Isaiah 30
30
Oracle on the Futility of an Alliance with Egypt#Several independent oracles against making an alliance with Egypt have been strung together in this chapter: vv. 1–5, vv. 6–7, and vv. 8–17. That these were originally separate oracles is indicated by the fact that the oracle in vv. 6–7 is still introduced by its own heading: Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb.
1Ah! Rebellious children,
oracle of the Lord,
Who carry out a plan that is not mine,
who make an alliance#Make an alliance: lit., “pour out a libation,” namely, as part of the ritual of treaty making. I did not inspire,
thus adding sin upon sin;#Is 1:4; 5:21; 28:15; 29:15.
2They go down to Egypt,
without asking my counsel,#Without asking my counsel: it was a practice to consult God through the prophets or through the priestly oracle before making a major political decision (1 Sm 23:1–12; 1 Kgs 22:5), but Judah’s leadership, in its concern for security, was apparently trying to keep its plan for a treaty with Egypt secret even from the prophets, thus implicitly from God (29:15).
To seek strength in Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.#Is 31:1; 36:6.
3Pharaoh’s protection shall become your shame,
refuge in Egypt’s shadow your disgrace.#Is 20:5; Jer 2:36–37.
4When his princes are at Zoan
and his messengers reach Hanes,#Is 19:11.
5All shall be ashamed
of a people that gain them nothing,
Neither help nor benefit,
but only shame and reproach.#Is 36:6.
6Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb.
Through the distressed and troubled land#Distressed…land: the wilderness between Judah and Egypt, through which Judahite messengers had to pass, carrying their tribute to Egypt to buy assistance in the struggle against Assyria. Flying saraph: see notes on 6:2; 14:29.
of the lioness and roaring lion,
of the viper and flying saraph,
They carry their riches on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels
To a people good for nothing,
7to Egypt whose help is futile and vain.
Therefore I call her
“Rahab#Here as elsewhere (cf. Ps 87:4) Egypt is compared to Rahab, the raging, destructive sea monster (cf. Is 51:9; Jb 26:12; Ps 89:11); yet Egypt, when asked for aid by Judah, becomes silent and “sits still.” Sit-still.”
8#Isaiah will write down his condemnation of the foolish policy pursued so that the truth of his warning of its dire consequences (vv. 12–17) may afterward be recognized. Now come, write it on a tablet they can keep,
inscribe it on a scroll;
That in time to come it may be
an eternal witness.#Is 8:1, 16; Jer 36:2; Hb 2:2.
9For this is a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
Children who refuse
to listen to the instruction of the Lord;#Is 1:4; 28:12; Jer 7:28.
10Who say to the seers, “Do not see”;
to the prophets,#Seers…prophets: the two terms are synonyms for prophetic figures such as Isaiah (1:1; 2:1; 6:1, 5). There is wordplay between the nouns and their cognate verbs, both of which mean “to see.” The authorities are depicted as forbidding prophets to contradict their secret political and military policies. “Do not prophesy truth for us;
speak smooth things to us, see visions that deceive!#Is 29:10; Jer 5:31; 11:21; Am 2:12.
11Turn aside from the way! Get out of the path!
Let us hear no more
of the Holy One of Israel!”#Jb 21:14–15.
12Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word,
And put your trust in oppression and deceit,
and depend on them,#Is 28:15; Ps 62:11.
13This iniquity of yours shall be
like a descending rift
Bulging out in a high wall
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant,#Is 28:17; Ez 13:14.
14Crashing like a potter’s jar
smashed beyond rescue,
And among its fragments cannot be found
a sherd to scoop fire from the hearth
or dip water from the cistern.#Jer 19:11.
15For thus said the Lord God,
the Holy One of Israel:
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,
in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.
But this you did not will.#Is 7:4; 8:6; 28:12.
16“No,” you said,
“Upon horses we will flee.”
Very well, you shall flee!
“Upon swift steeds we will ride.”
Very well, swift shall be your pursuers!#Is 31:3.
17A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one—
if five threaten, you shall flee.
You will then be left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a flag on a hill.#Is 11:10; Dt 32:30.
Zion’s Future Deliverance
18Truly, the Lord is waiting to be gracious to you,
truly, he shall rise to show you mercy;
For the Lord is a God of justice:
happy are all who wait for him!#Ex 34:6; Ps 34:9; Jer 17:7.
19Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,
you shall no longer weep;
He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;
as soon as he hears he will answer you.#Is 25:8; 58:9; 65:24.
20The Lord will give you bread in adversity
and water in affliction.
No longer will your Teacher#Teacher: God, who in the past made the people blind and deaf through the prophetic message (6:9–10) and who in his anger hid his face from the house of Jacob (8:17), shall in the future help them to understand his teaching clearly (cf. Jer 31:34). hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,#Is 6:9–10; 8:17; 29:18.
21And your ears shall hear a word behind you:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or the left.
22You shall defile your silver-plated idols
and your gold-covered images;
You shall throw them away like filthy rags,
you shall say, “Get out!”#Is 2:20; 27:9; 31:7.
23He will give rain for the seed
you sow in the ground,
And the bread that the soil produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your cattle will graze
in broad meadows;#Lv 26:3–5.
24The oxen and the donkeys that till the ground
will eat silage tossed to them
with shovel and pitchfork.
25Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
when the towers fall,
26The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun,
and the light of the sun will be seven times greater,
like the light of seven days,
On the day the Lord binds up the wounds of his people
and heals the bruises left by his blows.#Is 1:6; Jer 30:17; Hos 6:1.
