Isaiah 6-12 A Righteous Messiah and Remnant
Psalm 73:1-20 Perilous Prosperity of the Wicked
Psalm 73:1 “(A Psalm by Asaph) Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked...11 They say, "How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" 12 Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches. 13 Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart, and washed my hands in innocence, 14 For all day long have I been plagued, and punished every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus"; behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 16 When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me; 17 Until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction. 19 How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors. 20 As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when You awake, You will despise their fantasies..."
Observations: 73:1-3 This, and the next ten Psalms are attributed to Asaph (along with Ps 50), a musician, also called a seer in 2Ch 29:30. His confidence that God rewards the pure in heart slips as he enviously considers the prosperity of the wicked.
73:4-16 A catalog of the carefree wicked life leads Asaph to think he has cleansed his heart and kept his hands clean in vain, for the evil have it easy, and the pure have pain.
73:17-20 It's only when we step back and look at things from God's perspective that life comes into focus. When Asaph glimpses the future he realizes that God is just setting the wicked up for destruction. They will be destroyed and their fantasy of invincibility will dissipate as a dream when one wakes.
Application: Don't think the present is the future. God's just plans and promises will turn things around and in some cases, upside down.
Prayer: Lord, may I persist in purity, and hang my hope on the future You have promised, since that is the ultimate reality. Amen.
Proverbs 19:1-3 Who Causes Your Problems?
Pr 19:1 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool. 2 It isn't good to have zeal without knowledge; nor being hasty with one's feet and missing the way. 3 The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against Yahweh.“
Observations: 19:1 Another one of those "Betters."
19:2 The converse could also be true.
19:3 Like Adam, we blame God for the problems we've brought upon ourselves.
19:2 The converse could also be true.
19:3 Like Adam, we blame God for the problems we've brought upon ourselves.
Application: Knowing and doing God's will zealously is all good.
Prayer: Father, forgive me for the folly of blaming You for my blunders. Amen.
Isaiah 6-12 These chapters start with the commissioning of Isaiah, and end with a contemplation of the Messiah's righteous reign in Jerusalem. They contain some of the best known Messianic prophecies, as well as predictions of Judah's discipline and restoration. The post is a little long, but encompasses all the initial prophecies to Judah (Babylon next).
Isaiah 6 Cleansed and Commissioned
5 Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Hosts!" 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven." 8 I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am. Send me!"
9 He said, "Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed." 11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" He answered, "Until cities are waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land becomes utterly waste, 12 And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock."
Observations: 6:1-8 King Uzziah was one of the good kings of Judah, who didn't finish as well as he started, because he intruded into the temple and was struck with leprosy, becoming unclean. Isaiah sees the triply Holy God on His kingly throne in the midst of the praise of the seraphim. He is immediately conscious of his unclean lips (reflection of heart), which he confesses. Compared to the holiness of God, the best of humans is unclean. The application of a burning coal takes away his guilt/iniquity, and his sin is covered/forgiven. It is then that he hears God's voice seeking volunteers to serve. Seeing our sin and dealing with it via confession is the prelude to hearing God's voice. Knowing the uncleanness of his people, He responds to God's general invitation with putting himself at God's disposal, asking Him to use him.
6:9-10 Each of the major prophets is told that the people won't pay attention to them. So why send them? God sends prophets to vindicate His justice, so that when He judges, there is no excuse. Some hearers might respond, but the motivation of God's servant must be that of faithfulness to his Master. The heart, ears, eyes, eyes, ears, heart structure in verse 10 is called chiasim and emphasizes the center, the eyes. Israel saw God's works, but wouldn't listen to His words, and therefore didn't set their hearts to do His will. Isaiah's preaching would make their hearts fat/dull/insensitive (6:9) because they didn't want to submit to God.
John quotes this passage in Jn 12:37-42 to explain how people could fail to believe in the miracles they had seen.
[Note: John quotes from both Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 6, and attributes both texts to one prophet, Isaiah. Over half a dozen other NT passages do the same thing. It's clear that the NT authors viewed Isaiah as one continuous work, not something written by multiple authors.]
6:11 Isaiah asks how long God's people would reject Him; the sad answer is “until they are consumed, and only the underground root and stump remained."
Application: You don't need a call to serve God; you already have a written invitation; respond to it, and enlist in God's service.
Prayer: Holy God, You've saved me so You can use me in Your service. Here I am; whatever You want me to do, I will do. Amen.
Isaiah 7 Who You Gonna Trust?
17 Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. 18 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They shall come...23 It will happen in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver shekels, shall be for briers and thorns. 24 People will go there with arrows and with bow, because all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep."
Observations: 7:1-9 Ahaz, the very wicked grandson of Uzziah, is facing the united forces of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Syria. They had not prevailed against Jerusalem because Judah was still ruled by the House of David, according to the Davidic Covenant (2Sam 7), even though Ahaz was as bad as Ahab. Ahaz was looking to Assyria for help(2Kg 16:5-8), and God graciously sends Isaiah to encourage him to base the establishment of his kingship on belief/trust in God,rather than Assyria.
7:10-16 God offers to give Ahaz whatever sign he wants (Uzziah had asked for a sign that his promised healing would occur), that the promised security will come but Ahaz refuses to even comply with God's request (probably because of his plan to seek Assyrian help). So God gives the sign of Emmanuel (God with us). A young woman would conceive and bear a son, calling him Emmanuel. While still young, the enemies of Judah would be destroyed. Jewish custom considered the “age of accountability” to be thirteen, when a boy embraced the law for himself (Bar Mitzvah). This prophecy was initially fulfilled in Ahaz's day; Syria fell in a couple of years, and Samaria about a decade later (2Kg 15:29,30 16:9).
Matthew 1:23 applies verse 14, which is a promise that God would deliver His people, to the birth of the Messiah. The word used for virgin is that of an unmarried woman, who in Ahaz's day, got pregnant, and bore a son. See additional comments under the NT consideration of the topic.
7:17-25 Then God delivers the bad news, two different kings, from Egypt and Assyria, would devastate Judah, as agents of God. These are the very kingdoms that Judah would trust in to deliver them.
Application: Trusting in the ever-present Mighty God for protection is a far better choice than trusting in man, which usually backfires.
Prayer: Emmanuel, thanks that You are always with me; I trust in You, and not any frail human, to protect and deliver me. Amen.
Isaiah 8 Sanctuary or Snare
8:1 Yahweh said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’; 2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, "Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’ 4 For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria." 5 Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying, 6 "Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; 7 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. 8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel.
16 Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. 17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. 19 When they tell you, "Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter": shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. 21 They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward, 22 and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
Observations: 8:1-8 Mrs. Isaiah was a saint; “You're going to name him what????” The name means “swift to the spoil, hasten to the prey/plunder” or something like that. They probably just called him Baz. It's likely Baz was the fulfillment of the Immanuel prophesy of 7:14 (cf 8:8), indicating that God indeed was with them, as the king of Assyria destroyed Syria and Israel as predicted. Unfortunately, as also predicted, the flood waters of Assyria would do some damage to Judah because they trusted in Assyria rather than the gentle stream of Yahweh, who oversaw the land of Judah.
8:9-15 The only One to fear or dread is the Lord of Hosts, who is a sanctuary for those who trust Him and a snare or stumbling block for those who don't.
8:16-22 Those who don't trust Yahweh, their God, and turn to His Law and Testimony, but instead turn to chirpers and mutterers, will wind up distressed, anguished, and in darkness. No morning for them, only mourning. But those who trust, will shine with the Messiah (Hebrews 2:18 and Isaiah 9).
Application: If we trust in God's person and promises, and fear only Him, we won't need to fear anyone or anything else, and will end up in the light instead of in the darkness (chirp, mutter).
Prayer: God, I stake my security and success only on You, and will not seek the counsel or benefits of those who don't walk with You, who'll end up in darkness. Amen.
Isaiah 9 The Everlasting Father and Mighty God is Born
9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian. 5 For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. 
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel. 9 All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart, 10 "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place." 11 Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies, 12 The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13 Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Hosts. 14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day. 15 The elder and the honorable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail. 16 For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane/unholy and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Observations: 9:1-7 In contrast to the gloom of the last chapter for those who don't fear and trust God, here God promises light and joy, freedom from oppressors (Mt 4:15-16), and a reign of peace by the Prince of Peace. The Messiah will bring in the righteousness and justice God required of His people in chapter 1. We can trust Him to bring about the complete fulfillment of His plan. Note that the child is called the Everlasting Father, and Mighty God, and He will sit on the throne of David, ruling over God's people, the Hebrews. It's hard to imagine how that could come to pass, unless God becomes man.
