Isaiah 27

Chapter 27

1 In that day the LORD will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan,t the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.
2 “In that day,
sing about the fruitful vineyard.3 I, the LORD, will watch over it,
watering it carefully.
Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.4 My anger will be gone.
If I find briers and thorns growing,
I will attack them;
I will burn them up—5 unless they turn to me for help.
Let them make peace with me;
yes, let them make peace with me.”6 The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.
Israel will bud and blossom
and fill the whole earth with fruit!7 Has the LORD struck Israel
as he struck her enemies?
Has he punished her
as he punished them?8 No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account.
She was exiled from her land
as though blown away in a storm from the east.9 The LORD did this to purge Israel’st wickedness,
to take away all her sin.
As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust.
No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.10 The fortified towns will be silent and empty,
the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds.
Calves will graze there,
chewing on twigs and branches.11 The people are like the dead branches of a tree,
broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots.
Israel is a foolish and stupid nation,
for its people have turned away from God.
Therefore, the one who made them
will show them no pity or mercy.12 Yet the time will come when the LORD will gather them together like handpicked grain. One by one he will gather them—from the Euphrates Rivert in the east to the Brook of Egypt in the west.

13 In that day the great trumpet will sound. Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the LORD on his holy mountain.

Isaiah 28

Chapter 28

A Message about Samaria

1 What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel.t
It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
It is the pride of a people
brought down by wine.2 For the Lord will send a mighty army against it.
Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain,
they will burst upon it like a surging flood
and smash it to the ground.3 The proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israelt—
will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet.4 It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
Whoever sees it will snatch it up,
as an early fig is quickly picked and eaten.5 Then at last the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
will himself be Israel’s glorious crown.
He will be the pride and joy
of the remnant of his people.6 He will give a longing for justice
to their judges.
He will give great courage
to their warriors who stand at the gates.7 Now, however, Israel is led by drunks
who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.
The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol
and lose themselves in wine.
They reel when they see visions
and stagger as they render decisions.8 Their tables are covered with vomit;
filth is everywhere.9 “Who does the LORD think we are?” they ask.
“Why does he speak to us like this?
Are we little children,
just recently weaned?10 He tells us everything over and over—
one line at a time,
one line at a time,
a little here,
and a little there!”11 So now God will have to speak to his people
through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!12 God has told his people,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the weary rest here.
This is a place of quiet rest.”
But they would not listen.13 So the LORD will spell out his message for them again,
one line at a time,
one line at a time,
a little here,
and a little there,
so that they will stumble and fall.
They will be injured, trapped, and captured.14 Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD,
you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.15 You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
and have made a deal to dodge the grave.t
The coming destruction can never touch us,
for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,t
a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
Whoever believes need never be shaken.t17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice
and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,
a hailstorm will knock it down.
Since it is made of deception,
a flood will sweep it away.18 I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
you will be trampled into the ground.19 Again and again that flood will come,
morning after morning,
day and night,
until you are carried away.”
This message will bring terror to your people.20 The bed you have made is too short to lie on.
The blankets are too narrow to cover you.21 The LORD will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim
and against the Amorites at Gibeon.
He will come to do a strange thing;
he will come to do an unusual deed:22 For the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,
has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land.
So scoff no more,
or your punishment will be even greater.23 Listen to me;
listen, and pay close attention.24 Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?25 Does he not finally plant his seeds—
black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat—
each in its proper way,
and each in its proper place?26 The farmer knows just what to do,
for God has given him understanding.27 A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin;
rather, it is beaten with a light stick.
A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin;
instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail.28 Grain for bread is easily crushed,
so he doesn’t keep on pounding it.
He threshes it under the wheels of a cart,
but he doesn’t pulverize it.29 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher,
and he gives the farmer great wisdom.

Isaiah 29

Chapter 29

A Message about Jerusalem

1 “What sorrow awaits Ariel,t the City of David.
Year after year you celebrate your feasts.2 Yet I will bring disaster upon you,
and there will be much weeping and sorrow.
For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means—
an altar covered with blood.3 I will be your enemy,
surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls.
I will build siege towers
and destroy it.4 Then deep from the earth you will speak;
from low in the dust your words will come.
Your voice will whisper from the ground
like a ghost conjured up from the grave.5 “But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed
like the finest of dust.
Your many attackers will be driven away
like chaff before the wind.
Suddenly, in an instant,6 I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you
with thunder and earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.7 All the nations fighting against Jerusalemt
will vanish like a dream!
Those who are attacking her walls
will vanish like a vision in the night.8 A hungry person dreams of eating
but wakes up still hungry.
A thirsty person dreams of drinking
but is still faint from thirst when morning comes.
So it will be with your enemies,
with those who attack Mount Zion.”9 Are you amazed and incredulous?
Don’t you believe it?
Then go ahead and be blind.
You are stupid, but not from wine!
You stagger, but not from liquor!10 For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.11 All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, “We can’t read it because it is sealed.”

12 When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, “We don’t know how to read.”
13 And so the Lord says,
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.t14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites
with amazing wonders.
The wisdom of the wise will pass away,
and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”15 What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their evil deeds in the dark!
“The LORD can’t see us,” they say.
“He doesn’t know what’s going on!”16 How foolish can you be?
He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
“He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
“The potter who made me is stupid”?17 Soon—and it will not be very long—
the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field,
and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.18 In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book,
and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.19 The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the LORD.
The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.20 The scoffer will be gone,
the arrogant will disappear,
and those who plot evil will be killed.21 Those who convict the innocent
by their false testimony will disappear.
A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice
and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.

22 That is why the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,t
“My people will no longer be ashamed
or turn pale with fear.23 For when they see their many children
and all the blessings I have given them,
they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Israel.
They will stand in awe of the God of Jacob.24 Then the wayward will gain understanding,
and complainers will accept instruction.