Isaiah 29
29
1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city against which David fought: year has been added to year, the solemnities have unfolded.
2 And I will surround Ariel with siege works, and it will be in sorrow and mourning, and it will be like Ariel to me.
3 And I will surround you like a sphere all around you, and I will raise up a rampart against you, and I will set up fortifications to blockade you.
4 You will be brought low. You will speak from the ground, and your eloquence will be heard from the dirt. And, from the ground, your voice will be like that of the python, and your eloquence will mumble from the dirt.
5 And the multitude of those who fan you will be like fine dust. And the multitude of those who have prevailed against you will be like embers fading away.
6 And this will happen suddenly and swiftly. It will be visited from the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquakes, and with the great noise of a whirlwind and a storm, and with a flame of devouring fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations that have struggled against Ariel will be like the dream of a vision by night, along with all who have battled, and besieged, and prevailed against it.
8 And it will be like one who is hungry and dreams of eating, but, when he has been awakened, his soul is empty. And it will be like one who is thirsty and dreams of drinking, but, after he has been awakened, he still languishes in thirst, and his soul is empty. So shall the multitude of all the nations be, who have struggled against Mount Zion.
9 Be stupefied and in wonder! Shake and quiver! Be inebriated, but not from wine! Stagger, but not from drunkenness!
10 For the Lord has mixed for you a spirit of deep sleep. He will close your eyes. He will cover your prophets and leaders, who see visions.
11 And the vision of all will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they have given it to someone who knows how to read, they will say, "Read this," but he will respond, "I cannot; for it has been sealed."
12 But if the book is given to someone who does not know how to read, and it is said to him, "Read," then he will respond, "I do not know how to read."
13 And the Lord said: Since this people have drawn near to me only with their mouth, and their lips glorify me while their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is based on the commandments and doctrines of men,
14 for this reason, behold, I will proceed to accomplish a wonder for this people, a great and mystifying miracle. For wisdom will perish from their wise, and the understanding of their prudent will be concealed.
15 Woe to you who use the depths of the heart, so that you may hide your intentions from the Lord. Their works are done in darkness, and so they say: "Who sees us?" and "Who knows us?"
16 This intention of yours is perverse. It is as if the clay were to plan against the potter, or as if the work were to say to its maker: "You did not make me." Or it is as if what has been formed were to say to the one who formed it, "You do not understand."
17 In not more than a little while and a brief time, Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and a fruitful field will be considered to be a forest.
18 And in that day, the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind will see.
19 And the meek will increase their rejoicing in the Lord, and the poor among men will exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the one who was prevailing has failed, the one who was mocking has been consumed, and all those who were standing guard over iniquity have been cut down.
21 For they caused men to sin by a word, and they supplanted him who argued against them at the gates, and they turned away from justice in vain.
22 Because of this, thus says the Lord, he who has redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob: From now on, Jacob will not be confounded; from now on his countenance will not blush with shame.
23 Instead, when he sees his children, they will be the work of my hands in his midst, sanctifying my name, and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will preach the God of Israel.
24 And those who had gone astray in spirit will know understanding, and those who had murmured will learn the law.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 29: CPDV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Isaiah 29
29
Woe to Jerusalem
1Woe to Ariel,#29:1 Or Altar Hearth, or Lion of God; Hb obscure, also in v. 2 Ariel,
the city where David camped!#2Sm 5:9
Continue year after year;
let the festivals recur.
2I will oppress Ariel,
and there will be mourning and crying,
and she will be to me like an Ariel.
3I will camp in a circle around you;
I will besiege you with earth ramps,
and I will set up my siege towers against you.
4You will be brought down;
you will speak from the ground,
and your words will come from low in the dust.
Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground;#Is 8:19
your speech will whisper from the dust.
5Your many foes#29:5 Lit foreigners will be like fine dust,#Is 17:13; 41:15–16
and many of the ruthless, like blowing chaff.
