The Folly of Not Trusting God
1 Woe to thosewho go down to Egypt for help,
# Andrely on horses,
Who trust in chariots becausetheyaremany,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
# Nor seek theLord!
2 Yet He alsoiswise and will bring disaster,
# Andwill not call back His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptiansaremen, and not God;
And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When theLordstretches out His hand,
Both he who helps will fall,
And he who is helped will fall down;
# They all will perishtogether.
God Will Deliver Jerusalem
4 For thus theLordhas spoken to me:
# “As a lion roars,
And a young lion over his prey
(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,
Hewill not be afraid of their voice
Nor be disturbed by their noise),
So theLordof hosts will come down
To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 Like birds flying about,
So will theLordof hosts defend Jerusalem.
Defending, He will also deliverit;
Passing over, He will preserveit.”
6 ReturntoHimagainst whom the children of Israel havedeeply revolted.
7 For in that day every man shallthrow away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8 “Then Assyria shallfall by a sword not of man,
# And a sword not of mankind shalldevour him.
But he shall flee from the sword,
And his young men shall become forced labor.
9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,
And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”
Says theLord,
Whose fireisin Zion
And whose furnaceisin Jerusalem.