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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Isaiah 30: FBV
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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
Don't Expect Help from Egypt
1This is the Lord's message for his rebellious people:
“You follow your own plans
instead of mine;
you make treaties
without asking me,
and you keep on sinning.
2You trust Egypt for protection.
So you refuse my advice
and send messengers to Egypt
to beg their king for help.
3“You will be disappointed,
completely disgraced
for trusting Egypt.
4The king's power reaches
from the city of Zoan
as far south as Hanes.#30.4 Zoan … Hanes: Or “Your messengers have reached the city of Zoan and gone as far as Hanes.” Zoan was in northeast Egypt; Hanes was to the south.
5But Egypt can't protect you,
and to trust that nation
is useless and foolish.”
6This is a message
about the animals
of the Southern Desert:
“You people carry treasures
on donkeys and camels.
You travel to a feeble nation
through a troublesome desert
filled with lions
and flying fiery dragons.
7Egypt can't help you!
That's why I call that nation
a helpless monster.”#30.7 a helpless monster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Israel Refuses To Listen
8The Lord told me to write down his message for his people, so that it would be there forever. 9They have turned against the Lord and can't be trusted. They have refused his teaching 10and have said to his messengers and prophets:
Don't tell us what God has shown you and don't preach the truth. Just say what we want to hear, even if it's false. 11Stop telling us what God has said! We don't want to hear any more about the holy One of Israel.
12Now this is the answer
of the holy One of Israel:
“You rejected my message,
and you trust in violence
and lies.
13This sin is like a crack
that makes a high wall
quickly crumble 14and shatter
like a crushed bowl.
There's not a piece left
big enough to carry hot coals
or to dip out water.”
Trust the Lord
15The holy Lord God of Israel
had told all of you,
“I will keep you safe
if you turn back to me
and calm down.
I will make you strong
if you quietly trust me.”
Then you stubbornly 16said,
“No! We will safely escape
on speedy horses.”
But those who chase you
will be even faster.
17As few as five of them,
or even one, will be enough
to chase a thousand of you.
Finally, all that will be left
will be a few survivors
as lonely as a flag pole
on a barren hill.
The Lord Will Show Mercy
18The Lord God is waiting
to show how kind he is
and to have pity on you.
The Lord always does right;
he blesses those who trust him.
19People of Jerusalem, you don't need to cry anymore. The Lord is kind, and as soon as he hears your cries for help, he will come. 20The Lord has given you trouble and sorrow as your food and drink. But now you will again see the Lord, your teacher, and he will guide you. 21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, “This is the road! Now follow it.” 22Then you will treat your idols of silver and gold like garbage; you will throw them away like filthy rags.
23The Lord will send rain to water the seeds you have planted—your fields will produce more crops than you need, and your cattle will graze in open pastures. 24Even the oxen and donkeys that plow your fields will be fed the finest grain.#30.24 the finest grain: The Hebrew text refers to grain with the husks removed.
25On that day people will be slaughtered and towers destroyed, but streams of water will flow from high hills and towering mountains. 26Then the Lord will bandage his people's injuries and heal the wounds he has caused. The moon will shine as bright as the sun, and the sun will shine seven times brighter than usual. It will be like the light of seven days all at once.
Assyria Will Be Punished
27The Lord is coming
from far away
with his fiery anger
and thick clouds of smoke.#30.27 with … smoke: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
His angry words flame up
like a destructive fire;
28he breathes out a flood
that comes up to the neck.
He sifts the nations
and destroys them.
Then he puts a bridle
in every foreigner's mouth
and leads them to doom.
29The Lord's people will sing as they do when they celebrate a religious festival#30.29 a religious festival: Probably Passover. at night. The Lord is Israel's mighty rock,#30.29 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10. and his people will be as happy as they are when they follow the sound of flutes to the mountain where he is worshiped.
30The Lord will get furious. His fearsome voice will be heard, his arm will be seen ready to strike, and his anger will be like a destructive fire, followed by thunderstorms and hailstones. 31When the Assyrians hear the Lord's voice and see him striking with his iron rod, they will be terrified. 32He will attack them in battle, and each time he strikes them, it will be to the music of tambourines and harps.
33Long ago the Lord got a place ready for burning the body of the dead king.#30.33 burning … king: Or “sacrificing the king” or “sacrificing to Molech.” Human sacrifices were sometimes offered to Molech, a god whose name sounds like the Hebrew word for “king” (see 2 Kings 23.10; Jeremiah 32.35). The place for the fire is deep and wide, the wood is piled high, and the Lord will start the fire by breathing out flaming sulfur.
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