<p class="poetry">For look, the <sc>Lordsc> is coming out of the place where he lives,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.p> <p class="poetry">The earth will display the blood shed on it;p> <p class="poetry">it will no longer cover up its slain.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">At that time<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> will punishp> <p class="poetry">with his destructive,<n id="2" /> great, and powerful swordp> <p class="poetry">Leviathan the fast-moving<n id="3" /> serpent,p> <p class="poetry">Leviathan the squirming serpent;p> <p class="poetry">he will kill the sea monster.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">When its branches get brittle,<n id="1" /> they break;p> <p class="poetry">women come and use them for kindling.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">For these people lack understanding,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;p> <p class="poetry">the one who formed them has no mercy on them.p>

<p class="poetry">The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,p> <p class="poetry">situated at the head of a rich valley,p> <p class="poetry">will be like an early fig before harvest &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">as soon as someone notices it,p> <p class="poetry">he grabs it and swallows it.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">To you this entire prophetic revelation<n id="1" /> is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read<n id="2" /> and say, &#8220;Read this,&#8221; he responds, &#8220;I can&#8217;t, because it is sealed.&#8221;

<p class="poetry">The sovereign master<n id="1" /> says,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;These people say they are loyal to me;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">they say wonderful things about me,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">but they are not really loyal to me.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Their worship consists ofp> <p class="poetry">nothing but man-made ritual.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">So this is what the <sc>Lordsc>, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob:<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Jacob will no longer be ashamed;p> <p class="poetry">their faces will no longer show their embarrassment.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">He will water the seed you plant in the ground,p> <p class="poetry">and the ground will produce crops in abundance.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">At that time<n id="2" /> your cattle will graze in wide pastures.p>

<p class="poetry">The light of the full moon will be like the sun&#8217;s glarep> <p class="poetry">and the sun&#8217;s glare will be seven times brighter,p> <p class="poetry">like the light of seven days,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">when the <sc>Lordsc> binds up his people&#8217;s fractured bones<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and heals their severe wound.<n id="3" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">those who rely on war horses,p> <p class="poetry">and trust in Egypt&#8217;s many chariots<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and in their many, many horsemen.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">and do not seek help from the <sc>Lordsc>.p>

The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser<n id="1" /> from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem,<n id="2" /> along with a large army. The chief adviser<n id="3" /> stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief<n id="1" /> and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

Perhaps the <sc>Lordsc> your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.<n id="1" /> When the <sc>Lordsc> your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.<n id="2" /> So pray for this remnant that remains.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

Isaiah said to them, &#8220;Tell your master this: &#8216;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid because of the things you have heard &#8211; these insults the king of Assyria&#8217;s servants have hurled against me.<n id="1" />

&#8220;Please, <sc>Lordsc>. Remember how I have served you<n id="1" /> faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,<n id="2" /> and how I have carried out your will.&#8221;<n id="3" /> Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.<n id="4" />p>

Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.&#8221;<n id="1" /> And then the shadow went back ten steps.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">he says, &#8220;Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,p> <p class="poetry">to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,p> <p class="poetry">and restore the remnant<n id="1" /> of Israel?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I will make you a light to the nations,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">so you can bring<n id="4" /> my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">Then you will think to yourself,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Who bore these children for me?p> <p class="poetry">I was bereaved and barren,p> <p class="poetry">dismissed and divorced.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Who raised these children?p> <p class="poetry">Look, I was left all alone;p> <p class="poetry">where did these children come from?&#8217;&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">Indeed,&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;captives will be taken from a warrior;p> <p class="poetry">spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.p> <p class="poetry">I will oppose your adversaryp> <p class="poetry">and I will rescue your children.p>

<p class="poetry">This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Where is your mother&#8217;s divorce certificatep> <p class="poetry">by which I divorced her?p> <p class="poetry">Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Look, you were sold because of your sins;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.<n id="3" />p>