Isaiah 29-31

New International Version

Woe to David’s City

29 Woe^(A) to you, Ariel, Ariel,^(B)
    the city^(C) where David settled!
Add year to year
    and let your cycle of festivals^(D) go on.
²Yet I will besiege Ariel;^(E)
    she will mourn and lament,^(F)
    she will be to me like an altar hearth.^[a]^(G)
³I will encamp against you on all sides;
    I will encircle^(H) you with towers
    and set up my siege works^(I) against you.
⁴Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
    your speech will mumble^(J) out of the dust.^(K)
Your voice will come ghostlike^(L) from the earth;
    out of the dust your speech will whisper.^(M)

⁵But your many enemies will become like fine dust,^(N)
    the ruthless^(O) hordes like blown chaff.^(P)
Suddenly,^(Q) in an instant,
⁶    the Lord Almighty will come^(R)
with thunder^(S) and earthquake^(T) and great noise,
    with windstorm and tempest^(U) and flames of a devouring fire.^(V)
⁷Then the hordes of all the nations^(W) that fight against Ariel,^(X)
    that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,^(Y)
    with a vision in the night—
⁸as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
    but awakens^(Z) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
    but awakens faint and thirsty still.^(AA)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
    that fight against Mount Zion.^(AB)

⁹Be stunned and amazed,^(AC)
    blind yourselves and be sightless;^(AD)
be drunk,^(AE) but not from wine,^(AF)
    stagger,^(AG) but not from beer.
¹⁰The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:^(AH)
    He has sealed your eyes^(AI) (the prophets);^(AJ)
    he has covered your heads (the seers).^(AK)

¹¹For you this whole vision^(AL) is nothing but words sealed^(AM) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” ¹²Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”

¹³The Lord says:

“These people^(AN) come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,^(AO)
    but their hearts are far from me.^(AP)
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.^[b]^(AQ)
¹⁴Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;^(AR)
the wisdom of the wise^(AS) will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.^(AT)”
¹⁵Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide^(AU) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us?^(AV) Who will know?”^(AW)
¹⁶You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!^(AX)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed^(AY) it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,^(AZ)
    “You know nothing”?^(BA)

¹⁷In a very short time,^(BB) will not Lebanon^(BC) be turned into a fertile field^(BD)
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?^(BE)
¹⁸In that day^(BF) the deaf^(BG) will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness^(BH)
    the eyes of the blind will see.^(BI)
¹⁹Once more the humble^(BJ) will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy^(BK) will rejoice in the Holy One^(BL) of Israel.
²⁰The ruthless^(BM) will vanish,^(BN)
    the mockers^(BO) will disappear,
    and all who have an eye for evil^(BP) will be cut down—
²¹those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
    who ensnare the defender in court^(BQ)
    and with false testimony^(BR) deprive the innocent of justice.^(BS)

²²Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed^(BT) Abraham,^(BU) says to the descendants of Jacob:

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;^(BV)
    no longer will their faces grow pale.^(BW)
²³When they see among them their children,^(BX)
    the work of my hands,^(BY)
they will keep my name holy;^(BZ)
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One^(CA) of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴Those who are wayward^(CB) in spirit will gain understanding;^(CC)
    those who complain will accept instruction.”^(CD)

Woe to the Obstinate Nation

30 “Woe^(CE) to the obstinate children,”^(CF)
    declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
    forming an alliance,^(CG) but not by my Spirit,
    heaping sin upon sin;
²who go down to Egypt^(CH)
    without consulting^(CI) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,^(CJ)
    to Egypt’s shade for refuge.^(CK)
³But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
    Egypt’s shade^(CL) will bring you disgrace.^(CM)
⁴Though they have officials in Zoan^(CN)
    and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
⁵everyone will be put to shame
    because of a people^(CO) useless^(CP) to them,
who bring neither help^(CQ) nor advantage,
    but only shame and disgrace.^(CR)”

⁶A prophecy^(CS) concerning the animals of the Negev:^(CT)

Through a land of hardship and distress,^(CU)
    of lions^(CV) and lionesses,
    of adders and darting snakes,^(CW)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’^(CX) backs,
    their treasures^(CY) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
⁷    to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.^(CZ)
Therefore I call her
    Rahab^(DA) the Do-Nothing.

⁸Go now, write it on a tablet^(DB) for them,
    inscribe it on a scroll,^(DC)
that for the days to come
    it may be an everlasting witness.^(DD)
⁹For these are rebellious^(DE) people, deceitful^(DF) children,
    children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.^(DG)
¹⁰They say to the seers,^(DH)
    “See no more visions^(DI)!”
and to the prophets,
    “Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,^(DJ)
    prophesy illusions.^(DK)
¹¹Leave this way,^(DL)
    get off this path,
and stop confronting^(DM) us
    with the Holy One^(DN) of Israel!”

