Isaiah 30
30
1Tragedy is coming to my defiant children, declares the Lord. You make plans that don't come from me; you make alliances against my wishes, adding sin to sin. 2You go to Egypt without asking me, looking to Pharaoh for protection, hoping to find safety hiding behind Egypt. 3But the protection of Pharaoh will be an embarrassment to you; hiding behind Egypt will only bring you humiliation. 4Even though he has officials at Zoan and his messengers reach Hanes, 5the Egyptians will offend everyone because they are useless—they're no help and good for nothing, except for causing shame and bringing disgrace.
6A message about the animals of the Negev. The messengers travel through a harsh and hostile land where lions and lionesses live, vipers and vicious snakes too. Their donkeys are burdened down with valuable gifts, their camels are loaded with treasure, to give to a worthless people that can't help. 7Egypt's support is an empty breath of wind. That's why I call her Pride Sitting Down.#30:7. “Sitting Down”: in other words, Egypt still speaks with arrogance, but it is so weak it does nothing but sit. The word for pride/arrogance also referred to a mythical sea-monster, Rahab.
8Now go and write all this down on a tablet and on a scroll so that it will last forever and ever. 9For they are a rebellious people, deceitful children, who refuse to listen to the Lord's instructions. 10They tell people who see visions, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Don't give us prophecies about doing right—just tell us pleasant things and give us fake prophecies. 11Stop telling us straight; go a different direction! We don't want to hear any more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12So this is how the Holy One of Israel replies, Since you have rejected this message, and since you trust in oppression and believe in dishonesty, 13your punishment will suddenly fall on you, like a high wall that bulges out and collapses in an instant. 14You will be smashed like a clay pot, broken into such tiny pieces that there won't be a big enough piece to pick up coals from a hearth or a little bit of water from a well.
15This is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, said, If you repent and patiently trust in me, you would be saved; you would be strong if you had such calm confidence. But you refused to do it.
16You replied, “No! We'll escape on horseback! We'll get away on fast horses!”
But the fast ones will be the ones chasing you! 17Just one of them will chase after a thousand of you. Just five of them will make you all run away. All that will be left of you will look like a flag fluttering on the top of a mountain, a banner waving on a hill.
18So the Lord waits, wanting to be kind to you, ready to act to show you mercy, for the Lord is a God who does what is right. All who wait for him are blessed.
19People of Zion, you who live in Jerusalem, you won't have to weep any more. When you cry for help he will be kind to you. He will answer you immediately when he hears you. 20Even though the Lord will give you the bread of hardship to eat and the water of suffering to drink, your teacher will no longer hide himself from you—you will see him with your own eyes. 21When you walk to the right or to the left, you will hear this command coming from behind you: “This is the way to follow.”
22You will defile your silver-coated idols coated with silver and your gold-covered images. You will throw them away like a dirty cloth used for periods, and say to them, “out of here!” 23He will send rain when you sow, and the land will produce great harvests. At that time your cattle will feed in rich pastures. 24The oxen and donkeys that help cultivate the earth will eat good greens and grain, spread with fork and shovel. 25At that time when your enemies are killed and the fortresses fall, streams of water will flow down every mountain and hill. 26The moon will shine as bright as the sun, and the sun will shine seven times brighter, like having seven days light in one. This is the way it will be when the Lord bandages the injuries of his people and heals the wounds he caused them.
27Look how the Lord arrives from far away, burning with anger and accompanied by thick clouds of smoke! What he says shows his anger—it's like a fire that burns everything up. 28His breath rushes out like a flood that comes up to the neck. He shakes the nations in a sieve that destroys them; he puts bridles in the mouths of the different peoples to lead them away.
29But you will have a song to sing like you do on the night of a holy festival. You will celebrate in happiness like those who play pipes as they go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. 30The Lord will shout so everyone hears him he will reveal his great power. He will hit out in his anger and fury, with a fire that burns everything up, and with torrential rain, storm, and hail. 31At the Lord's command the Assyrians will be shattered, knocked down by his scepter. 32Every time the Lord hits them with his rod of punishment it will be accompanied by the music of tambourines and harps as he fights them, swinging into them in battle. 33The place of burning#30:33. Literally “Topheth,” a place in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. has been prepared a long time ago, ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, and has plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the Lord, like a flood of burning sulfur, sets it on fire.
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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 30
30
The Lord Will Judge His Stubborn People
1“How terrible it will be for these stubborn children of mine!”
announces the Lord.
“How terrible for those who carry out plans that did not come from me!
Their agreement with Egypt did not come from my Spirit.
So they pile up one sin on top of another.
2They go down to Egypt
without asking me for advice.
They look to Pharaoh to help them.
They ask Egypt to keep them safe.
3But looking to Pharaoh will only bring them shame.
Asking Egypt for help will bring them dishonor.
4Their officials have gone to the city of Zoan.
