Chapter 11

The Branch From Jesse

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

9They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

12 He will raise a banner for the nations

and gather the exiles of Israel;

he will assemble the scattered people of Judah

from the four quarters of the earth.

13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,

and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.

14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;

together they will plunder the people to the east.

They will subdue Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

15 The Lord will dry up

the gulf of the Egyptian sea;

with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand

over the Euphrates River.

He will break it up into seven streams

so that anyone can cross over in sandals.

16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people

that is left from Assyria,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from Egypt.

Chapter 12

Songs of Praise

1 In that day you will say:

“I will praise you, Lord.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away

and you have comforted me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Chapter 13

A Prophecy Against Babylon

1 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:

2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gates of the nobles.

3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—

those who rejoice in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!

Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almighty is mustering

an army for war.

5 They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavens—

the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—

to destroy the whole country.

6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;

it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,

every heart will melt with fear.

8 Terror will seize them,

pain and anguish will grip them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.

9 See, the day of the Lord is coming

—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.

The rising sun will be darkened

and the moon will not give its light.

11 I will punish the world for its evil,

the wicked for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty

and will humble the pride of the ruthless.

12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;

and the earth will shake from its place

at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,

in the day of his burning anger.

14 Like a hunted gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,

they will all return to their own people,

they will flee to their native land.

15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will fall by the sword.

16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;

their houses will be looted and their wives violated.

17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes,

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.

18 Their bows will strike down the young men;

they will have no mercy on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.

19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,

the pride and glory of the Babylonians,

will be overthrown by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 She will never be inhabited

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomads will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

21 But desert creatures will lie there,

jackals will fill her houses;

there the owls will dwell,

and there the wild goats will leap about.

22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,

jackals her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,

and her days will not be prolonged.

Chapter 14

1 The Lord will have compassion on Jacob;

once again he will choose Israel

and will settle them in their own land.

Foreigners will join them

and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

2 Nations will take them

and bring them to their own place.

And Israel will take possession of the nations

and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.

They will make captives of their captors

and rule over their oppressors.

3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you,

4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has come to an end!

How his fury has ended!

5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,

the scepter of the rulers,

6 which in anger struck down peoples

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subdued nations

with relentless aggression.

7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;

they break into singing.

8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon

gloat over you and say,

“Now that you have been laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”

9 The realm of the dead below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—

all those who were leaders in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.

10 They will all respond,

they will say to you,

“You also have become weak, as we are;

you have become like us.”

11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,

along with the noise of your harps;

maggots are spread out beneath you

and worms cover you.

12 How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,

to the depths of the pit.

16 Those who see you stare at you,

they ponder your fate:

“Is this the man who shook the earth

and made kingdoms tremble,

17 the man who made the world a wilderness,

who overthrew its cities

and would not let his captives go home?”

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,

each in his own tomb.

19 But you are cast out of your tomb

like a rejected branch;

you are covered with the slain,

with those pierced by the sword,

those who descend to the stones of the pit.

Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

20 you will not join them in burial,

for you have destroyed your land

and killed your people.

Let the offspring of the wicked

never be mentioned again.

21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children

for the sins of their ancestors;

they are not to rise to inherit the land

and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up against them,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

“I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors,

her offspring and descendants,”

declares the Lord.

23 “I will turn her into a place for owls

and into swampland;

I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,”

declares the Lord Almighty.

24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,

“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,

and as I have purposed, so it will happen.

25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land;

on my mountains I will trample him down.

His yoke will be taken from my people,

and his burden removed from their shoulders.”

26 This is the plan determined for the whole world;

this is the hand stretched out over all nations.

27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?

His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,

that the rod that struck you is broken;

from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,

its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.

30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,

and the needy will lie down in safety.

But your root I will destroy by famine;

it will slay your survivors.

31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city!

Melt away, all you Philistines!

A cloud of smoke comes from the north,

and there is not a straggler in its ranks.

32 What answer shall be given

to the envoys of that nation?

“The Lord has established Zion,

and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.”

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.