Isaiah 30

1 Ho! uncontrolled children, says the Lord, who give effect to a purpose which is not mine, and who make an agreement, but not by my spirit, increasing their sin:

Woe [to] apostate sons, The affirmation of Jehovah! To do counsel, and not from Me, And to spread out a covering, and not of My spirit, So as to add sin to sin.

2 Who make a move to go down into Egypt, without authority from me; who are looking to the strength of Pharaoh for help, and whose hope is in the shade of Egypt.

Who are walking to go down to Egypt, And My mouth have not asked, To be strong in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt.

3 And the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and your hope in the shade of Egypt will come to nothing.

And the strength of Pharaoh Hath been to you for shame, And the trust in the shadow of Egypt confusion,

4 For his chiefs are at Zoan, and his representatives have come to Hanes.

For in Zoan were his princes, And his messengers reach Hanes.

5 For they have all come with offerings to a people of no use to them, in whom is no help or profit, but only shame and a bad name.

All he made ashamed of a people that profit not, Neither for help, not for profit, But for shame, and also for reproach!

6 The word about the Beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and grief, the land of the she-lion and the voice of the lion, of the snake and the burning winged snake, they take their wealth on the backs of young asses, and their stores on camels, to a people in whom is no profit.

The burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, Of young lion and of old lion, Whence [are] viper and flying saraph, They carry on the shoulder of asses their wealth, And on the hump of camels their treasures, Unto a people not profitable.

7 For there is no use or purpose in the help of Egypt: so I have said about her, She is Rahab, who has come to an end.

Yea, Egyptians [are] vanity, and in vain do help, Therefore I have cried concerning this: 'Their strength [is] to sit still.'

8 Now go, put it in writing before them on a board, and make a record of it in a book, so that it may be for the future, a witness for all time to come.

No, go in, write it on a tablet with them, And on a book engrave it, And it is for a latter day, for a witness unto the age,

9 For they are an uncontrolled people, false-hearted, who will not give ear to the teaching of the Lord:

That a rebellious people [is] this, sons — liars, Sons not willing to hear the law of Jehovah.

10 Who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Do not give us word of what is true, but say false things to give us pleasure:

Who have said to seers, 'Ye do not see,' And to prophets, 'Ye do not prophesy to us Straightforward things, Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits,

11 Get out of the good way, turning from the right road; do not keep the Holy One of Israel before our minds.

Turn aside from the way, decline from the path, Cause to cease from before us the Holy One of Israel.'

12 For this cause the Holy One of Israel says, Because you will not give ear to this word, and are looking for help in ways of deceit and evil, and are putting your hope in them:

Therefore, thus said the Holy One of Israel, Because of your kicking against this word, And ye trust in oppression, And perverseness, and rely on it,

13 This sin will be to you like a crack in a high wall, causing its fall suddenly and in a minute.

Therefore is this iniquity to you as a breach falling, Swelled out in a wall set on high, Whose destruction suddenly, at an instant cometh.

14 And he will let it be broken as a potter's vessel is broken: it will be smashed to bits without mercy; so that there will not be a bit in which one may take fire from the fireplace, or water from the spring.

And He hath broken it As the breaking of the potters' bottle, Beaten down — He doth not spare, Nor is there found, in its beating down, A potsherd to take fire from the burning, And to draw out waters from a ditch.

15 For the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, said, In quiet and rest is your salvation: peace and hope are your strength: but you would not have it so.

For thus said the Lord Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest ye are saved, In keeping quiet and in confidence is your might, And ye have not been willing.

16 Saying, No, for we will go in flight on horses; so you will certainly go in flight: and, We will go on the backs of quick-running beasts; so those who go after you will be quick-footed.

And ye say, No, for on a horse we flee? Therefore ye flee, And on the swift we ride! Therefore swift are your pursuers.

17 A thousand will go in fear before one; even before five you will go in flight: till you are like a pillar by itself on the top of a mountain, and like a flag on a hill.

One thousand because of the rebuke of one, Because of the rebuke of five ye flee, Till ye have been surely left as a pole On the top of the mountain, And as an ensign on the height.

18 For this cause the Lord will be waiting, so that he may be kind to you; and he will be lifted up, so that he may have mercy on you; for the Lord is a God of righteousness: there is a blessing on all whose hope is in him.

And therefore doth wait Jehovah to favour you, And therefore He is exalted to pity you, For a God of judgment [is] Jehovah, O the blessedness of all waiting for Him.

