Isaiah 29
29
1Tragedy is coming to you Ariel, Ariel the city where David lived! Year after year you have your festivals. 2But I'm going to cause trouble for Ariel; the city will cry and mourn, it will be like an altar hearth#29:2. “Altar hearth”: the part where the sacrifice was burned, generally a messy area of animal remains and ash. In Hebrew the word Ariel can mean “altar” (Ezekiel 43:15-16) or “lion of God.” to me. 3I will surround you, I will besiege you with towers and build ramps to attack you. 4You will be brought down, you will speak from where you're lying on the ground, mumbling in the dust. Your words will come like a ghost from the grave; your voice will be a whisper from the dust.
5But then all your enemies will become like fine dust; all your cruel oppressors like chaff that's blown away. Then suddenly, in no time at all, 6the Lord Almighty will arrive with thunder, earthquake, and tremendous noise, with whirlwind, storm, and flames of fire that burn everything up. 7The nations besieging Ariel, attacking its fortifications and tormenting the people, they will all disappear as if it was a dream! 8It will be like someone hungry dreaming that they're eating but who wakes up still hungry. It will be like someone thirsty dreaming of drinking but who wakes up still weak and thirsty. This is what it will be like for all your enemies, the ones attacking Mount Zion.
9Be shocked and amazed! Make yourselves blind so you can't see! Get drunk, but not from wine! Stagger around, but not from beer! 10For the Lord has made you very sleepy, and he has shut the eyes and covered the heads of those who speak for God and see visions.
11This entire vision is like words in a scroll that is sealed shut. If you give it to someone who knows how to read and say, “Please read it,” they'll say, “I can't read it because it's sealed shut.” 12If you give it to someone who doesn't know how to read and say, “Please read it,” they'll say, “I don't know how to read.”
13The Lord says, “These people come and praise me with their words, and honor me with lip service, but their thoughts are miles away. Their worship of me only consists of them following rules people have taught them. 14So once again I will surprise these people with miracle upon miracle. The wisdom of the wise will die, and the insight of the insightful will disappear.”
15Tragedy is coming to people who take such trouble to hide their plans from the Lord. They work in the dark and say to themselves, “Nobody can see us, can they? Nobody will know, will they?”
16How perverse you are! It's as if the clay was thought of as making the potter! Should something made say to its maker, “You didn't make me”? Can the pot tell the potter, “You don't understand anything”?
17It won't be long and the forests of Lebanon will be turned into a productive field, and a productive field will seem like a forest. 18At that time the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and the eyes of the blind will see through the gloomy darkness what's written there.#29:18. “What's written there”: supplied for clarity. 19The humble will be even happier in the Lord, and the poor will find their joy in the Holy One of Israel. 20Cruel people will no longer exist, the scornful will vanish, and those looking to do evil will be destroyed— 21those who say things to trick others into sin, those who trap people by legal arguments in court, those who lie to mislead the innocent.
22So this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob: “You don't need to be ashamed anymore; your faces won't grow pale with fright any longer. 23When you see all your children and everything I've done for you, then you will regard my character as holy, and you will respect the Holy One of Jacob. You will have reverence for the God of Israel. 24Those who've gone astray will understand their mistakes; those who grumble will learn how to receive instruction.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 29
29
Warnings to Jerusalem
1How terrible it will be for you, Jerusalem,
the city where David camped.
Your festivals have continued
year after year.
2I will attack Jerusalem,
and that city will be filled with sadness and crying.
It will be like an altar to me.
3I will put armies all around you, Jerusalem;
I will surround you with towers
and with devices to attack you.
4You will be pulled down and will speak from the ground;
I will hear your voice rising from the ground.
It will sound like the voice of a ghost;
your words will come like a whisper from the dirt.
5Your many enemies will become like fine dust;
the many cruel people will be like chaff that is blown away.
Everything will happen very quickly.
6The Lord All-Powerful will come
with thunder, earthquakes, and great noises,
with storms, strong winds, and a fire that destroys.
7Then all the nations that fight against Jerusalem
will be like a dream;
all the nations that attack her
will be like a vision in the night.
8They will be like a hungry man who dreams he is eating,
but when he awakens, he is still hungry.
They will be like a thirsty man who dreams he is drinking,
but when he awakens, he is still weak and thirsty.
It will be the same way with all the nations
who fight against Mount Zion.
9Be surprised and amazed.
Blind yourselves so that you cannot see.
Become drunk, but not from wine.
Trip and fall, but not from beer.
10The Lord has made you go into a deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes. (The prophets are your eyes.)
He has covered your heads. (The seers are your heads.)
11This vision is like the words of a book that is closed and sealed. You may give the book to someone who can read and tell that person to read it. But he will say, “I can’t read the book, because it is sealed.” 12Or you may give the book to someone who cannot read and tell him to read it. But he will say, “I don’t know how to read.”
13The Lord says:
“These people worship me with their mouths,
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is based on
nothing but human rules.
14So I will continue to amaze these people
by doing more and more miracles.
Their wise men will lose their wisdom;
their wise men will not be able to understand.”
Warnings About Other Nations
15How terrible it will be for those who try
to hide things from the Lord
and who do their work in darkness.
They think no one will see them or know what they do.
16You are confused.
You think the clay is equal to the potter.
You think that an object can tell the one who made it,
“You didn’t make me.”
This is like a pot telling its maker,
“You don’t know anything.”
A Better Time Is Coming
17In a very short time, Lebanon will become rich farmland,
and the rich farmland will seem like a forest.
18At that time the deaf will hear the words in a book.
Instead of having darkness and gloom, the blind will see.
19The Lord will make the poor people happy;
they will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20Then the people without mercy will come to an end;
those who do not respect God will disappear.
Those who enjoy doing evil will be gone:
21those who lie about others in court,
those who trap people in court,
those who lie and take justice from innocent people in court.
22This is what the Lord who set Abraham free says to the family of Jacob:
“Now the people of Jacob will not be ashamed
or disgraced any longer.
23When they see all their children,
the children I made with my hands,
they will say my name is holy.
They will agree that the Holy One of Jacob is holy,
and they will respect the God of Israel.
24People who do wrong will now understand.
Those who complain will accept being taught.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.