But now ¹  don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; ²  make sure he has a bloody death.” ³ 

then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, ¹  and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. ²  (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) ³ 

Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him.

then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, ¹  and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of their motives. ²  (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) ³ 

“Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your great reputation ¹  and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds; ²  they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple.

Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will rescue us from the power ¹  of the king of Assyria.” But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst! ² 

You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹  you have examined me during the night. ²  You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin. I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³ 

All the relatives ¹  of a poor person hate him; ²  how much more do his friends avoid him – he pursues them ³  with words, but they do not respond. ⁴ 

God has made everything fit beautifully ¹  in its appropriate time, but ²  he has also placed ignorance ³  in the human heart ⁴  so that ⁵  people ⁶  cannot discover what God has ordained, ⁷  from the beginning to the end ⁸  of their lives. ⁹ 

Just as he came forth from his mother's womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.

Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him!

Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ¹ 

To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ¹  he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make ²  an idol that will not fall over.

Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw.

A blacksmith works with his tool ¹  and forges metal over the coals. He forms it ²  with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; ³  he drinks no water and gets tired.

He feeds on ashes; ¹  his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ² 

I solemnly make this oath ¹  – what I say is true and reliable: ²  ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm; ³ 

In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. ¹  No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend.” ² 

As for foreigners who become followers of ¹  the Lord and serve him, who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants – all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, and who are faithful to ²  my covenant –

Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. ¹  You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ²