Isaiah 29
29
Judgment and Deliverance of Jerusalem
1Ah! Ariel, Ariel,#Ariel: a poetic name for Jerusalem. It has been variously interpreted to mean “lion of God,” “altar hearth of God” (Ez 43:15–16), “city of God,” or “foundation of God.” In v. 2 the term refers to “altar hearth,” i.e., a place of burning for its people (cf. 30:33; 31:9). God will attack Jerusalem, as David did long ago.
city where David encamped!
Let year follow year,
and feast follow feast,#2 Sm 5:6–9.
2But I will bring distress upon Ariel,
and there will be mourning and moaning.
You shall be to me like Ariel:#Is 33:7.
3I will encamp like David against you;
I will circle you with outposts
and set up siege works against you.#2 Kgs 25:1; Ez 4:2.
4You shall speak from beneath the earth,
and from the dust below, your words shall come.
Your voice shall be that of a ghost from the earth,
and your words shall whisper from the dust.#Is 8:19; 1 Sm 28:14.
5The horde of your arrogant shall be like fine dust,
a horde of tyrants like flying chaff.#Is 17:13; Ps 18:43; Jb 21:18.
Then suddenly, in an instant,
6you shall be visited by the Lord of hosts,
With thunder, earthquake, and great noise,
whirlwind, storm, and the flame of consuming fire.#Is 30:27, 30.
7#Just when the attackers think their capture of Jerusalem is certain, the Lord will snatch victory from their hands and save the city. The sudden shift from the Lord’s attack on the city to its deliverance by him is surprising and unexplained; it may reflect the account related in 37:36. Then like a dream,
a vision of the night,
Shall be the horde of all the nations
who make war against Ariel:
All the outposts, the siege works against it,
all who distress it.
8As when a hungry man dreams he is eating
and awakens with an empty stomach,
Or when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking
and awakens faint, his throat parched,
So shall the horde of all the nations be,
who make war against Mount Zion.
Blindness and Perversity
9#Despite their show of piety, Judah’s leaders refused to accept the prophet’s words of assurance. They rejected prophetic advice (cf. 30:10–11), did not consult the prophetic oracle in forming their political plans (30:1–2; 31:1), and tried to hide their plans even from God’s prophet (v. 15), who, they thought, simply did not understand military and political reality. Stupefy yourselves and stay stupid;
blind yourselves and stay blind!
You who are drunk, but not from wine,
who stagger, but not from strong drink!#Is 19:14; 28:7–8.
10For the Lord has poured out on you
a spirit of deep sleep.
He has shut your eyes (the prophets)
and covered your heads (the seers).#Prophets…seers: interpretive glosses. #Is 6:10; Rom 11:8.
11For you the vision of all this has become like the words of a sealed scroll. When it is handed to one who can read, with the request, “Read this,” the reply is, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” 12When the scroll is handed to one who cannot read, with the request, “Read this,” the reply is, “I cannot read.”
13The Lord said:
Since this people draws near with words only
and honors me with their lips alone,
though their hearts are far from me,
And fear of me has become
mere precept of human teaching,#Ez 33:31; Mt 15:8–9; Mk 7:6–7.
14Therefore I will again deal with this people
in surprising and wondrous fashion:
The wisdom of the wise shall perish,
the prudence of the prudent shall vanish.#Jer 49:7; 1 Cor 1:19.
15Ah! You who would hide a plan
too deep for the Lord!
Who work in the dark, saying,
“Who sees us, who knows us?”#Is 30:1–2; 31:1; Ez 8:12; Jn 3:19–20.
16Your perversity is as though the potter
were taken to be the clay:
As though what is made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me!”
Or the vessel should say of the potter,
“He does not understand.”#Is 45:9; Jer 18:6; Rom 9:20.
Redemption#The prophet presents the positive aspects of God’s plan in terms of a series of reversals: an end to pride, ignorance, and injustice. Cf. 32:3–5.
17Surely, in a very little while,
Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be considered a forest!#Is 32:15.
18On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.#Is 35:5; 42:6–7.
