| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; | 1"The rebellious children are as good as dead," says the LORD, "those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin. |
| 2Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! | 2They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh's protection, and looking for safety in Egypt's protective shade. |
| 3Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. | 3But Pharaoh's protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt's protective shade nothing but humiliation. |
| 4For his princes were at Zoan, And his ambassadors came to Hanes. | 4Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, |
| 5They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach.” | 5all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace." |
| 6The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, From which came the lioness and lion, The viper and fiery flying serpent, They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people who shall not profit; | 6This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them. |
| 7For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. | 7Egypt is totally incapable of helping. For this reason I call her 'Proud one who is silenced.'" |
| 8Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever: | 8Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribe it on a scroll, so that it might be preserved for a future time as an enduring witness. |
| 9That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; | 9For these are rebellious people--they are lying children, children unwilling to obey the LORD's law. |
| 10Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. | 10They say to the visionaries, "See no more visions!" and to the seers, "Don't relate messages to us about what is right! Tell us nice things, relate deceptive messages. |
| 11Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.” | 11Turn aside from the way, stray off the path. Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel." |
| 12Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them, | 12For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says: "You have rejected this message; you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, and rely on that kind of behavior. |
| 13Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. | 13So this sin will become your downfall. You will be like a high wall that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse; it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. |
| 14And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments A shard to take fire from the hearth, Or to take water from the cistern.” | 14It shatters in pieces like a clay jar, so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough to scoop a hot coal from a fire or to skim off water from a cistern." |
| 15For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, | 15For this is what the master, the LORD, the Holy One of Israel says: "If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, but you are unwilling. |
| 16And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”— Therefore you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses”— Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! | 16You say, 'No, we will flee on horses,' so you will indeed flee. You say, 'We will ride on fast horses,' so your pursuers will be fast. |
| 17One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill. | 17One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, until the remaining few are as isolated as a flagpole on a mountaintop or a signal flag on a hill." |
| 18Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. | 18For this reason the LORD is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the LORD is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. |
| 19For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. | 19For people will live in Zion; in Jerusalem you will weep no more. When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy; when he hears it, he will respond to you. |
| 20And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. | 20The sovereign master will give you distress to eat and suffering to drink; but your teachers will no longer be hidden; your eyes will see them. |
| 21Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. | 21You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, "This is the correct way, walk in it," whether you are heading to the right or the left. |
| 22You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!” | 22You will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag, saying to them, "Get out!" |
| 23Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures. | 23He will water the seed you plant in the ground, and the ground will produce crops in abundance. At that time your cattle will graze in wide pastures. |
| 24Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan. | 24The oxen and donkeys used in plowing will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. |
| 25There will be on every high mountain And on every high hill Rivers and streams of waters, In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall. | 25On every high mountain and every high hill there will be streams flowing with water, at the time of great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse. |
| 26Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound. | 26The light of the full moon will be like the sun's glare and the sun's glare will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, when the LORD binds up his people's fractured bones and heals their severe wound. |
| 27Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire. | 27Look, the name of the LORD comes from a distant place in raging anger and awesome splendor. He speaks angrily and his word is like destructive fire. |
| 28His breath is like an overflowing stream, Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err. | 28His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river that reaches one's neck. He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. |
| 29You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the LORD, To the Mighty One of Israel. | 29You will sing as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival. You will be happy like one who plays a flute as he goes to the mountain of the LORD, the Rock who shelters Israel. |
| 30The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones. | 30The LORD will give a mighty shout and intervene in power, with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, with a driving rainstorm and hailstones. |
| 31For through the voice of the LORD Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod. | 31Indeed, the LORD's shout will shatter Assyria; he will beat them with a club. |
| 32And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the LORD lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it. | 32Every blow from his punishing cudgel, with which the LORD will beat them, will be accompanied by music from the tambourine and harp, and he will attack them with his weapons. |
| 33For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it. | 33For the burial place is already prepared; it has been made deep and wide for the king. The firewood is piled high on it. The LORD's breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone, will ignite it. |
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