New American Standard Version


Isaiah 31


Help Not in Egypt but in God


1. Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
And rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!
2. Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
And does not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.
3. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the Lord will stretch out His hand,
And he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.
4. For thus says the Lord to me, "As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
Against which a band of shepherds is called out,
Will not be terrified at their voice, nor disturbed at their noise,
So will the Lord of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill."
5. Like flying birds so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem.
He will protect and deliver it;
He will pass over and rescue it.
6. Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel.
7. For in that day every man will cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made as a sin.
8. And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of man will devour him.
So he will not escape the sword,
And his young men will become forced laborers.
9. "And his rock will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the standard,"
Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.




Isaiah 32


The Glorious Future


1. Behold, a king will reign righteously,
And princes will rule justly.
2. And each will be like a refuge from the wind,
And a shelter from the storm,
Like streams of water in a dry country,
Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.
3. Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4. And the mind of the hasty will discern the truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
5. No longer will the fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
6. For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart inclines toward wickedness,
To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And to withhold drink from the thirsty.
7. As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He devises wicked schemes
To destroy the afflicted with slander,
Even though the needy one speaks what is right.
8. But the noble man devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.
9. Rise up you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.
10. Within a year and a few days,
You will be troubled, O complacent daughters;
For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
11. Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
12. Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
13. For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up;
Yea, for all the joyful houses, and for the jubilant city.
14. Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken.
Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks;
15. Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
16. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.
17. And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
19. And it will hail when the forest comes down,
And the city will be utterly laid low.
20. How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.




Isaiah 33


The Judgment of God


1. Woe to you, O destroyer,
While you were not destroyed;
And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
As soon as you shall finish destroying, you shall be destroyed;
As soon as you shall cease to deal treacherously, others shall deal treacherously with you.
2. O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for Thee.
Be Thou their strength every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of distress.
3. At the sound of the tumult peoples flee;
At the lifting up of Thyself nations disperse.
4. And your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
As locusts rushing about, men rush about on it.
5. The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6. And He shall be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7. Behold, their brave men cry in the streets,
The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
8. The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased,
He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,
He has no regard for man.
9. The land mourns and pines away,
Lebanon is shamed and withers;
Sharon is like a desert plain,
And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage.
10. "Now I will arise," says the Lord,
"Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.
11. "You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
My breath will consume you like a fire.
12. "And the peoples will be burned to lime,
Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.
13. "You who are far away, hear what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might."
14. Sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?"
15. He who walks righteously, and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain,
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
16. He will dwell on the heights;
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him;
His water will be sure.
17. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will behold a far-distant land.
18. Your heart will meditate on terror: "Where is he who counts?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?"
19. You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue which no one understands.
20. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes shall see Jerusalem an undisturbed habitation,
A tent which shall not be folded,
Its stakes shall never be pulled up
Nor any of its cords be torn apart.
21. But there the majestic One, the Lord, shall be for us
A place of rivers and wide canals,
On which no boat with oars shall go,
And on which no mighty ship shall pass
22. For the Lord is our judge,
The Lord is our lawgiver,
The Lord is our king;
He will save us
23. Your tackle hangs slack;
It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,
Nor spread out the sail.
Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
The lame will take the plunder.
24. And no resident will say, "I am sick";
The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.