So what do I find here? asks the Lord. My people are taken away for no reason. Their rulers are screaming, declares the Lord. And my name is cursed all day long.
The Lord said, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they’re suffering.
“What are you doing here? What right do you have to dig a tomb for yourself? What right do you have to cut it out in a prominent place? What right do you have to carve out a resting place for yourself in the rock?
Isaiah answered them, “Say this to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid of the message that you heard when the Assyrian king’s assistants slandered me.
I was angry with my people. I dishonored those who belong to me. I put them under your control. You showed them no mercy. You placed a heavy burden on old people.
Your children have fainted. They lie sleeping at every street corner. They are like an antelope caught in a net. They experience the anger of the Lord, the fury of your God.
I will put it in the hands of those who made you suffer. They said to you, “Lie down so that we can walk over you.” So you made your back like the ground and like a street for them to cross.
“The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria. The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
“All my enemies have heard that I am groaning. No one offers me comfort. All my enemies have heard about my disaster. They are happy that you did it. You have allowed the day to come, the one that you had announced. Let my enemies be like me now.
In his burning anger he cut off all of Israel’s strength. He withdrew his right hand when they faced their enemy. He burned like a raging fire in ⌞the land of⌟ Jacob, destroying everything around him.
But I acted so that my name would not be dishonored among the nations where they were living. While other nations were watching, I made myself known to them by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.
On that day a loud cry will come from Fish Gate, a howling from the Second Part of the city, and a loud crashing sound from the hills,” declares the Lord.
While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s voice. So they stopped to ask him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”