"לא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב" או "לאום מלאום יאמץ": החזון המקראי לאחרית הימים

(1) The word that Isaiah son of Amoz prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (2) In the days to come,The Mount of GOD’s HouseShall stand firm above the mountainsAnd tower above the hills;And all the nationsShall gaze on it with joy. (3) And the many peoples shall go and say:“Come,Let us go up to the Mount of GOD,To the House of the God of Jacob;That we may be instructed in God’s ways,And that we may walk in God’s paths.”For instruction shall come forthainstruction shall come forth I.e., oracles will be obtainable. from Zion,The word of GOD from Jerusalem. (4) Thus [God] will judge among the nationsAnd arbitrate for the many peoples,And they shall beat their swords into plowsharesbplowshares More exactly, the iron points with which wooden plows were tipped. And their spears into pruning hooks:Nation shall not take upSword against nation;They shall never again knowcknow Cf. Judg. 3.2. war. (5) O House of Jacob!Come, let us walkBy the light of GOD. (6) For you have forsaken [the ways of] your people,O House of Jacob!For they are full [of practices] from the East,And of soothsaying like the Philistines;They abound in customsdcustoms Cf. Targum; lit. “children.” of the aliens.eFor they are full [of practices] from the East, / And of soothsaying like the Philistines; / They abound in customs of the aliens Emendation yields “For they are full of divination / and have abundance of soothsaying, / Like Philistines / And like alien folk.” (7) Their land is full of silver and gold,There is no limit to their treasures;Their land is full of horses,There is no limit to their chariots. (8) And their land is full of idols;They bow down to the work of their hands,To what their own fingers have wrought. (9) But human shall be humbled,And mortal brought low—Oh, do not forgive them!fOh, do not forgive them Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “And their idols with them”; cf. vv. 17–21. (10) Go deep into the rock,Bury yourselves in the ground,Before the terror of GOD And God’s dread majesty! (11) The haughty look of humans shall be brought low,And the pride of mortals shall be humbled.None but GOD shall beExalted in that day. (12) For GOD of Hosts has ready a dayAgainst all that is proud and arrogant,Against all that is lofty—so that it is brought low: (13) Against all the cedars of Lebanon,Tall and stately,And all the oaks of Bashan; (14) Against all the high mountainsAnd all the lofty hills; (15) Against every soaring towerAnd every mighty wall; (16) Against all the ships of Tarshishgships of Tarshish Probably a type of large ship. And all the gallant barks. (17) Then human haughtiness shall be humbledAnd the pride of mortals brought low.None but GOD shall beExalted in that day. (18) As for idols, they shall vanish completely. (19) And people shall enter caverns in the rockAnd hollows in the ground—Before the terror of GOD And God’s dread majesty,When [the Holy One] comes forth to overawe the earth. (20) On that day, humans shall fling away,To the flying foxeshflying foxes Exact meaning of Heb. uncertain. and the bats,The idols of silverAnd the idols of goldWhich they made for worshiping. (21) And they shall enter the clefts in the rocksAnd the crevices in the cliffs,Before the terror of GOD And God’s dread majesty,When [the Holy One] comes forth to overawe the earth. (22) Oh, cease to glorify human beings,Who have only a breath in their nostrils!For by what do they merit esteem?

(1) But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse,A twig shall sprout from his stock. (2) The spirit of GOD shall alight upon him:A spirit of wisdom and insight,A spirit of counsel and valor,A spirit of devotion and reverence for GOD. (3) He shall sense the truthaHe shall sense the truth Lit. “His sensing [shall be]”; meaning of Heb. uncertain. by his reverence for GOD:He shall not judge by what his eyes behold,Nor decide by what his ears perceive. (4) Thus he shall judge the poor with equityAnd decide with justice for the lowly of the land.He shall strike down a landba land Emendation yields “the ruthless.” with the rod of his mouthAnd slay the wicked with the breath of his lips. (5) Justice shall be the girdle of his loins,And faithfulness the girdle of his waist. (6) The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,The leopard lie down with the kid;The calf, the beast of prey, and the fatlingcThe calf, the beast of prey, and the fatling 1QIsᵃ reads: “The calf and the beast of prey shall feed”; so too the Septuagint. together,With a little child to herd them. (7) The cow and the bear shall graze,Their young shall lie down together;And the lion, like the ox, shall eat straw. (8) A babe shall playOver a viper’s hole,And an infant passdpass Meaning of Heb. uncertain. its handOver an adder’s den. (9) In all of My sacred mounteMy sacred mount I.e., the Holy Land; cf. Exod. 15.17; Ps. 78.54. Nothing evil or vile shall be done;For the land shall be filled with devotion to GOD As water covers the sea. (10) In that day,The stock of Jesse that has remained standingShall become a standard to peoples—Nations shall seek his counselAnd his abode shall be honored. (11) In that day, my Sovereign will apply a divine hand again to redeeming the other partfthe other part I.e., the part outside the Holy Land; lit. “the rest that will remain.” of this people from Assyria—as also from Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coastlands. (12) [God] will hold up a signal to the nationsAnd assemble the banished of Israel,And gather the dispersed of JudahFrom the four corners of the earth. (13) Then Ephraim’s envy shall ceaseAnd Judah’s harassment shall end;Ephraim shall not envy Judah,And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. (14) They shall pounce on the back of Philistia to the west,And together plunder the peoples of the east;Edom and Moab shall be subject to themAnd the children of Ammon shall obey them. (15) GOD will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian sea—and will raise a hand over the Euphrates with a mighty windga mighty wind Lit. “the might of His wind.” Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and break it into seven wadis, so that it can be trodden dry-shod. (16) Thus there shall be a highway for the other parththe other part See note at v. 11. of this people out of Assyria, such as there was for Israel when it left the land of Egypt.

