15 Nor shall there be any work in Egypt,

Which the head or tail, the branch or rush, may perform.

16 In that day the Egyptians shall be as women;

And they shall tremble and fear

At the shaking of the hand of JEHOVAH God of Hosts, Which he shall shake over them.

17 And the land of Judah shall become a terror to the Egyptians;

If any one mention it unto them, they shall fear;
Because of the counsel of JEHOVAH God of Hosts,
Which he hath counselled against them.

18 In that day, there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt,

Speaking the language of Canaan,

And swearing unto JEHOVAH God of Hosts:

One of them shall be called the City of the Sun. 19 In that day, there shall be an altar to JEHOVAH In the midst of the land of Egypt;

And a pillar by the border thereof to JEHOVAH: 20 And it shall be for a sign, and for a witness,

TO JEHOVAH God of Hosts in the land of Egypt;
That, when they cried unto JEHOVAH because of oppres-

sors,

He sent unto them a saviour and a vindicator, and he delivered them.

21 And JEHOVAH shall be known to Egypt,

And the Egyptians shall know JEHOVAH in that day;
And they shall serve him with sacrifice and oblation,
And they shall vow a vow unto JEHOVAH, and shall per-
form it.

22 And JEHOVAH shall smite Egypt, smiting and healing

her;

And they shall turn unto JEHOVAH, and he will be entreated by them, and will heal them.

23 In that day, there shall be a high-way from Egypt to Assyria;

And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the
Egyptian into Assyria:

And the Egyptian shall worship with the Assyrian.

24 In that day, Israel shall be reckoned a third,

Together with Egypt and Assyria;

A blessing in the midst of the earth:

25 Whom JEHOVAH God of Hosts hath blessed, saying: Blessed be my people, Egypt;

CHAP. 1
XX.

And Assyria, the work of my hands;
And Israel, mine inheritance.

IN the year that Tharthan marched to Ashdod; whither he was sent by Sargon king of Assyria; (and he 2 fought against Ashdod, and took it); at that time JEHOVAH spake by Isaiah, the son of Amots, saying: Go, loose the sackcloth from off thy loins; And put off thy shoes from thy feet.

3 And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And JEHOVAH said:

4

5

6

CHAP. 1
XXI.

As my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot;

A sign and a prodigy of three years,

Upon Egypt and upon Cush:

So shall the king of Assyria lead

The captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Cush,

The young and the old, naked and barefoot;

With their hind-parts discovered, to the shame of the
Egyptians.

And they [of Ashdod] shall be terrified, and ashamed
of Cush in whom they trusted,

And of Egypt, in whom they gloried.

And the inhabitant of this country shall say, in that day:

Behold, such is the object of our trust,

To whom we fled for succour,

That we might be delivered from the king of Assyria!
How then shall we escape?

THE ORACLE CONCERNING THE DESERT OF THE SEA.

LIKE the southern tempests violently rushing along, From the desert he cometh, from the terrible country. 2 A dreadful vision! it is revealed unto me:

The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed!

Go up, O Elam; form the siege, O Media! I have put an end to all her vexations : 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain;

Anguish hath seized me, as the anguish of a woman in travail.

I am convulsed, so that I cannot hear; I am astonished, so that I cannot see:

4 My heart is bewildered; terrors have scared me:

The evening, for which I longed, hath he turned into horror.

5 The table is prepared, the watch is set; they eat, they drink :

Rise, O ye princes; anoint the shield;

6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me:

Go, set a watchman on his station;

Whatever he shall see, let him report unto thee. 7 And he saw a chariot with two riders; A rider on an ass, a rider on a camel :

And he observed diligently with extreme diligence. 8 And he that looked out on the watch cried aloud: O my Lord, I keep my station all the day long ; And on my ward have I continued every night.

9 And behold, here cometh a man, one of the two riders: And he answereth, and sayeth, Babylon is fallen, is fallen;

10

And all the graven idols of her gods are broken to the ground.

O my threshing, and the corn of my floor!

What I have heard from JEHOVAH God of Hosts, the God of Israel,

That I have declared unto you.

A voice crieth unto me from Seir:

Watchman, what from the night?
Watchman, what from the night?

12 The watchman replieth:

The morning cometh, and also the night.
If
ye will inquire, inquire ye: come again.

13

THE ORACLE CONCERNING ARABIA.

IN the forest, at even, shall ye lodge,

O ye caravans of Dedan!

14 To meet the thirsty bring ye forth water,
O inhabitants of the southern country;
With bread prevent the fugitive.

15 For from the face of the sword they shall flee :
From the face of the drawn sword;

And from the face of the bended bow;
And from the face of the grievous war.

16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me:

Within yet a year, as the years of an hireling,
Shall all the glory of Kedar be consumed;

17 And the remainder of the number of the mighty bow

men,

Of the sons of Kedar, shall be diminished:

For JEHOVAH the God of Israel hath spoken it.

CHAP. 1
XXII.

THE ORACLE CONCERNING THE VALLEY OF VISION.

WHAT aileth thee now, that all thine inhabitants are gone up to the house-tops?

2 O thou, that wast full of noise,

A tumultuous city, a joyous city!

Thy slain were not slain by the sword,

Neither did they die in battle.

3 All thy leaders are gone off together; they are fled from the bow;

All that were found in thee are fled together, they are gone far away.

4 Wherefore I said: Turn away from me; I will weep bitterly:

Strive not to comfort me for the desolation of the daughter of my people:

5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity;

The day of the Lord JEHOVAH God of Hosts in the valley of vision:

Breaking down the wall, and crying to the mountain. 6 And Elam beareth the quiver;

With chariots cometh the Syrian, and with horsemen;
And Kir uncovereth the shield.

7 And thy choicest valleys shall be filled with chariots; And the horsemen shall set themselves in array against

the gate;

8 And the barrier of Judah shall be laid open;

Then thou shalt look towards the arsenal of the house of the forest.

9 And the breaches of the city of David, ye shall see that they are many;

And ye shall collect the waters of the lower pool;

10 And the houses of Jerusalem ye shall number;

And ye shall break down the houses to fortify the rampart:

11 And ye shall make a lake between the two walls,
To receive the waters of the old pool.

But ye look not to him, that hath disposed this;
And him, that formed it of old, ye regard not.

12 And the Lord JEHOVAH God of Hosts called in that day

13

To weeping, and to lamentation;

And to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth :

But, behold, joy and gladness,

Slaying of oxen, and killing of sheep;
Eating of flesh, and drinking of wine:

Let us eat, and drink; for to-morrow we die.

14 And the voice of JEHOVAH God of Hosts was revealed to mine ears:

Surely this your iniquity shall not be expiated, till ye die,

Saith the Lord JEHOVAH God of Hosts.

15

16

THUS saith the Lord JEHOVAH God of Hosts: Go, get thee to this treasurer, unto Shebna, who is over the household; and say unto him:

What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here? That thou hast hewn out here a sepulchre for thyself?

O thou that he west out thy sepulchre on high,

That gravest in the rock an habitation for thyself!