1 "Woe to the arebellious children," declares the Lord, "Who bexecute a plan, but not Mine, And cmake an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin; 2 Who aproceed down to Egypt Without bconsulting Me, cTo take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! 3 "Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be ayour shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation. 4 "For atheir princes are at Zoan And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes. 5 "Everyone will be aashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are bnot for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach." 6 The oracle concerning the abeasts of the bNegev. Through a land of cdistress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and dflying serpent, They ecarry their riches on the backs of young donkeys And their treasures on fcamels' humps, To a people who cannot profit them; 7 Even Egypt, whose ahelp is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her "bRahab who has been exterminated." 8 Now go, awrite it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, That it may serve in the time to come As a witness forever. 9 For this is a arebellious people, bfalse sons, Sons who refuse to clisten To the instruction of the Lord; 10 Who say to the aseers, "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets, "You must not bprophesy to us what is right, cSpeak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. 11 "Get out of the way, aturn aside from the path, bLet us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel." 12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "aSince you have rejected this word And have put your trust in boppression and guile, and have relied on them, 13 Therefore this ainiquity will be to you Like a bbreach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes csuddenly in an instant, 14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a apotter's jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a sherd will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern." 15 For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and arest you will be saved, In bquietness and trust is your strength." But you were not willing, 16 And you said, "No, for we will flee on ahorses," Therefore you shall flee! "And we will ride on swift horses," Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift. 17 aOne thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top And as a signal on a hill. 18 Therefore the Lord alongs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on bhigh to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a cGod of justice; How blessed are all those who dlong for Him. 19 O people in Zion, ainhabitant in Jerusalem, you will bweep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will canswer you. 20 Although the Lord has given you abread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer bhide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the away, walk in it," whenever you bturn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will defile your graven aimages overlaid with silver, and your molten aimages plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, "bBe gone!" 23 Then He will agive you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plenteous; on that day byour livestock will graze in a roomy pasture. 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been awinnowed with shovel and fork. 25 On every lofty mountain and on aevery high hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great bslaughter, when the towers fall. 26 aThe light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day bthe Lord binds up the cfracture of His people and dheals the bruise He has inflicted. 27 Behold, athe name of the Lord comes from a remote place; bBurning is His anger and dense is His smoke; His lips are filled with cindignation And His tongue is like a dconsuming fire; 28 His abreath is like an overflowing torrent, Which breaches to the neck, To cshake the nations back and forth in a sieve, And to put in the jaws of the peoples dthe bridle which leads to ruin. 29 You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. 30 And the Lord will cause His voice of authority to be heard, And the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, And in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst, downpour and hailstones. 31 For aat the voice of the Lord bAssyria will be terrified, When He strikes with the crod. 32 And every blow of the arod of punishment, Which the Lord will lay on him, Will be with the music of btambourines and lyres; And in battles, cbrandishing weapons, He will fight them. 33 For aTopheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, A pyre of fire with plenty of wood; The bbreath of the Lord, like a torrent of cbrimstone, sets it afire.