Divine Judgment on Assyria#God’s punishment of Assyria. The name of the Lord: here, God himself; cf. Ps 20:2.
27See, the name of the Lord is coming from afar,
burning with anger, heavy with threat,
His lips filled with fury,
tongue like a consuming fire,#Is 10:17; 29:6.
28Breath like an overflowing torrent
that reaches up to the neck!
He will winnow the nations with a destructive winnowing
and bridle the jaws of the peoples to send them astray.#Is 8:7–8; 37:29.
29For you, there will be singing
as on a night when a feast is observed,
And joy of heart
as when one marches along with a flute
Going to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.
30The Lord will make his glorious voice heard,
and reveal his arm coming down
In raging fury and flame of consuming fire,
in tempest, and rainstorm, and hail.#Is 10:17; 28:2; 29:6.
31For at the voice of the Lord, Assyria will be shattered,
as he strikes with the rod;
32And every sweep of the rod of his punishment,
which the Lord will bring down on him,
Will be accompanied by timbrels and lyres,
while he wages war against him.#Is 10:24–26; 14:24–27.
33For his tophet#Tophet: a site, near Jerusalem, where children were sacrificed by fire to Molech (2 Kgs 23:10), and where, probably, Ahaz sacrificed his son (2 Kgs 16:3). Here, Isaiah speaks of “his tophet,” the site prepared for burning up the king of Assyria. King: there seems to be a play on words between the Heb. word for king (melek) and the name Molech. This defeat of Assyria becomes the occasion for Israel’s festal rejoicing (v. 32). has long been ready,
truly it is prepared for the king;
His firepit made both deep and wide,
with fire and firewood in abundance,
And the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur,
setting it afire.#Gn 19:24; Ez 38:22.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 30
30
Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance
1“Woe (judgment is coming) to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who carry out a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance [by pouring out a libation], but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
2Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting #Lit My mouth.Me,
To take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh
And to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3Therefore the safety and protection of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation and disgrace.
4For his princes are at Zoan
And his ambassadors arrive at Hanes [in Egypt].
5All will be ashamed because of a people (the Egyptians) who cannot benefit them,
Who are not a help or benefit, but a shame and also a disgrace.”
6A [mournful, inspired] oracle (#I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South):
Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From #Lit them.where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,
They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.
7For Egypt’s help is worthless and good for nothing.
Therefore, I have called her
“Rahab Who Has Been Exterminated.”
8Now, go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
So that it may serve in the time to come
As a witness [against them] forevermore.
9For this is a rebellious people, lying sons,
Sons who refuse to listen to
The law and instruction of the Lord;
10Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions from God”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right!
Speak to us pleasant things and smooth words,
Prophesy [deceitful] illusions [that we will enjoy].
11Get out of the [true] way, turn aside from the path [of God],
Stop bothering us with the Holy One of Israel.”
12Therefore, the Holy One of Israel says this,
“Because you have refused and rejected this word [of Mine]
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,
13Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to you
Like a crack [in a wall] about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
14Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
Crushed so savagely
that there cannot be found among its pieces a potsherd [large enough]
To take [coals of] fire from a fireplace,
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
15For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said this,
“In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved,
In quietness and confident trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16And you said, “No! We will flee on horses!”
Therefore you will flee [from your enemies]!
And [you said], “We will ride on swift horses!”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17A thousand of you will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left like a flag on the top of a mountain,
And like a signal on a hill.
God Is Gracious and Just
18Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
# The ancient rabbis posed the question of why God waits to bring in the kingdom, if both He and Israel desire it. Their answer was that God’s attribute of justice delays it, i.e. that Israel is not yet deserving of it. Nevertheless, they maintained, it is meritorious to look forward to it, and those who do will be blessed (rewarded). For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].
19 # MT reads For a people will dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will most certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry for help; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20Though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of oppression, yet your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will [constantly] see your Teacher. 21Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 22And you will defile your carved images overlaid with silver, and your cast images plated with gold. You will scatter them like a bloodstained cloth, and will say to them, “Be gone!”
23Then He will give you rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread [grain] from the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful. In that day your livestock will graze in large and roomy pastures. 24Also the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25On every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams of water on the day of the great slaughter (the day of the Lord), when the towers fall [and all His enemies are destroyed]. 26The light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days [concentrated in one], in the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted [because of their sins].
27Now look, the #The revelation of the power and glory and brilliance of God.name of the Lord comes from far away,
Burning with His anger, and heavy with #Lit lifting up, possibly referring to clouds.smoke;
His lips are full of #Lit cursing.indignation,
And His tongue is like a consuming fire.
28His breath is like an overflowing river,
Which reaches to the neck,
To sift the nations back and forth in a sieve [of disaster],
And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin.
29You will have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept,
And joy of heart as when one marches [in procession] with a flute,
To go to the [temple on the] mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30And the Lord will make His majestic voice heard,
And show the descending of His arm [striking] in [His] fierce anger,
And in the flame of a devouring fire,
In the crashing sound of heavy rain, cloudburst, and hailstones.
31For at the voice of the Lord the Assyrians will be terrified,
When He strikes [them] with the rod.
32And every blow of the rod of punishment,
Which the Lord will lay on them,
Will be to the music of Israel’s tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight Assyria.
33For #A pagan site where children were burned as sacrifices to Molech, a Semitic god.Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;
Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.
He has made it deep and wide,
A pit of fire with plenty of wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.
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