19The lowly shall again find joy in the Lord,
the poorest rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.#Is 61:1–2.
20For the tyrant shall be no more,
the scoffer shall cease to be;
All who are ready for evil shall be cut off,#Is 28:22.
21those who condemn with a mere word,
Who ensnare the defender at the gate,
and leave the just with an empty claim.#Is 5:23; 10:1–2; Am 5:10, 12.
22Therefore thus says the Lord,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:#Who redeemed Abraham: perhaps by revealing himself and delivering Abraham from idolatrous worship; cf. Gn 12:1–3; 17:1; Jos 24:2–3.
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.#Is 45:17.
23For when his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall sanctify my name;
they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
be in awe of the God of Israel.#Is 8:12–13.
24Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
those who find fault shall receive instruction.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 29
29
XXIX
1Wo to Ariel, to Ariel,
The city where David dwelt!
Add ye year to year;
Let the feasts go round in their course.
2Yet I will bring distress upon Ariel;
And there shall be mourning and sorrow:
And it shall be unto me as Ariel.
3And I will encamp against thee round about,
And I will distress thee by a garrison;
And I will erect bulwarks against thee.
4And thou shalt be brought low; and thou shalt speak out of the ground,
And from out of the dust shall thy speech be heard in a low tone;
And thy voice shall come out of the ground, like that of a necromancer:
And from out of the dust shall thy speech whisper.
5Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust,
And like the flitting chaff the multitude of the terrible ones;
Yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
6From Jehovah of hosts cometh the visitation,
With thunder, and earthquake, and a mighty voice;
With storm, and tempest, and flame of devouring fire.
7And like a dream, a night vision, shall be
The multitude of all the nations,
That fight against Ariel;
Even all that fight against her, and her fortresses,
And that distress her.
8It shall even be,
As when a hungry man dreameth, and behold, he eateth;
But he awaketh, and his soul is empty:
Or, as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold, he drinketh;
But he awaketh, and behold, he is faint; and his soul hath a craving desire:
So shall the multitude of all nations be,
That fight against mount Zion.
9Stare ye now, and wonder!
Be ye dazzled and blinded!
They are drunken, but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10For Jehovah hath poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep,
And he hath closed up your eyes:
The prophets, and your rulers, the seers hath he blindfolded.
11So that the whole vision is to you like the words of a sealed book,
Which men deliver to one that knoweth letters,
Saying, Read this, I pray thee;
And he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed up:
12And the book is delivered to one that knoweth not letters,
Saying, Read this, I pray thee;
And he saith, I know not letters.
13Wherefore the Lord hath said:
Forasmuch as this people draw near me
With their mouth, and with their lips do honour me,
But have removed their heart far from me;
And their fear of me is a precept taught of men:
14Therefore, behold, I will proceed to deal wonderfully
With this people; so wonderfully and astonishingly,
That the wisdom of the wise shall perish.
And the understanding of the prudent shall disappear.
15Wo unto them that seek with deep cunning to hide their counsel from Jehovah;
Whose deeds are in the dark;
And they say,
Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
16O your perverseness!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the day?
Shall the work say of the workman, He hath not made me?
And shall the thing formed say of the former of it, He hath no understanding?
17Is it not yet a very little while,
And Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?
18And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of this book;
And out of obscurity, and out of darkness,
Shall the eyes of the blind see.
19The meek also shall increase their joy in Jehovah;
And the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20For the oppressor hath ceased, and the scoffer is no more;
And all that were watching to do evil are utterly cut off:
21They who would bring in a man guilty for a word,
And lay snare for him when pleading his cause in the gate;
And for nought turn aside the just.
22Wherefore thus saith Jehovah to the house of Jacob,
He who hath redeemed Abraham:
Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
Neither shall his face any more wax pale:
23For when his children shall see the work of my hands in the midst of themselves,
They shall sanctify my name:
Yea, they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And shall fear the God of Israel.
24They also that have erred in spirit shall be full of understanding,
And murmurers shall learn knowledge.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.