¹²Therefore this is what the Holy One^(DO) of Israel says:

“Because you have rejected this message,^(DP)
    relied on oppression^(DQ)
    and depended on deceit,
¹³this sin will become for you
    like a high wall,^(DR) cracked and bulging,
    that collapses^(DS) suddenly,^(DT) in an instant.
¹⁴It will break in pieces like pottery,^(DU)
    shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
    for taking coals from a hearth
    or scooping water out of a cistern.”

¹⁵This is what the Sovereign^(DV) Lord, the Holy One^(DW) of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest^(DX) is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust^(DY) is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.^(DZ)
¹⁶You said, ‘No, we will flee^(EA) on horses.’^(EB)
    Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
    Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
¹⁷A thousand will flee
    at the threat of one;
at the threat of five^(EC)
    you will all flee^(ED) away,
till you are left^(EE)
    like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
    like a banner^(EF) on a hill.”

¹⁸Yet the Lord longs^(EG) to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.^(EH)
For the Lord is a God of justice.^(EI)
Blessed are all who wait for him!^(EJ)

¹⁹People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.^(EK) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!^(EL) As soon as he hears, he will answer^(EM) you. ²⁰Although the Lord gives you the bread^(EN) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers^(EO) will be hidden^(EP) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice^(EQ) behind you, saying, “This is the way;^(ER) walk in it.” ²²Then you will desecrate your idols^(ES) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;^(ET) you will throw them away like a menstrual^(EU) cloth and say to them, “Away with you!^(EV)”

²³He will also send you rain^(EW) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich^(EX) and plentiful.^(EY) In that day^(EZ) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.^(FA) ²⁴The oxen^(FB) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder^(FC) and mash, spread out with fork^(FD) and shovel. ²⁵In the day of great slaughter,^(FE) when the towers^(FF) fall, streams of water will flow^(FG) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. ²⁶The moon will shine like the sun,^(FH) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals^(FI) the wounds he inflicted.

²⁷See, the Name^(FJ) of the Lord comes from afar,
    with burning anger^(FK) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,^(FL)
    and his tongue is a consuming fire.^(FM)
²⁸His breath^(FN) is like a rushing torrent,^(FO)
    rising up to the neck.^(FP)
He shakes the nations in the sieve^(FQ) of destruction;
    he places in the jaws of the peoples
    a bit^(FR) that leads them astray.
²⁹And you will sing
    as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;^(FS)
your hearts will rejoice^(FT)
    as when people playing pipes^(FU) go up
to the mountain^(FV) of the Lord,
    to the Rock^(FW) of Israel.
³⁰The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice^(FX)
    and will make them see his arm^(FY) coming down
with raging anger^(FZ) and consuming fire,^(GA)
    with cloudburst, thunderstorm^(GB) and hail.^(GC)
³¹The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;^(GD)
    with his rod he will strike^(GE) them down.
³²Every stroke the Lord lays on them
    with his punishing club^(GF)
will be to the music of timbrels^(GG) and harps,
    as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.^(GH)
³³Topheth^(GI) has long been prepared;
    it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
    with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath^(GJ) of the Lord,
    like a stream of burning sulfur,^(GK)
    sets it ablaze.^(GL)

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

31 Woe^(GM) to those who go down to Egypt^(GN) for help,
    who rely on horses,^(GO)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots^(GP)
    and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One^(GQ) of Israel,
    or seek help from the Lord.^(GR)
²Yet he too is wise^(GS) and can bring disaster;^(GT)
    he does not take back his words.^(GU)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,^(GV)
    against those who help evildoers.
³But the Egyptians^(GW) are mere mortals and not God;^(GX)
    their horses^(GY) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,^(GZ)
    those who help will stumble,
    those who are helped^(HA) will fall;
    all will perish together.^(HB)

⁴This is what the Lord says to me:

“As a lion^(HC) growls,
    a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds^(HD)
    is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
    or disturbed by their clamor^(HE)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down^(HF)
    to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
⁵Like birds hovering^(HG) overhead,
    the Lord Almighty will shield^(HH) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver^(HI) it,
    he will ‘pass over’^(HJ) it and will rescue it.”

⁶Return,^(HK) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted^(HL) against. ⁷For in that day^(HM) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold^(HN) your sinful hands have made.^(HO)

⁸“Assyria^(HP) will fall by no human sword;
    a sword, not of mortals, will devour^(HQ) them.
They will flee before the sword
    and their young men will be put to forced labor.^(HR)
⁹Their stronghold^(HS) will fall because of terror;
    at the sight of the battle standard^(HT) their commanders will panic,^(HU)”
declares the Lord,
    whose fire^(HV) is in Zion,
    whose furnace^(HW) is in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

Isaiah 29:2 The Hebrew for altar hearth sounds like the Hebrew for Ariel.
Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules