Isaiah 30
30
1 "Woe to the sons of apostasy!" says the Lord. For you would take advice, but not from me. And you would begin to weave, but not by my spirit. Thus do you add sin upon sin!
2 You are walking so as to descend into Egypt, and you have not sought answers from my mouth, instead hoping for assistance from the strength of Pharaoh and placing trust in the shadow of Egypt.
3 And so, the strength of Pharaoh will be your confusion, and trust in the shadow of Egypt will be your disgrace.
4 For your leaders were at Tanis, and your messengers have traveled even as far as Hanes.
5 They have all been confounded because of a people who were not able to offer profit to them, who were not of assistance, nor of other usefulness, except to offer confusion and reproach.
6 The burden of the beasts in the south. In a land of tribulation and anguish, from which go forth the lioness and the lion, the viper and the flying king snake, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of beasts of burden, and their valuables upon the humps of camels, to a people who are not able to offer profit to them.
7 For Egypt will offer assistance, but without purpose or success. Therefore, concerning this, I cried out: "It is only arrogance! Remain calm."
8 Now, therefore, enter and write for them upon a tablet, and note it diligently in a book, and this shall be a testimony in the last days, and even unto eternity.
9 For they are a people who provoke to wrath, and they are lying sons, sons unwilling to listen to the law of God.
10 They say to the seers, "Do not see," and to those who behold: "Do not behold for us the things that are right. Speak to us of pleasing things. See errors for us.
11 Take me from the way. Avert me from the path. Let the Holy One of Israel cease from before our face."
12 Because of this, thus says the Holy One of Israel: Since you have rejected this word, and you have hoped in calumny and rebellion, and since you have depended upon these things,
13 for this reason, this iniquity will be to you like a breach that has fallen, and like a gap in a high wall. For its destruction will happen suddenly, when it is not expected.
14 And it will be crushed, just as the earthen vessel of a potter is destroyed by a sharp blow. And not even a fragment of its earthenware will be found, which might carry a little fire from the hearth, or which might draw a little water from a hollow.
15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: If you return and are quiet, you shall be saved. Your strength will be found in silence and in hope. But you are not willing!
16 And you have said: "Never! Instead, we will flee by horseback." For this reason, you will be put to flight. And you have said, "We will climb upon swift ones." For this reason, those who pursue you will be even swifter.
17 A thousand men will flee in terror from the face of one, and you will flee in terror from the face of five, until you who have been left behind are like the mast of a ship at the top of a mountain, or like a sign on a hill.
18 Therefore, the Lord waits, so that he may take pity on you. And therefore, he will be exalted for sparing you. For the Lord is the God of judgment. Blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 For the people of Zion will live in Jerusalem. Bitterly, you will not weep. Mercifully, he will take pity on you. At the voice of your outcry, as soon as he hears, he will respond to you.
20 And the Lord will give you thick bread and accessible water. And he will not cause your teacher to fly away from you anymore. And your eyes will behold your instructor.
21 And your ears will listen to the word of one admonishing you behind your back: "This is the way! Walk in it! And do not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left."
22 And you will defile the plates of your silver graven images and the vestment of your gold molten idols. And you will throw these things away like the uncleanness of a menstruating woman. You will say to it, "Go away!"
23 And wherever you sow seed upon the earth, rain will be given to the seed. And bread from the grain of the earth will be very plentiful and full. In that day, the lamb will pasture in the spacious land of your possession.
24 And your bulls, and the colts of the donkeys that work the ground, will eat a mix of grains like that winnowed on the threshing floor.
25 And there will be, on every lofty mountain, and on every elevated hill, rivers of running water, in the day of the slaughter of many, when the tower will fall.
26 And the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord will bind the wound of his people, and when he will heal the stroke of their scourge.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord arrives from far away. His fury is burning and heavy to bear. His lips have been filled with indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 His Spirit is like a torrent, inundating, even as high as the middle of the neck, in order to reduce the nations to nothing, along with the bridle of error that was in the jaws of the people.
29 There will be a song for you, as in the night of a sanctified solemnity, and a joy of heart, as when one travels with music to arrive at the mountain of the Lord, to the Strong One of Israel.
