt. ³  They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain,” ⁴  says the Lord.

Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips. ¹ 

The least of you will multiply into ¹  a thousand; the smallest of you will become a large nation. When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!” ² 

“I have been inactive ¹  for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp. ² 

Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ¹  Like strong winds blowing in the south, ²  one invades from the desert, from a land that is feared.

His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ¹  that reaches one’s neck. He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ²  he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ³ 

It ¹  will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of ²  the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender ³  who will rescue them.

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

The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ¹  the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ²  the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ³  the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ⁴  They have decided to behave this way; ⁵  they enjoy these disgusting practices. ⁶