HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 990
IS A IA H 2 0
and a witness that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the
people cry to the Lord for help against those
who oppress them, he will send them a savior
who will rescue them. 21 The Lord will make
himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will
know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and
offerings to him. They will make a vow to the
Lord and will keep it. 22 The Lord will strike
Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the
Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them.
23 In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and
they will both worship God. 24 In that day Israel
will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,
a blessing in the midst of the earth. 25 For the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt,
my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have
made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!”
A Message about Egypt and Ethiopia
In the year when King Sargon of Assyria
sent his commander in chief to capture
the Philistine city of Ashdod,* 2 the Lord told
Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you
have been wearing, and remove your sandals.”
Isaiah did as he was told and walked around
naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has
been walking around naked and barefoot for the
last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the
terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.* 4 For the king of Assyria will take away the
Egyptians and Ethiopians* as prisoners. He will
make them walk naked and barefoot, both young
and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of
Egypt. 5 Then the Philistines will be thrown into
panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia
and boasted of their allies in Egypt! 6 They will
say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do
we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect
us from the king of Assyria.’”
20
A Message about Babylon
This message came to me concerning
Babylon—the desert by the sea*:
21
2
3
Disaster is roaring down on you from
the desert,
like a whirlwind sweeping in from
the Negev.
I see a terrifying vision:
I see the betrayer betraying,
the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
to all the groaning Babylon caused.
My stomach aches and burns with pain.
Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me,
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like those of a woman in labor.
I grow faint when I hear what God is
planning;
I am too afraid to look.
My mind reels and my heart races.
I longed for evening to come,
but now I am terrified of the dark.
5
Look! They are preparing a great feast.
They are spreading rugs for people
to sit on.
Everyone is eating and drinking.
But quick! Grab your shields and prepare
for battle.
You are being attacked!
6
Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
Let him shout out what he sees.
He should look for chariots
drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
Let the watchman be fully alert.”
7
8
9
10
Then the watchman* called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the
watchtower, my lord.
Night after night I have remained
at my post.
Now at last—look!
Here comes a man in a chariot
with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said,
“Babylon is fallen, fallen!
All the idols of Babylon
lie broken on the ground!”
O my people, threshed and winnowed,
I have told you everything the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies has said,
everything the God of Israel has told me.
A Message about Edom
11 This message came to me concerning Edom*:
12
Someone from Edom* keeps calling to me,
“Watchman, how much longer until
morning?
When will the night be over?”
The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but night will soon
return.
If you wish to ask again, then come back
and ask.”
A Message about Arabia
13 This message came to me concerning Arabia:
O caravans from Dedan,
hide in the deserts of Arabia.
20:1 Ashdod was captured by Assyria in 711 b.c. 20:3 Hebrew
Cush; also in 20:5. 20:4 Hebrew Cushites. 21:1 Hebrew
concerning the desert by the sea. 21:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls
and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads a lion. 21:11a Hebrew
Dumah, which means “silence” or “stillness.” It is a wordplay on
the word Edom. 21:11b Hebrew Seir, another name for Edom.