They will no longer trust in ¹  the altars their hands made, or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. ² 

The Egyptians will panic, ¹  and I will confuse their strategy. ²  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. 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.

So I say: “Don’t look at me! ¹  I am weeping bitterly. Don’t try ²  to console me concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” ³ 

For the sovereign master, ¹  the Lord who commands armies, has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. ²  In the Valley of Vision ³  people shout ⁴  and cry out to the hill. ⁵ 

You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool – but you did not trust in ¹  the one who made it; ²  you did not depend on ³  the one who formed it long ago!

This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, ¹  and tell him: ² 

He will wind you up tightly into a ball and throw you into a wide, open land. ¹  There you will die, and there with you will be your impressive chariots, ²  which bring disgrace to the house of your master. ³ 

So now, do not mock, or your chains will become heavier! For I have heard a message about decreed destruction, from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. ¹ 

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. ¹ 

The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit. The Lord will strike with ¹  his hand; the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall. Together they will perish. ² 

Tell those who panic, ¹  “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ² 

Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” ¹ 

Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

The king ¹  heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia ²  was marching out to fight him. ³  He again sent ⁴  messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them:

Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? ¹  At the Holy One of Israel! ² 

At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered.

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” ¹  Then he thought, ²  “For ³  there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”

Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ¹  men of ²  Israel. I am helping you,” says the Lord, your protector, ³  the Holy One of Israel. ⁴