Isaiah 29
1 Woe to you, O Ariel, the city of Ariel where David camped! Year upon year let your festivals recur.
Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the festivals come round.
2 And I will constrain Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation; she will be like an altar hearth before Me.
But I will besiege Ariel, and she will be mourning and lamenting; and she will be to me like Ariel.
3 I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with towers and set up siege works against you.
I will encamp against you in a circle and will lay siege against you with a palisade, and I will raise siege works against you.
4 You will be brought low, you will speak from the ground, and out of the dust your words will be muffled. Your voice will be like a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper out of the dust.
You will be brought down and will speak from the ground; your speech will be low from the dust. Your voice will sound like a spirit that speaks from the ground, and out of the dust your speech will whisper.
5 But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,
The great number of your invaders will become like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones as chaff that passes away. It will happen suddenly, in an instant.
6 you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.
Yahweh of hosts will come to you with thunder, earthquake, great noise, with strong winds and violent storm, and the flames of a devouring fire.
7 All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel— even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her— will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
It will be like a dream, a vision of the night: A horde of all the nations will fight against Ariel and her stronghold. They will attack her and her fortifications to press upon her.
8 as when a hungry man dreams he is eating, then awakens still hungry; as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, then awakens faint and parched. So will it be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.
It will be like when a hungry man dreams he is eating, but when he awakes, his stomach is empty. It will be like when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but he when he awakes, he is fainting, with his thirst not quenched. Yes, so will be the great number of nations that fights against Mount Zion.
9 Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.
Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with beer.
10 For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
For Yahweh has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep. He has closed your eyes, the prophets, and has covered your heads, the seers.
11 And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”
All revelation has become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men might give to one who is learned, saying, “Read this.” He also says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
12 Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.”
If the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
13 Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
The Lord said, “This people comes close to me with their mouths and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Their honor for me is only a commandment of men that has been taught.
14 Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”
Therefore, see, I will proceed to do a marvelous thing among this people, wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will disappear.”
15 Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in darkness. They say, “Who sees us, and who knows us?”
16 You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of the potter, “He has no understanding”?
You turn things upside down! Should the potter be considered like clay, so that the thing that is made should say about him who made it, “He did not make me,” or the thing formed say about him who formed it, “He does not understand”?
17 In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
In just a little while, Lebanon will be turned into a field, and the field will become a forest.
18 On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
On that day the deaf will hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of the deep darkness.
19 The humble will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
The oppressed will again rejoice in Yahweh, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who look for evil will be cut down—
For the ruthless will cease, and the scoffer will vanish. All those who love to do evil will be eliminated,
21 those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.
who by a word make a man out to be an offender. They lay a snare for him who seeks justice at the gate and put the righteous down with empty lies.
22 Therefore the LORD who redeemed Abraham says of the house of Jacob: “No longer will Jacob be ashamed and no more will his face grow pale.
Therefore this is what Yahweh says concerning the house of Jacob—Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham, “Jacob will no longer be ashamed, nor will his face be pale.
23 For when he sees his children around him, the work of My hands, they will honor My name, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, they will make my name holy. They will make holy the name of the Holy One of Jacob and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Then the wayward in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.”
Those who err in spirit will gain understanding, and complainers will learn knowledge.”
