1Ah! Rebellious children,

oracle of theLord,

Who carry out a plan that is not mine,

who make an alliance* I did not inspire,

thus adding sin upon sin;a

2They go down to Egypt,

without asking my counsel,*

To seek strength in Pharaoh’s protection

and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.b

3Pharaoh’s protection shall become your shame,

refuge in Egypt’s shadow your disgrace.c

4When his princes are at Zoan

and his messengers reach Hanes,d

5All shall be ashamed

of a people that gain them nothing,

Neither help nor benefit,

but only shame and reproach.e

6Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb.

Through the distressed and troubled land*

of the lioness and roaring lion,

of the viper and flying saraph,

They carry their riches on the backs of donkeys

and their treasures on the humps of camels

To a people good for nothing,

7to Egypt whose help is futile and vain.

Therefore I call her

“Rahab* Sit-still.”

8* Now come, write it on a tablet they can keep,

inscribe it on a scroll;

That in time to come it may be

an eternal witness.f

9For this is a rebellious people,

deceitful children,

Children who refuse

to listen to the instruction of theLord;g

10Who say to the seers, “Do not see”;

to the prophets,* “Do not prophesy truth for us;

speak smooth things to us, see visions that deceive!h

11Turn aside from the way! Get out of the path!

Let us hear no more

of the Holy One of Israel!”i

12Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel:

Because you reject this word,

And put your trust in oppression and deceit,

and depend on them,j

13This iniquity of yours shall be

like a descending rift

Bulging out in a high wall

whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant,k

14Crashing like a potter’s jar

smashed beyond rescue,

And among its fragments cannot be found

a sherd to scoop fire from the hearth

or dip water from the cistern.l

15For thus said the LordGod,

the Holy One of Israel:

By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,

in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.

But this you did not will.m

16“No,” you said,

“Upon horses we will flee.”

Very well, you shall flee!

“Upon swift steeds we will ride.”

Very well, swift shall be your pursuers!n

17A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one—

if five threaten, you shall flee.

You will then be left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,

like a flag on a hill.o

18Truly, theLord is waiting to be gracious to you,

truly, he shall rise to show you mercy;

For theLord is a God of justice:

happy are all who wait for him!p

19Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,

you shall no longer weep;

He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;

as soon as he hears he will answer you.q

20The Lord will give you bread in adversity

and water in affliction.

No longer will your Teacher* hide himself,

but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,r

21And your ears shall hear a word behind you:

“This is the way; walk in it,”

when you would turn to the right or the left.

22You shall defile your silver-plated idols

and your gold-covered images;

You shall throw them away like filthy rags,

you shall say, “Get out!”s

23He will give rain for the seed

you sow in the ground,

And the bread that the soil produces

will be rich and abundant.

On that day your cattle will graze

in broad meadows;t

24The oxen and the donkeys that till the ground

will eat silage tossed to them

with shovel and pitchfork.

25Upon every high mountain and lofty hill

there will be streams of running water.

On the day of the great slaughter,

when the towers fall,

26The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun,

and the light of the sun will be seven times greater,

like the light of seven days,

On the day theLord binds up the wounds of his people

and heals the bruises left by his blows.u

27See, the name of theLord is coming from afar,

burning with anger, heavy with threat,

His lips filled with fury,

tongue like a consuming fire,v

28Breath like an overflowing torrent

that reaches up to the neck!

He will winnow the nations with a destructive winnowing

and bridle the jaws of the peoples to send them astray.w

29For you, there will be singing

as on a night when a feast is observed,

And joy of heart

as when one marches along with a flute

Going to the mountain of theLord,

to the Rock of Israel.

30TheLord will make his glorious voice heard,

and reveal his arm coming down

In raging fury and flame of consuming fire,

in tempest, and rainstorm, and hail.x

31For at the voice of theLord, Assyria will be shattered,

as he strikes with the rod;

32And every sweep of the rod of his punishment,

which theLord will bring down on him,

Will be accompanied by timbrels and lyres,

while he wages war against him.y

33For his tophet* has long been ready,

truly it is prepared for the king;

His firepit made both deep and wide,

with fire and firewood in abundance,

And the breath of theLord, like a stream of sulfur,

setting it afire.z