19 O people, living in Zion, at Jerusalem, your weeping will be ended; he will certainly have mercy on you at the sound of your cry; when it comes to his ear, he will give you an answer.

For the people in Zion dwell in Jerusalem, Weep thou not, weeping, Pitying, He pitieth thee at the voice of thy cry, When He heareth He answereth thee.

20 And though the Lord will give you the bread of trouble and the water of grief, you will no longer put your teacher on one side, but you will see your teacher:

And the Lord hath given to you bread of adversity, And water of oppression. And thy directors remove no more, And thine eyes have seen thy directors,

21 And at your back, when you are turning to the right hand or to the left, a voice will be sounding in your ears, saying, This is the way in which you are to go.

And thine ear heareth a word behind thee, Saying, 'This [is] the way, go ye in it,' When ye turn to the right, And when ye turn to the left.

22 And you will make unclean what is covering your pictured images of silver, and the plating of your images of gold: you will send them away as an unclean thing, saying, Be gone!

And ye have defiled the covering of Thy graven images of silver, And the ephod of thy molten image of gold, Thou scatterest them as a sickening thing, 'Go out,' thou sayest to it.

23 And he will give rain for your seed, so that you may put it in the earth; and you will have bread from the produce of the earth, good and more than enough for your needs: in that day the cattle will get their food in wide grass-lands.

And He hath given rain [for] thy seed, With which thou dost sow the ground, And bread, the increase of the ground, And it hath been fat and plenteous, Enjoy do thy cattle in that day an enlarged pasture.

24 And the oxen and the young asses which are used for ploughing, will have salted grain which has been made free from the waste with fork and basket.

And the oxen and the young asses serving the ground, Fermented provender do eat, That one is winnowing with shovel and fan.

25 And there will be rivers and streams of water on every tall mountain and on every high hill, in the day when great numbers are put to the sword, when the towers come down.

And there hath been on every high mount, And on every exalted hill, Rivulets — streams of waters, In a day of much slaughter, in the falling of towers.

26 And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times greater, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord puts oil on the wounds of his people, and makes them well from the blows they have undergone.

And the light of the moon hath been as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun is sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day of Jehovah's binding up the breach of His people, When the stroke of its wound He healeth.

27 See, the name of the Lord is coming from far, burning with his wrath, with thick smoke going up: his lips are full of passion, and his tongue is like a burning fire:

Lo, the name of Jehovah is coming from far, Burning is His anger, and great the flame, His lips have been full of indignation, And His tongue [is] as a devouring fire.

28 And his breath is as an overflowing stream, coming up even to the neck, shaking the nations for their destruction, like the shaking of grain in a basket: and he will put a cord in the mouths of the people, turning them out of their way.

And His breath [is] as an overflowing stream, Unto the neck it divideth, To sift nations with a sieve of vanity, And a bridle causing to err, [Is] on the jaws of the peoples.

29 You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and you will be glad in heart, as when they go with music of the pipe to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock of Israel.

Singing is to you as in a night sanctified for a festival, And joy of heart as he who is going with a pipe, To go in to the mountain of Jehovah, Unto the rock of Israel.

30 And the Lord will send out the sound of his great voice, and they will see his arm stretched out, with the heat of his wrath, and the flame of a burning fire; with a cloud-burst, and storm, and a rain of ice.

And caused to be heard hath Jehovah The honour of His voice, And the coming down of His arm He doth shew with the raging of anger, And the flame of a consuming fire, Scattering, and inundation, and hailstone.

31 For through the voice of the Lord the Assyrian will be broken, and the Lord's rod will be lifted up against him.

For from the voice of Jehovah broken down [is] Asshur, With a rod He smiteth.

32 And every blow of the rod of his punishment, which the Lord will send on him, will be with the sound of music: and with the waving of his sword the Lord will make war against him.

And every passage of the settled staff, That Jehovah causeth to rest on him, Hath been with tabrets, and with harps, And in battles of shaking he hath fought with it.

33 For a place of fire has long been ready; yes, it has been made ready for the king; he has made it deep and wide: it is massed with fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of fire, puts a light to it.

For, arranged from former time is Tophet, Even it for the king is prepared, He hath made deep, He hath made large, Its pile [is] fire and much wood, The breath of Jehovah, As a stream of brim stone, is burning in it!