Assyria Is God’s Instrument

1Woe to those who enact evil statutes

And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,

2So as to deprive the needy of justice

And rob the poor of My people of their rights,

So that widows may be their spoil

And that they may plunder the orphans.

3Now what will you do in the day of punishment,

And in the devastation which will come from afar?

To whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your wealth?

4Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives

Or fall among the slain.

In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away

And His hand is still stretched out.

5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger

And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

6I send it against a godless nation

And commission it against the people of My fury

To capture booty and to seize plunder,

And to trample them down like mud in the streets.

7Yet it does not so intend,

Nor does it plan so in its heart,

But rather it is its purpose to destroy

And to cut off many nations.

8For it says, “Are not my princes all kings?

9Is not Calno like Carchemish,

Or Hamath like Arpad,

Or Samaria like Damascus?

10As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,

Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images

Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?”

12So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.” 13For he has said,

“By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,

For I have understanding;

And I removed the boundaries of the peoples

And plundered their treasures,

And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants,

14And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest,

And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;

And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”

15Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it?

Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?

That would be like a club wielding those who lift it,

Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.

16Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors;

And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

17And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame,

And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

18And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,

And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number

That a child could write them down.

33Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

1) How does Isaiah portray יהוה’s control over the nations, even when they act in arrogance or violence?

2) What does Paul’s praise in Romans 11 reveal about trusting יהוה’s wisdom during times of hiddenness or judgment?

3) How can understanding יהוה’s sovereignty transform the way we view both discipline and mercy?

Heaven Is God’s Throne

1Thus says the Lord,

“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.

Where then is a house you could build for Me?

And where is a place that I may rest?

2For My hand made all these things,

Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.

“But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Hypocrisy Rebuked

3“But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;

He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;

He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine’s blood;

He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.

As they have chosen their own ways,

And their soul delights in their abominations,

4So I will choose their punishments

And will bring on them what they dread.

Because I called, but no one answered;

I spoke, but they did not listen.

And they did evil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

5Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word:

“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake,

Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’

But they will be put to shame.

6A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,

The voice of the Lord who is rendering recompense to His enemies.

7“Before she travailed, she brought forth;

Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.

8Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?

Can a land be born in one day?

Can a nation be brought forth all at once?

As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

9Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord.

“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

10“Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;

Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,

11That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,

That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.”

12For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river,

And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.

13As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;

And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

14Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad,

And your bones will flourish like the new grass;

And the hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,

But He will be indignant toward His enemies.

15For behold, the Lord will come in fire

And His chariots like the whirlwind,

To render His anger with fury,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

16For the Lord will execute judgment by fire

And by His sword on all flesh,

And those slain by the Lord will be many.

17“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,

Following one in the center,

Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,

Will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

18“For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. 19I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. 20Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.

22“For just as the new heavens and the new earth

Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,

“So your offspring and your name will endure.

23And it shall be from new moon to new moon

And from sabbath to sabbath,

All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.

24“Then they will go forth and look

On the corpses of the men

Who have transgressed against Me.

For their worm will not die

And their fire will not be quenched;

And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

God Is Awesome

1The oracle of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2A jealous and avenging God is the Lord;

The Lord is avenging and wrathful.

The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries,

And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

3The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,

And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

In whirlwind and storm is His way,

And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

4He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;

He dries up all the rivers.

Bashan and Carmel wither;

The blossoms of Lebanon wither.

5Mountains quake because of Him

And the hills dissolve;

Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence,

The world and all the inhabitants in it.

6Who can stand before His indignation?

Who can endure the burning of His anger?

His wrath is poured out like fire

And the rocks are broken up by Him.

7The Lord is good,

A stronghold in the day of trouble,

And He knows those who take refuge in Him.

8But with an overflowing flood

He will make a complete end of its site,

And will pursue His enemies into darkness.

9Whatever you devise against the Lord,

He will make a complete end of it.

Distress will not rise up twice.

10Like tangled thorns,

And like those who are drunken with their drink,

They are consumed

As stubble completely withered.

11From you has gone forth

One who plotted evil against the Lord,

A wicked counselor.

12Thus says the Lord,

“Though they are at full strength and likewise many,

Even so, they will be cut off and pass away.

Though I have afflicted you,

I will afflict you no longer.

13So now, I will break his yoke bar from upon you,

And I will tear off your shackles.”

14The Lord has issued a command concerning you:

“Your name will no longer be perpetuated.

I will cut off idol and image

From the house of your gods.

I will prepare your grave,

For you are contemptible.”

15Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news,

Who announces peace!

Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;

Pay your vows.

For never again will the wicked one pass through you;

He is cut off completely.