Isaiah

¹ not yet destroyed; And doom to you, Betrayer, not yet betrayed. When you finish destroying, your turn will come—destroyed! When you quit betraying, your turn will come—betrayed!

² First thing in the morning, be there for us! When things go bad, help us out!

³ You showed up and nations scattered.

⁴ picking the field clean of the enemy spoils.

⁵ Zion brims over with all that is just and right.

⁶ salvation, wisdom, and knowledge in surplus, and best of all, Zion's treasure, Fear-of-God.

⁷ Tough men weep openly. Peacemaking diplomats are in bitter tears.

⁸ not a soul out on the streets. The peace treaty is broken, its conditions violated, its signers reviled.

⁹ the Lebanon mountains hang their heads, Flowering Sharon is a weed-choked gully, and the forests of Bashan and Carmel? Bare branches.

¹⁰ "From now on, I'm taking over. The gloves come off. Now see how mighty I am.

¹¹ Pregnant with chaff, you produce straw babies; full of hot air, you self-destruct.

¹² Earth to earth—and the sooner the better.

¹³ get the reports on what I've done, And if you're in the neighborhood, pay attention to my record.

¹⁴ the godless are at their wit's end: 'Who among us can survive this firestorm? Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?' "

¹⁵ Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements.

¹⁶ A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live.

¹⁷ And you'll take in the wide vistas of land.

¹⁸ "What happened to that Assyrian inspector who condemned and confiscated? And the one who gouged us of taxes? And that cheating moneychanger?"

¹⁹ nothing now but a fading stain on the carpet! No more putting up with a language you can't understand, no more sounds of gibberish in your ears.

²⁰ Centering our worship in festival feasts! Feast your eyes on Jerusalem, a quiet and permanent place to live. No more pulling up stakes and moving on, no more patched-together lean-tos.

²¹ in a country of broad rivers and streams, But rivers blocked to invading ships, off-limits to predatory pirates.

²² God runs this place and he'll keep us safe.

²³ your mast wobbling, your hold leaking. The plunder is free for the taking, free for all— for weak and strong, insiders and outsiders.

²⁴ Best of all, they'll all live guilt-free.