Their messengers have arrived in Hanes.
5But the people of Judah will be put to shame.
That’s because they are trusting in a nation that is useless to them.
Egypt will not bring them any help or advantage.
Instead, it will bring them shame and dishonor.”
6Here is a prophecy the Lord gave me about the animals in the Negev Desert.
Judah’s messengers carry their riches on the backs of donkeys.
They carry their treasures on the humps of camels.
They travel through a land of danger and suffering.
It’s a land filled with lions.
Poisonous snakes are also there.
The messengers travel to a nation
that can’t do them any good.
7They travel to Egypt, whose help is totally useless.
That’s why I call it Rahab the Do-Nothing.
8The Lord said to me, “Go now.
Write on a tablet for the people of Judah
what I am about to say.
Also write it on a scroll.
In days to come
it will be a witness that lasts forever.
9That’s because these people of Judah refuse to obey me.
They are children who tell lies.
They will not listen to what I want to teach them.
10They say to the seers,
‘Don’t see any more visions!’
They say to the prophets,
‘Don’t give us any more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things.
Prophesy things we want to hear even if they aren’t true.
11Get out of our way!
Get off our path!
Keep the Holy One of Israel away from us!’ ”
12So the Holy One of Israel speaks. He says,
“You have turned your backs on what I have said.
You have depended on telling people lies.
You have crushed others.
13Those sins are like cracks in a high wall.
They get bigger and bigger.
Suddenly the wall breaks apart.
Then it quickly falls down.
14It breaks into small pieces like a clay pot.
It breaks up completely.
Not one piece is left big enough
for taking coals from a fireplace.
Not one piece is left for dipping water out of a well.”
15The Lord and King is the Holy One of Israel. He says,
“You will find peace and rest
when you turn away from your sins and depend on me.
You will receive the strength you need
when you stay calm and trust in me.
But you do not want to do what I tell you to.
16You said, ‘No. We’ll escape on horses.’
So you will have to escape!
You said, ‘We’ll ride off on fast horses.’
So those who chase you will use faster horses!
17When one of them dares you to fight,
a thousand of you will run away.
When five of them dare you,
all of you will run away.
So few of you will be left that you will be
like a flagpole on top of a mountain.
You will be like only one banner on a hill.”
18But the Lord wants to have mercy on you.
So he will rise up to give you his tender love.
The Lord is a God who is always fair.
Blessed are all those who wait for him to act!
19People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you won’t weep anymore. When you cry out to the Lord for help, he will have mercy on you. As soon as he hears you, he’ll answer you. 20He might treat you like prisoners. You might eat the bread of trouble. You might drink the water of suffering. But he will be your Teacher. He won’t hide himself anymore. You will see him with your own eyes. 21You will hear your Teacher’s voice behind you. You will hear it whether you turn to the right or the left. It will say, “Here is the path I want you to take. So walk on it.” 22Then you will get rid of the silver statues of your gods. You won’t have anything to do with the gold statues either. All of them are “unclean.” So you will throw them away like dirty rags. You will say to them, “Get away from us!”
23The Lord will send rain on the seeds you plant in the ground. The crops that grow will be rich and plentiful. At that time your cattle will eat grass in rolling meadows. 24The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat the finest feed and crushed grain. The farmers will use pitchforks and shovels to separate it from the straw. 25At that time the towers of your enemies will fall down. Their soldiers will die. Streams of water will flow on every high mountain and hill. 26The moon will shine like the sun. And the sunlight will be seven times brighter than usual. It will be like the light of seven full days. That will happen when the Lord bandages and heals the wounds and bruises he has brought on his people.
27The Lord will come from far away
in all his power and glory.
He will show his burning anger.
Thick clouds of smoke will be all around him.
His mouth will speak angry words.
The words from his tongue will be like a destroying fire.
28His breath will be like a rushing flood
that rises up to the neck.
He’ll separate out the nations he is going to destroy.
He’ll place a bit in their jaws.
It will lead them down the road to death.
29You will sing
as you do on the night you celebrate a holy feast.
Your hearts will be filled with joy.
You will be as joyful as people playing their flutes
as they go up to the mountain of the Lord.
He is the Rock of Israel.
30The Lord will cause people to hear his powerful voice.
He will make them see his arm coming down to punish them.
It will come down with burning anger and destroying fire.
It will come down with rain, thunderstorms and hail.
31The voice of the Lord will tear the Assyrians apart.
He will strike them down with his scepter.
32He will strike them
with his club to punish them.
Each time he does, his people will celebrate
with the music of harps and tambourines.
He will use his powerful arm
to strike down the Assyrians in battle.
33In the Valley of Ben Hinnom, Topheth has been prepared for a long time.
It has been made ready for the king of Assyria.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide.
It has plenty of wood for the fire.
The breath of the Lord
will be like a stream of burning sulfur.
It will set the wood on fire.
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