Judgment to Come
(Isaiah 7:17–25)

1The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Moreshethite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.

2All peoples, listen. And may the earth and its fullness pay attention. And may the Lord God be a witness to you, the Lord from his holy temple.

3For behold, the Lord will go forth from his place. And he will descend, and he will trample over the high places of the earth.

4And the mountains will be consumed under him, and the valleys will be torn apart, like wax before the face of fire, and like waters that rush swiftly downward.

5All this is for the wickedness of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the wickedness of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the loftiness of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

6And I will place Samaria like a pile of stones in the field, when a vineyard is planted. And I will pull down its stones into the valley, and I will reveal her foundations.

7And all her graven images will be cut to pieces, and all her rewards will be burned with fire, and I will place all her idols in perdition. For they have been gathered together from the pay of a kept woman, and even to the pay of a kept woman, they will return.

Weeping and Mourning

8I will lament and wail about this. I will go out despoiled and naked. I will make a howl like the dragons, and a mourning like the ostriches.

9For her wound has been in despair. For it has come even to Judah. It has touched the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

10Do not be willing to announce it in Gath; may you not lament with tears. In the house of Dust, besprinkle yourselves with dust.

11And cross over to your dwelling place, Beauty, bewildered by disgrace. She did not depart, who dwells at the place of departure. The House nearby, which remained firm by herself, will receive mourning from you.

12For she has been weakened in goodness, who dwells in bitterness. For disaster has descended from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.

13A tumult of four-horse chariots has stupefied the inhabitants of Lachish. The beginning has been sin for the daughter of Zion, because in you have been found the evil deeds of Israel.

14Because of this, she will send emissaries to the inheritance of Gath: the house of Lying in order to deceive the kings of Israel.

15Nevertheless, I will lead an heir to you, who dwell in Mareshah: the glory of Israel will reach all the way to Adullam.

16Become bald and shaved for your delicate sons. Increase your baldness like the eagle. For they have been carried into captivity from you.