The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen ¹  me. ²  He has commissioned ³  me to encourage ⁴  the poor, to help ⁵  the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners,

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 

From this day forward I am he; no one can deliver from my power; ¹  I will act, and who can prevent it?”

Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, ¹  when he shouts at ²  them, they will flee to a distant land, driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills, or like dead thistles ³  before a strong gale.

For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to these people. ¹ 

Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. ¹ 

I announced them to you beforehand; before they happened, I predicted them for you, so you could never say, ‘My image did these things, my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’

¹ Zion will be freed by justice, ²  and her returnees by righteousness. ³ 

This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab.

Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter – one that remains trustworthy.

Listen to me, you stubborn people, ¹  you who distance yourself from doing what is right. ² 

So listen to this, oppressed one, who is drunk, but not from wine!

Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies ¹  is about to remove from Jerusalem ²  and Judah every source of security, including ³  all the food and water, ⁴ 

I ¹  will sing to my love – a song to my lover about his vineyard. ²  My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill. ³ 

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 

For this reason ¹  the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. ²  His majestic glory will go up in smoke. ³ 

Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ¹  The tallest trees ²  will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low.

I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them,” says the sovereign master, ¹  the Lord who commands armies.

You take olive oil as tribute ¹  to your king, ²  along with many perfumes. ³  You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol. ⁴ 

No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: ‘I burned half of it in the fire – yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ ¹