(1) The prophecy of Obadiah.We have received tidings from GOD,And an envoy has been sent out among the nations:“Up! Let us rise up against her for battle.”Thus said the Sovereign GOD concerning Edom: (2) I will make you least among nations,You shall be most despised. (3) Your arrogant heart has seduced you,You who dwell in clefts of the rock,In your lofty abode.You think in your heart,“Who can pull me down to earth?” (4) Should you nest as high as the eagle,Should your eyrie be lodged ’mong the stars,Even from there I will pull you down—declares GOD. (5) If thieves were to come to you,Marauders by night,They would steal no more than they needed.If vintagers came to you,They would surely leave some gleanings.How utterly you are destroyed! (6) How thoroughly rifled is Esau,aEsau I.e., the Edomites, descendants of Jacob’s twin brother; cf. Gen. 36.1. How ransacked his hoards! (7) All your allies turned you backAt the frontier;Your own confederatesHave duped and overcome you;[Those who ate] your breadHave planted snares under you.He is bereft of understanding. (8) In that day—declares GOD—I will make the wise vanish from Edom,Understanding from Esau’s mount. (9) Your warriors shall lose heart, O Teman,And no one on Esau’s mountShall survive the slaughter. (10) For the outrage to your brother Jacob,Disgrace shall engulf you,And you shall perish forever. (11) On that day when you stood aloof,When aliens carried off his goods,When foreigners entered his gatesAnd cast lots for Jerusalem,You were as one of them. (12) How could youbHow could you Lit. “Do not,” and so through v. 14. gaze with gleeOn your brother that day,On his day of calamity!How could you gloatOver the people of JudahOn that day of ruin!How could you loudly jeerOn a day of anguish! (13) How could you enter the gate of My peopleOn its day of disaster,Gaze in glee with the othersOn its misfortuneOn its day of disaster,And lay hands on its wealthOn its day of disaster! (14) How could you stand at the passescpasses Meaning of Heb. uncertain. To cut down its fugitives!How could you betray those who fledOn that day of anguish! (15) As you did, so shall it be done to you;Your conduct shall be requited.Yea, against all nationsThe day of GOD is at hand. (16) That same cup that youdyou I.e., the Israelites. drank on My Holy MountShall all nations drink evermore,eevermore Emendation yields “at My hand,” cf. Isa. 51.17; Jer. 25.15; Ps. 75.9. Drink till their speech grows thick,And they become as though they had never been. (17) But on Zion’s mount a remnant shall survive,And it shall be holy.fholy I.e., inviolate; cf. Jer. 2.3. The House of Jacob shall dispossessThose who dispossessed them. (18) The House of Jacob shall be fire,And the House of Joseph flame,And the House of Esau shall be straw;They shall burn it and devour it,And no survivor shall be left of the House of Esau—for GOD has spoken. (19) gMeaning of parts of vv. 19–21 uncertain. Thus they shall possess the Negeb and Mount Esau as well, the Shephelah and Philistia. They shall possess the Ephraimite country and the district of Samaria,hdistrict of Samaria After the exile of the northern tribes, the city and district of Samaria were occupied mainly by non-Israelites. and BenjaminiBenjamin Emendation yields “the land of the Ammonites.” along with Gilead. (20) And that exiled force of Israelites [shall possess] what belongs to the Phoenicians as far as Zarephath,jZarephath A town in southern Phoenicia; see 1 Kings 17.9. while the Jerusalemite exile community of SepharadkSepharad Probably Asia Minor, called Saparda in Persian cuneiform inscriptions. shall possess the towns of the Negeb. (21) For liberators shall march uplliberators shall march up Several ancient versions read “they [the exiles from Jerusalem named in the preceding verse] shall march up victorious.” on Mount Zion to wreak judgment on Mount Esau; and dominion shall be GOD’s.