Then suddenly, in an instant,#Is 17:14; 30:13; 47:11; 1Th 5:3
6you will be punished by the Lord of Armies
with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise,
storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire.#Ex 9:23; 19:16,19; 20:18; 1Sm 2:10; 12:18; Jb 40:9; Ps 77:18; Zch 14:5; Rv 4:5; 11:13
7All the many nations#Mc 4:11–12; Zch 12:9
going out to battle against Ariel —
all the attackers, the siege works against her,
and those who oppress her —
will then be like a dream, a vision in the night.#Jb 20:8; Ps 73:20; Is 17:14
8It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating,
then wakes and is still hungry;
and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking,
then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water.
So it will be for all the many nations
who go to battle against Mount Zion.
9Stop and be astonished;
blind yourselves and be blind!
They are drunk,#29:9 LXX, Tg, Vg read Be drunk but not with wine;
they stagger,#29:9 Tg, Vg read wine; stagger but not with beer.#Lk 1:15
10For the Lord has poured out on you
an overwhelming urge to#29:10 Lit you a spirit of sleep;#Ps 69:23; Is 6:9–10; Mc 3:6
he has shut your eyes (the prophets)
and covered your heads (the seers).#Rm 11:8
11For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document.#Is 8:16; Dn 12:4,9; Mt 13:11; Rv 5:1 If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it,#29:11 Lit If one gives it to one who knows the document, saying, “Read this, please” he will say, “I can’t read it, because it is sealed.” 12And if the document is given to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it,#29:12 Lit who does not know the document, saying, “Read this, please” he will say, “I can’t read.”
13The Lord said:
These people approach me with their speeches#Ezk 33:31; Mt 15:8–9; Mk 7:6–7
to honor me with lip-service,#29:13 Lit their mouth and honor me with its lips
yet their hearts are far from me,
and human rules direct their worship of me.#29:13 Lit their fearing of me is a taught command of men
14Therefore, I will again confound these people
with wonder after wonder.#Is 6:9–10; 28:21; 65:7; Hab 1:5
The wisdom of their wise will vanish,#Is 44:25; Jr 8:9; 49:7; 1Co 1:19
and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.
15Woe to those who go to great lengths
to hide their plans from the Lord.#Ps 10:11,13; Is 28:15; 30:1
They do their works in the dark,
and say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” #Jb 22:13; Is 57:12; Ezk 8:12
16You have turned things around,
as if the potter were the same as the clay.
How can what is made say about its maker,
“He didn’t make me”?#Rm 9:20
How can what is formed
say about the one who formed it,
“He doesn’t understand what he’s doing”?
17Isn’t it true that in just a little while
Lebanon will become an orchard,
and the orchard will seem like a forest?#Ps 84:6; 107:33,35; Is 32:15
18On that day the deaf will hear#Is 35:5; 42:18–19; 43:8; Mt 11:5; Mk 7:37
the words of a document,
and out of a deep darkness
the eyes of the blind will see.
19The humble will have joy
after joy in the Lord,
and the poor people will rejoice#Ps 69:32; Is 49:13
in the Holy One of Israel.#Is 1:4
20For the ruthless one will vanish,
the scorner will disappear,#Is 28:14
and all those who lie in wait with evil intent
will be killed —
21those who, with their speech,
accuse a person of wrongdoing,
who set a trap for the one mediating at the city gate
and without cause deprive the righteous of justice.#Is 32:7; Am 5:10,12
22Therefore, the Lord who redeemed Abraham#Is 41:8; 51:2; 63:16 says this about the house of Jacob:
Jacob will no longer be ashamed,
and his face will no longer be pale.
23For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands within his nation,
they will honor my name,
they will honor the Holy One of Jacob#2Sm 23:1; Ps 24:6; 76:6; 114:7; Is 2:3
and stand in awe of the God of Israel.#Is 5:16; 8:13
24Those who are confused will gain understanding,
and those who grumble will accept instruction.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers