UST ISA Chapter 31

◄ ISA 31 ► ║ ═ ©

31 How terrible it will be for those who depend on the Egyptians to help them!

Such people believe that Egypt’s many horses, chariots, and horsemen will protect them.

They do not depend on Yahweh, the holy God of the Israelites,

and they do not ask him to help them.

2 They believe the Egyptians are wise, but Yahweh is also wise,

He has determined to allow the Judeans to experience great trouble,

and he is going to do what he has said he will do.

He will punish the people who do what is wrong,

and he will also punish anyone who would help them do wrong things.

3 The Egyptians are only humans. They are not God!

Their horses are merely animals, not powerful spirits!

Yahweh will enable enemies to defeat the Egyptians,

whom the Judeans expected to help them.

Then those enemies will also defeat the Judeans,

and they and the Egyptians will perish together.

4 Yahweh said this to me:

“When a strong, young lion kills a sheep,

it growls as it eats it to warn other animals away.

The shepherd of that sheep may call many other shepherds

to come and chase that lion away.

The shepherds may shout at it and make noise,

but that does not frighten the lion. It does not run away.

In the same way, I, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies,

will come down to fight from the height of Mount Zion and nothing will deter me.

5 I, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, will protect Jerusalem

the way a mother bird hovers over its nest to protect its baby birds.

I will protect the city and rescue its people from their enemies.”

6 You Israelites have greatly rebelled against Yahweh. Repent and obey him once more. 7 When you do that, each of you will throw away the silver and gold idols that you made for yourselves. It was a sin to make and worship those idols.

8 “No human army will destroy the Assyrian army.

I, Yahweh, will destroy it.

The Assyrian soldiers who survive will run away from the battlefield.

The Judeans will capture many of their young soldiers

and make them slaves who have to work hard for them.

9 The Assyrian king, whose soldiers considered to be their strong leader,

will be so afraid that he runs away.

The Assyrian commanders will panic when they realize that I, Yahweh, am attacking them.”

This is what Yahweh declares.

From his temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion,

he destroys his enemies as if he were a great fire burning them up.