Isaiah 23–26

1This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.

2Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.

3On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations.

4Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”

5When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.

6Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!

7Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?

8Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?

9The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.

10Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer a harbor.

11The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.

12He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus— even there you will find no rest.”

13Look at the land of the Chaldeans — a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin.

14Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed!

15At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a king’s life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

16“Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.”

17And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.

18Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.

1Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—

2people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

3The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered. For the LORD has spoken this word.

4The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.

5The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.

6Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.

7The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.

8The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.

9They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.

10The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.

11In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.

12The city is left in ruins; its gate is reduced to rubble.

13So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.

14They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.

15Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.

16From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.

17Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.

18Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

19The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.

20The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.

21In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.

22They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days.

23The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.

1O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders— plans formed long ago— in perfect faithfulness.

2Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.

3Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

4For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,

5like heat in a dry land. You subdue the uproar of foreigners. As the shade of a cloud cools the heat, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

6On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.

7On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;

8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.

9And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.

11He will spread out his hands within it, as a swimmer spreads his arms to swim. His pride will be brought low, despite the skill of his hands.

12The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.

1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.

2Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter— one that remains faithful.

3You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

4Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.

5For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust.

6Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.

7The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.

8Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.

9My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

10Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.

11O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

12O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.

13O LORD our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we confess.

14The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.

15You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; You have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for Yourself; You have extended all the borders of the land.

16O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.

17As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.

18We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.

19Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.

20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.

21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.