Isaiah 29

1 Ho! Ariel, Ariel, the town against which David made war; put year to year, let the feasts come round:

Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, The city where David dwelt! Add year to year, Let the festivals go round,

2 And I will send trouble on Ariel, and there will be weeping and cries of grief; and she will be to me as Ariel.

Then will I distress Ariel; Mourning and sorrow shall be there; Yet shall she be to me as Ariel [[the lion of God]].

3 And I will make war on you like David, and you will be shut in by earthworks, and I will make towers round you.

I will encamp against thee round about, And I will lay siege against thee with a mound, And I will raise towers against thee.

4 And you will be made low, and your voice will come out of the earth, and your words will be low out of the dust; and your voice will come out of the earth like that of a spirit, making bird-like noises out of the dust.

Thou shalt be brought down, and speak from the ground, And thy speech shall be low from the dust; Thy voice shall be like that of a spirit under ground, And thy speech shall chirp as from the dust.

5 And the army of your attackers will be like small dust, and all the cruel ones like dry stems gone before the wind; suddenly it will come about.

Yet shall the multitude of thine enemies be like fine dust; The multitude of the terrible like flying chaff; It shall take place suddenly, in a moment.

6 The Lord of armies will come in with thunder and earth-shaking and great noise, with rushing wind and storm, and the flame of burning fire.

From Jehovah of hosts cometh the visitation With thunder, and earthquake, and great noise, With storm and tempest, And flames of devouring fire.

7 And all the nations making war on Ariel, and all those who are fighting against her and shutting her in with their towers, will be like a dream, like a vision of the night.

As a dream, a vision of the night, Shall be the multitude of all the nations That fight against Ariel, That fight against her and her fortress, And distress her.

8 And it will be like a man desiring food, and dreaming that he is feasting; but when he is awake there is nothing in his mouth: or like a man in need of water, dreaming that he is drinking; but when he is awake he is feeble and his soul is full of desire: so will all the nations be which make war on Mount Zion.

As a hungry man dreameth, and lo! he eateth, But awaketh and is still hungry; And as a thirsty man dreameth, and lo! he drinketh, But awaketh, and lo! he is faint and thirsty; So shall it be with the multitude of all the nations That fight against mount Zion.

9 Be surprised and full of wonder; let your eyes be covered and be blind: be overcome, but not with wine; go with uncertain steps, but not because of strong drink.

Be in amazement and be amazed! Be blinded and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong drink!

10 For the Lord has sent on you a spirit of deep sleep; and by him your eyes, the prophets, are shut, and your heads, the seers, are covered.

For Jehovah hath poured upon you a spirit of slumber; He hath closed your eyes, the prophets, And covered your heads, the seers;

11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut:

And so every vision is to you as the words of a sealed book, Which is given to a man that is skilled in writing, Saying, “Read this, I pray thee”; But he answereth, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

12 And they give it to one without learning, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I have no knowledge of writing.

Or, if he give it to one that is not skilled in writing, Saying, “Read this, I pray thee,” He answereth, “I am not skilled in writing.”

13 And the Lord said, because this people come near to me with their mouths, and give honour to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is false, a rule given them by the teaching of men;

Therefore saith the Lord, Since this people draweth near to me with their mouth, And honoreth me with their lips, While their heart is far from me, And their worship of me is according to the commandments of men,

14 For this cause I will again do a strange thing among this people, a thing to be wondered at: and the wisdom of their wise men will come to nothing, and the sense of their guides will no longer be seen.

Therefore, behold, I will proceed to deal marvellously with this people; Marvellously and wonderfully, For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the prudence of the prudent shall be hid.

15 Cursed are those who go deep to keep their designs secret from the Lord, and whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who sees us? and who has knowledge of our acts?

Woe to them that hide deep their purposes from Jehovah, Whose work is in darkness; That say, Who seeth us? Who knoweth us?

16 You are turning things upside down! Is the wet earth the same to you as the one who is forming it? will the thing made say of him who made it, He made me not: or the thing formed say of him who gave it form, He has no knowledge?

Alas, your perverseness! Is the potter to be esteemed as the clay, That the work should say of its maker, He made me not? And the thing formed say of him that formed it, He hath no understanding?

17 In a very short time Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will seem like a wood.

Is it not yet a very little while, And Lebanon shall be changed to a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed a forest.

18 And in that day those whose ears are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind will see through the mist and the dark.

And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, And out of mist and darkness shall the eyes of the blind see.

19 And the poor will have their joy in the Lord increased, and those in need will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted shall exceedingly rejoice in Jehovah, And the poor shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

20 For the cruel one has come to nothing; and those who make sport of the Lord are gone; and those who are watching to do evil are cut off:

For the oppressor hath come to naught; the scoffer is destroyed; And all that watched for iniquity are cut off;

21 Who give help to a man in a wrong cause, and who put a net for the feet of him who gives decisions in the public place, taking away a man's right without cause.

Who condemned a man in his cause, And laid snares for him who defended himself in the gate, And with falsehood caused the righteous to fail.

22 For this reason the Lord, the saviour of Abraham, says about the family of Jacob, Jacob will not now be put to shame, or his face be clouded with fear.

Therefore concerning the house of Jacob thus saith Jehovah, He that redeemed Abraham: No more shall Jacob be ashamed, And no more shall his face grow pale.

23 But when they, the children of Jacob, see the work of my hands among them, they will give honour to my name; yes, they will give honour to the Holy One of Jacob, and go in fear of the God of Israel.

For when his children behold the work of my hands in the midst of them, They shall honor my name. They shall honor the Holy One of Jacob, And reverence the God of Israel.

24 Those whose hearts were turned away from him will get knowledge, and those who made an outcry against him will give attention to his teaching.

They that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, And the obstinate shall receive instruction.