Isa 10, Isa 15-16, Isa 19, 37:11-13, 24-26, 36, Jer 25:9-11 | ESV | STEP | Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees , and the writers who keep writing oppression ,

1 Woe to those who ^adecree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who ^bkeep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and ^cto rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on ^dthe day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come ^efrom afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
^fFor all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.

Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

5 Woe to Assyria, ^gthe rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
6 Against a ^hgodless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take ⁱspoil and seize plunder,
and to ^jtread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 But he ^kdoes not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
8 for he says:
^l“Are not my commanders all kings?
9 ^mIs not ⁿCalno like ^oCarchemish?
Is not ^pHamath like ^qArpad?
^rIs not ^sSamaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to ^tthe kingdoms of the idols,
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and ^uher idols
^vas I have done to Samaria and her images?”
12 ^wWhen the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, ^xhe ^{▼▼Hebrew I} will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 ^zFor he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened the mouth or chirped.”
15 Shall ^aathe axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his ^abstout warriors,
and under his glory ^aca burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17 ^adThe light of Israel will become a fire,
and ^aehis Holy One a flame,
and ^afit will burn and devour
his thorns and briers ^agin one day.
18 The glory of ^ahhis forest and of his ^aifruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.

The Remnant of Israel Will Return

20 ^ajIn that day ^akthe remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more ^allean on him who struck them, but ^amwill lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, ^anto the mighty God. 22 ^aoFor though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, ^aponly a remnant of them will return. ^aqDestruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people, ^arwho dwell in Zion, ^asbe not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as ^atthe Egyptians did. 25 For ^auin a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And ^avthe Lord of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck ^awMidian ^axat the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it ^ayas he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day ^azhis burden will depart from your shoulder, and ^bahis yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.” ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}

28 He has come to Aiath;
he has passed through ^bcMigron;
at Michmash he stores ^bdhis baggage;
29 they have crossed over ^bethe pass;
at ^bfGeba they lodge for the night;
^bgRamah trembles;
^bhGibeah of Saul has fled.
30 Cry aloud, O daughter of ^biGallim!
Give attention, O Laishah!
O poor ^bjAnathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
32 This very day he will halt at ^bkNob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of ^blthe daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
33 Behold, the Lord God of hosts
^bmwill lop ^bnthe boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down ^bothe thickets of the forest with an axe,
and ^bpLebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

Isaiah 15

An Oracle Concerning Moab

1 An ^bqoracle concerning ^brMoab.

Because ^bsAr of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because ^btKir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2 He has gone up to the temple, ^{▼▼Hebrew the house} and to ^bvDibon,
to the high places ^{▼▼Or temple, even Dibon to the high places} to weep;
over ^bxNebo and over ^byMedeba
Moab ^bzwails.
On every head is ^cabaldness;
every beard is shorn;
3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4 ^cbHeshbon and ^ccElealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as ^cdJahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to ^ceEglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ^cfascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to ^cgHoronaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6 the waters of ^chNimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7 ^ciTherefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of ^cjDibon ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse} are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
^cla lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.

Isaiah 16

1 ^cmSend the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from ^cnSela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at ^cothe fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
^cpmake your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let ^cqthe outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them}
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
5 ^csthen a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6 ^ctWe have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
^cuof his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
^cvlet everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the ^cwraisin cakes of ^cxKir-hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and ^cythe vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore ^czI weep with ^dathe weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over ^dbyour summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 ^dcAnd joy and gladness are taken away from ^ddthe fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no ^desongs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no ^dftreader treads out wine ^dgin the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore ^dhmy inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
12 And when Moab presents himself, when ^dihe wearies himself on ^djthe high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab ^dkin the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, ^dllike the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be ^dmvery few and feeble.”

Isaiah 19

An Oracle Concerning Egypt

1 An ^dnoracle concerning ^doEgypt.

Behold, the Lord ^dpis riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and ^dqthe idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will ^drmelt within them.
2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
^dsand they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound ^{▼▼Or I will swallow up} their ^ducounsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and ^dvthe mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of ^dwa hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
8 The ^dxfishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
9 The workers in ^dycombed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the ^dzpillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who ^eawork for pay will be grieved.
11 The princes of ^ebZoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your ^ecwise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of ^edZoan have become fools,
and the princes of ^eeMemphis are deluded;
those who are the ^efcornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her ^ega spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
^ehas a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that ^eihead or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

16 In that day the Egyptians will be ^ejlike women, and ^ektremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.

18 ^elIn that day there will be ^emfive cities in the land of Egypt that ^enspeak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction. ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun}

19 In that day there will be an ^epaltar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^eqpillar to the Lord at its border. 20 ^erIt will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, ^eshe will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 ^etAnd the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day ^euand worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22 ^evAnd the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

23 ^ewIn that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, ^exand the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, ^eya blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt ^ezmy people, and Assyria ^fathe work of my hands, and ^fbIsrael my inheritance.”

Isaiah 37:11-13

11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 ^fcHave the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^fdGozan, ^feHaran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 ^ffWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Isaiah 37:24-26

24 By your servants you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, ^fgWith my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon,
^fhto cut down its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses,
to come to its remotest height,
its most fruitful forest.
25 I dug wells
and drank waters,
to dry up with the sole of my foot
all ^fithe streams ^fjof Egypt.
26 ^fk“‘Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins,

Isaiah 37:36

36 ^flAnd the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

Jeremiah 25:9-11

9 ^fmbehold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^fnmy servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, ^foand make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, ^fpI will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^fqthe grinding of the millstones and ^frthe light of the lamp. 11 ^fsThis whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and ^ftthese nations shall serve the king of Babylon ^fuseventy years.