The Branch From Jesse

11 A shootv will come up from the stumpw of Jesse;x

from his roots a Branchy will bear fruit.z

2 The Spirita of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdomb and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,c

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

3 and he will delight in the feard of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,e

or decide by what he hears with his ears;f

4 but with righteousnessg he will judge the needy,h

with justicei he will give decisions for the poorj of the earth.

He will strikek the earth with the rod of his mouth;l

with the breathm of his lips he will slay the wicked.n

5 Righteousness will be his belto

and faithfulnessp the sash around his waist.q

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,r

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearlinga together;

and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.s

8 The infantt will play near the cobra’s den,

the young child will put its hand into the viper’su nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroyv

on all my holy mountain,w

for the earthx will be filled with the knowledgey of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that dayz the Root of Jessea will stand as a bannerb for the peoples; the nationsc will rally to him,d and his resting placee will be glorious.f 11 In that dayg the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnanth of his people from Assyria,i from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,j from Cush,b k from Elam,l from Babylonia,c from Hamathm and from the islandsn of the Mediterranean.o

12 He will raise a bannerp for the nations

and gatherq the exiles of Israel;r

he will assemble the scattered peoples of Judah

from the four quarters of the earth.t

13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,

and Judah’s enemiesd will be destroyed;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.u

14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistiav to the west;

together they will plunder the people to the east.w

They will subdue Edomx and Moab,y

and the Ammonitesz will be subject to them.a

15 The Lord will dry upb

the gulf of the Egyptian sea;

with a scorching windc he will sweep his handd

over the Euphrates River.e

He will break it up into seven streams

so that anyone can cross over in sandals.f

16 There will be a highwayg for the remnanth of his people

that is left from Assyria,i

as there was for Israel

when they came up from Egypt.j

Songs of Praise

12 In that dayk you will say:

“I will praisel you, Lord.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned awaym

and you have comfortedn me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;o

I will trustp and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself,q is my strengthr and my defensea;

he has become my salvation.s”

3 With joy you will draw watert

from the wellsu of salvation.

4 In that dayv you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;w

make known among the nationsx what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted.y

5 Singz to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;a

let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy,b people of Zion,

for greatc is the Holy One of Israeld among you.e”

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecyf against Babylong that Isaiah son of Amozh saw:i

2 Raise a bannerj on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gatesk of the nobles.

3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriorsl to carry out my wrathm—

those who rejoicen in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!o

Listen, an uproarp among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almightyq is musteringr

an army for war.

5 They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavenss—

the Lord and the weaponst of his wrathu—

to destroyv the whole country.

6 Wail,w for the dayx of the Lord is near;

it will come like destructiony from the Almighty.a z

7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,a

every heart will melt with fear.b

8 Terrorc will seize them,

pain and anguish will gripd them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.e

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.f

9 See, the dayg of the Lord is coming

—a cruelh day, with wrathi and fierce angerj—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.k

The rising sunl will be darkenedm

and the moon will not give its light.n

11 I will punisho the world for its evil,

the wickedp for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughtyq

and will humbler the pride of the ruthless.s

12 I will make peoplet scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.u

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;v

and the earth will shakew from its place

at the wrathx of the Lord Almighty,

in the day of his burning anger.y

14 Like a huntedz gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,a

they will all return to their own people,

they will fleeb to their native land.c

15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will falld by the sword.e

16 Their infantsf will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;

their houses will be looted and their wives violated.g

17 See, I will stir uph against them the Medes,i

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.j

18 Their bowsk will strike down the young men;l

they will have no mercym on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.n

19 Babylon,o the jewel of kingdoms,p

the pride and gloryq of the Babylonians,b

will be overthrownr by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.s

20 She will never be inhabitedt

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomadsu will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

21 But desert creaturesv will lie there,

jackalsw will fill her houses;

there the owlsx will dwell,

and there the wild goatsy will leap about.

22 Hyenasz will inhabit her strongholds,a

jackalsb her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,c

and her days will not be prolonged.d