9:8-21 Four stanzas of judgment are pronounced (up to 10:4); each ending with “For all this his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still.” Meaning God will continue to judge His unholy/profane(common) people. For their prideful self-reliance (9:8-12); evil civil and religious leadership (9:13-17); social wickedness (9:18-21); and unjust greed (10:1-4), God will not spare His wrath expressed through the rod of the king of Assyria, who get's his recompense in the next chapter.
Application: God wants righteousness and justice, and He will eventually personally establish it. In the meantime, He will punish the unrighteous and unjust. So it makes sense to turn to Him and seek Him and do His will now, or else we will suffer His wrath.
Prayer: God, I look forward to rejoicing in Your righteous reign, and I will seek to reflect Your desires in my relationships with others. Amen.
Isaiah 10 The Proud are Humbled
5 Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation! 6 I will send him against a profane/unholy nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, "Aren’t all of my princes kings? 9...Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?" 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 12 Therefore it will happen that, when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his haughty looks. 13 For he has said, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. 14 My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped."
15 Should an ax brag against him who chops with it?...16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire. 17 The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy one for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. 18 He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints. 19 The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.
15 Should an ax brag against him who chops with it?...16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire. 17 The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy one for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. 18 He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints. 19 The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.
20 It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy one of Israel, in truth/faithfulness. 21 A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will make a full end, and that determined, in the midst of all the earth. 24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, says "My people who dwell in Zion, don’t be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, as Egypt did. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction." 26 Yahweh of Hosts will stir up a scourge against him, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. His rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up like he did against Egypt. 27 It will happen in that day, that his burden will depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil. 33 Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty one.
Observations: 10:1-4 See end of last chapter.
10:5-19 After using the king of Assyria to judge His proud people, who don't rely on Him, God will judge the pride of the king, for his failure to acknowledge Yahweh.
10:20-34 God gives comfort to His people, saying their discipline has a determined end, and then a remnant will return and God will destroy Assyria.
Application: God knows what He's doing, and will do what He's determined and promised, so His people have a basis for faith and hope.
Prayer: God, You have purposed to humble the proud and protect the humbled, may my daily dependence upon You always keep me in the latter camp. Amen.
Isaiah 11 The Righteous Branch and Remnant
11:1 A shoot will come out of the root/stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. 3 His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity/justice for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. 11 It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim. 14 They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them. 15 Yahweh will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Observations: 11:1-9 Of all the wonderful characteristics of the Branch/Messiah, which is emphasized and elaborated upon? The fear of God. Probably a really really good thing to have. According to God's purpose, righteousness and justice will characterize His reign, resulting in peace. By His word the wicked will be slain, and the knowledge of God will fill/control the earth.
11:10-16 When the Messiah comes, all nations will seek Him at Jerusalem, His resting place. To which, He will again re-gather the Israelites, not just from Assyria, but the four corners of the earth. God will cut off Israel's enemies. God's plans for the Jews have not yet been accomplished, and are yet future. Topographical and geological changes in the earth will occur, and the nations will obey Israel.
Application: The characteristics of a Spirit filled/controlled believer, are wisdom, understanding, counsel (God's perspective), might/bravery, fear of the Lord, righteousness, and justice in dealing with others. These are all found through His word (recorded by the Spirit of Truth). How many of them do you own?
Prayer: God, may Your Spirit permeate my thinking, valuing, and actions, so that I accomplish Your purposes for me. Amen.
Isaiah 12 A Future Psalm
12:1 In that day you will say, "I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation." 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say, "Give thanks to Yahweh! Proclaim/call on his name. Declare his doings among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted! 5 Sing to Yahweh, for he has done excellent things! Let this be known in all the earth! 6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy one of Israel is great in the midst of you!"
Observations: 12:1-6 Isaiah prophesies that when the Messiah comes back to Israel, they will rejoice in His salvation, and give thanks that His anger is turned away. They will proclaim to all the earth the excellencies of His name and deeds. He will be in the midst of their praise on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. This hasn't happened yet.
Application: Those who've experienced God's discipline and deliverance in their lives should proclaim the manifold wonders of their God to others.
Prayer: God, You are my strength and song; I delight in Your deliverance of my life from sin, and your workings in my life in the present. I look forward to the time when all will know You as I do; may my praise of You further that objective. Amen.
