Isaiah 29
29
The Fate of Jerusalem
1God's altar, Jerusalem itself, is doomed! The city where David camped is doomed! Let another year or two come and go, with its feasts and festivals, 2and then God will bring disaster on the city that is called “God's altar”. There will be weeping and wailing, and the whole city will be like an altar covered with blood. 3God will attack the city, surround it, and besiege it. 4Jerusalem will be like a ghost struggling to speak from under the ground, a muffled voice coming from the dust.
5Jerusalem, all the foreigners who attack you will be blown away like dust, and their terrifying armies will fly away like straw. Suddenly and unexpectedly 6the LORD Almighty will rescue you with violent thunderstorms and earthquakes. He will send tempests and raging fire; 7then all the armies of the nations attacking the city of God's altar, all their weapons and equipment — everything — will vanish like a dream, like something imagined in the night. 8All the nations that assemble to attack Jerusalem will be like a starving person who dreams he is eating and wakes up hungry, or like someone dying of thirst who dreams he is drinking and wakes with a dry throat.
Disregarded Warnings
9Go ahead and be stupid! Go ahead and be blind! Get drunk without any wine! Stagger without drinking a drop! 10#Rom 11.8The LORD has made you drowsy, ready to fall into a deep sleep. The prophets should be the eyes of the people, but God has blindfolded them. 11The meaning of every prophetic vision will be hidden from you; it will be like a sealed scroll. If you take it to someone who knows how to read and ask him to read it to you, he will say he can't because it is sealed. 12If you give it to someone who can't read and ask him to read it to you, he will answer that he doesn't know how.
13 #
Mt 15.8–9; Mk 7.6–7 The Lord said, “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. 14#1 Cor 1.19So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless.”
Hope for the Future
15Those who try to hide their plans from the LORD are doomed! They carry out their schemes in secret and think no one will see them or know what they are doing. 16#Is 45.9They turn everything upside down. Which is more important, the potter or the clay? Can a thing which someone has made say to its maker, “You didn't make me”? Or “You don't know what you are doing”?
17As the saying goes, before long the dense forest will become farmland, and the farmland will go back to forest.
18When that day comes, the deaf will be able to hear a book being read aloud, and the blind, who have been living in darkness, will open their eyes and see. 19Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the LORD, the holy God of Israel, gives. 20It will be the end of those who oppress others and show contempt for God. Every sinner will be destroyed. 21God will destroy those who slander others, those who prevent the punishment of criminals, and those who tell lies to keep honest men from getting justice.
22So now the LORD, the God of Israel, who rescued Abraham from trouble, says, “My people, you will not be disgraced any longer, and your faces will no longer be pale with shame. 23When you see the children that I will give you, then you will acknowledge that I am the holy God of Israel. You will honour me and stand in awe of me. 24Foolish people will learn to understand, and those who are always grumbling will be glad to be taught.”
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Isaiah 29: GNBUK
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Isaiah 29
29
Ariel is Besieged
1 Ariel is as good as dead#tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8). –
Ariel, the town David besieged!#tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
Keep observing your annual rituals,
celebrate your festivals on schedule.#tn Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.
2 I will threaten Ariel,
and she will mourn intensely
and become like an altar hearth#tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire. before me.
3 I will lay siege to you on all sides;#tc The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khadur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (kÿdavid, “like David”), which is supported by the LXX (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the LXX could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
I will besiege you with troops;#tn The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
I will raise siege works against you.
4 You will fall;
while lying on the ground#tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV). you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard.#tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld;#tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.#tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.
5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,
the horde of tyrants#tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.” like chaff that is blown away.
It will happen suddenly, in a flash.
6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies,#tn Heb “from the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] there will be visitation.” The third feminine singular passive verb form תִּפָּקֵד (tippaqed, “she/it will be visited”) is used here in an impersonal sense. See GKC 459 §144.b.
accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,
by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.
7 It will be like a dream, a night vision.
There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,
those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.
8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty.#tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched.#tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
God’s People are Spiritually Insensitive
9 You will be shocked and amazed!#tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahmÿhu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittammÿhu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.
You are totally blind!#tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.
They are drunk,#tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts. but not because of wine;
they stagger,#tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts. but not because of beer.
10 For the Lord has poured out on you
a strong urge to sleep deeply.#tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.
He has shut your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
11 To you this entire prophetic revelation#tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV). is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read#tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.” and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” 12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read#tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.” and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.”#tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
13 The sovereign master#tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai). says,
“These people say they are loyal to me;#tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
they say wonderful things about me,#tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
but they are not really loyal to me.#tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual.#tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –
an absolutely extraordinary deed.#tn Heb “Therefore I will again do something amazing with these people, an amazing deed, an amazing thing.” This probably refers to the amazing transformation predicted in vv. 17-24, which will follow the purifying judgment implied in vv. 15-16.
Wise men will have nothing to say,
the sages will have no explanations.”#tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”
15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead,#tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.
who do their work in secret and boast,#tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”#tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
16 Your thinking is perverse!#tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.
Should the potter be regarded as clay?#tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.
Should the thing made say#tn Heb “that the thing made should say.” about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?
Changes are Coming
17 In just a very short time#tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest.#sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful, see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.
18 At that time#tn Or “In that day” (KJV). the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,
and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness.#tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”sn Perhaps this depicts the spiritual transformation of the once spiritually insensitive nation (see vv. 10-12, cf. also 6:9-10).
19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight#tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT). in the Holy One of Israel.#sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
20 For tyrants will disappear,
those who taunt will vanish,
and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated#tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.” –
21 those who bear false testimony against a person,#tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”
who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate#sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.#tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob:#tn Heb “So this is what the Lord says to the house of Jacob, the one who ransomed Abraham.” The relative pronoun must refer back to “the Lord,” not to the immediately preceding “Jacob.” It is uncertain to what event in Abraham’s experience this refers. Perhaps the name “Abraham” stands here by metonymy for his descendants through Jacob. If so, the Exodus is in view.
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;
their faces will no longer show their embarrassment.#tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
23 For when they see their children,
whom I will produce among them,#tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
they will honor#tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.” my name.
They will honor the Holy One of Jacob;#sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.
they will respect#tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.” the God of Israel.
24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding;#tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”
those who complain will acquire insight.#tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”
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