30 And the Lord will cause the glory of his voice to be heard, and, with a threatening fury and a devouring flame of fire, he will reveal the terror of his arm. He will crush with the whirlwind and with hailstones.
31 For at the voice of the Lord, Assur will dread being struck with the staff.
32 And when the passage of the staff has been begun, the Lord will cause it to rest upon him, with timbrels and harps. And with special battles, he will fight against them.
33 For a burning place, deep and wide, has been prepared from yesterday, prepared by the King. Its nourishment is fire and much wood. The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, kindles it.
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Isaiah 30: CPDV
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Isaiah 30
30
Judah’s Worthless Treaty with Egypt
1“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,”
says the Lord.
“You make plans that are contrary to mine.
You make alliances not directed by my Spirit,
thus piling up your sins.
2For without consulting me,
you have gone down to Egypt for help.
You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection.
You have tried to hide in his shade.
3But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated,
and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.
4For though his power extends to Zoan
and his officials have arrived in Hanes,
5all who trust in him will be ashamed.
He will not help you.
Instead, he will disgrace you.”
6This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev:
The caravan moves slowly
across the terrible desert to Egypt—
donkeys weighed down with riches
and camels loaded with treasure—
all to pay for Egypt’s protection.
They travel through the wilderness,
a place of lionesses and lions,
a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live.
All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.
7Egypt’s promises are worthless!
Therefore, I call her Rahab—
the Harmless Dragon.#30:7 Hebrew Rahab who sits still. Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature. The name is used here as a poetic name for Egypt.
A Warning for Rebellious Judah
8Now go and write down these words.
Write them in a book.
They will stand until the end of time
as a witness
9that these people are stubborn rebels
who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions.
10They tell the seers,
“Stop seeing visions!”
They tell the prophets,
“Don’t tell us what is right.
Tell us nice things.
Tell us lies.
11Forget all this gloom.
Get off your narrow path.
Stop telling us about your
‘Holy One of Israel.’”
12This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel:
“Because you despise what I tell you
and trust instead in oppression and lies,
13calamity will come upon you suddenly—
like a bulging wall that bursts and falls.
In an instant it will collapse
and come crashing down.
14You will be smashed like a piece of pottery—
shattered so completely that
there won’t be a piece big enough
to carry coals from a fireplace
or a little water from the well.”
15This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.
16You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt.
They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’
But the only swiftness you are going to see
is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!
17One of them will chase a thousand of you.
Five of them will make all of you flee.
You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill
or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”
Blessings for the Lord’s People
18So the Lord must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.
19O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem,
you will weep no more.
He will be gracious if you ask for help.
He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
20Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left.
22Then you will destroy all your silver idols
and your precious gold images.
You will throw them out like filthy rags,
saying to them, “Good riddance!”
23Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock. 24The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff blown away by the wind. 25In that day, when your enemies are slaughtered and the towers fall, there will be streams of water flowing down every mountain and hill. 26The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days in one! So it will be when the Lord begins to heal his people and cure the wounds he gave them.
27Look! The Lord is coming from far away,
burning with anger,
surrounded by thick, rising smoke.
His lips are filled with fury;
his words consume like fire.
28His hot breath pours out like a flood
up to the neck of his enemies.
He will sift out the proud nations for destruction.
He will bridle them and lead them away to ruin.
29But the people of God will sing a song of joy,
like the songs at the holy festivals.
You will be filled with joy,
as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims
to Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord—
to the Rock of Israel.
30And the Lord will make his majestic voice heard.
He will display the strength of his mighty arm.
It will descend with devouring flames,
with cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and huge hailstones.
31At the Lord’s command, the Assyrians will be shattered.
He will strike them down with his royal scepter.
32And as the Lord strikes them with his rod of punishment,#30:32 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads with the founded rod.
his people will celebrate with tambourines and harps.
Lifting his mighty arm, he will fight the Assyrians.
33Topheth—the place of burning—
has long been ready for the Assyrian king;
the pyre is piled high with wood.
The breath of the Lord, like fire from a volcano,
will set it ablaze.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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