Digging Deeper:
God in a nutshell: God is clearly in control of the events of our lives and history. Sin angers Him. He sends prophets to warn and comfort, and demonstrate His justice. He can use proud, evil people to judge His unsanctified people, and then judge the proud evil judger. He desires righteousness and justice (reflections of His character) and will eventually establish a righteous rule over the earth, when the Messiah sits on David's throne. He will again regather His people the Jews, in Jerusalem, where they will be the chief nation, and all other nations will seek Him there. He specifically marks out the enemies of Israel for destruction. When His knowledge controls the earth and the actions of its inhabitants, there will be peace.
Us in a nutshell: We can know and serve God when sanctified by Him, in response to our confession of sin. If we trust in anyone or anything other than God, we will regret it; they will fail us, or turn on us, and God will judge us for disloyalty. When our hearts are not set on seeking God, we won't be able to see or understand His works and purposes. The temporary gains of sin will be more than offset by the judgment God will bring upon us, particularly for injustice to our neighbor. We should proclaim the excellencies of God's name and deeds so others can know Him.
Where to Go for More:
Truthbase.net
Isaiah complete text
Isaiah 6
6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. 3 One called to another, and said, "Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Hosts! The whole earth is full of his glory!" 4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Hosts!" 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven." 8 I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am. Send me!"
9 He said, "Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed." 11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" He answered, "Until cities are waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land becomes utterly waste, 12 And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed: as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled; so the holy seed is its stock."
Isaiah 7
7:1 It happened in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 It was told the house of David, saying, "Syria is allied with Ephraim." His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind. 3 Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field. 4 Tell him, ‘Be careful, and keep calm. Don’t be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking torches, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 "Let’s go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let’s divide it among ourselves, and set up a king in its midst, even the son of Tabeel." 7 This is what the Lord Yahweh says: "It shall not stand, neither shall it happen." 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people; 9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.’"
10 Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 "Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt Yahweh." 13 He said, "Listen now, house of David. Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat butter and honey when he knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken.
17 Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. 18 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, in the clefts of the rocks, on all thorn hedges, and on all pastures. 20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard. 21 It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep; 22 and it shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for everyone will eat butter and honey that is left in the midst of the land. 23 It will happen in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver shekels, shall be for briers and thorns. 24 People will go there with arrows and with bow, because all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep."
Isaiah 8
8:1 Yahweh said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’; 2 and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, "Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’ 4 For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria." 5 Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying, 6 "Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; 7 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. 8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel.
9 Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered! 10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us." 11 For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 "Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear their threats, nor be terrorized. 13 Yahweh of Hosts is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread. 14 He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured."
16 Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. 17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. 19 When they tell you, "Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter": shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. 21 They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward, 22 and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
Isaiah 9
9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation. You have increased their joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian. 5 For all the armour of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Hosts will perform this.
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel. 9 All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart, 10 "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place." 11 Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies, 12 The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Hosts. 14 Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day. 15 The elder and the honourable man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail. 16 For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men, neither will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 18 For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke. 19 Through the wrath of Yahweh of Hosts, the land is burnt up; and the people are the fuel for the fire. No one spares his brother. 20 One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm: 21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Isaiah 10
10:1 Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees; 2 to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! 3 What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth? 4 They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
5 Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation! 6 I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, "Aren’t all of my princes kings? 9 Isn’t Calno like Carchemish? Isn’t Hamath like Arpad? Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?" 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 12 Therefore it will happen that, when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the wilful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his haughty looks. 13 For he has said, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. 14 My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, have I gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped." 15 Should an axe brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood. 16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire. 17 The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy one for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. 18 He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints. 19 The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child could write their number.
20 It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy one of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will make a full end, and that determined, in the midst of all the earth.
24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, says "My people who dwell in Zion, don’t be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, as Egypt did. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation against you will be accomplished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction." 26 Yahweh of Hosts will stir up a scourge against him, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. His rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up like he did against Egypt. 27 It will happen in that day, that his burden will depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil. 28 He has come to Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage. 29 They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah is a fugitive. The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. 32 This very day he will halt at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty one.
Isaiah 11
11:1 A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. 3 His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. 11 It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off. Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim. 14 They will fly down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon will obey them. 15 Yahweh will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march over in sandals. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 12
12:1 In that day you will say, "I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation." 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say, "Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name. Declare his doings among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted! 5 Sing to Yahweh, for he has done excellent things! Let this be known in all the earth! 6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy one of Israel is great in the midst of you!"
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