Isaiah 29

1 Ah altar, altar of the citie that Dauid dwelt in: adde yere vnto yere: let them kill lambs.

Alas for the city of Ariel, which David besieged. Gather ye fruits year by year; eat ye, for ye shall eat with Moab.

2 But I wil bring the altar into distresse, and there shalbe heauines and sorowe, and it shall be vnto me like an altar.

For I will grievously afflict Ariel: and her strength and her wealth shall be mine.

3 And I wil besiege thee as a circle, and fight against thee on a mount, and will cast vp ramparts against thee.

And I will compass thee about like David, and will raise a mound about thee, and set up towers round thee.

4 So shalt thou be humbled, and shalt speake out of the ground, and thy speach shalbe as out of the dust: thy voyce also shall be out of the ground like him that hath a spirite of diuination, and thy talking shall whisper out of the dust.

And thy words shall be brought down to the earth, and thy words shall sink down to the earth, and thy voice shall be as they that speak out of the earth, and thy voice shall be lowered to the ground.

5 Moreouer, the multitude of thy strangers shalbe like small dust, and the multitude of strong men shalbe as chaffe that passeth away, and it shall be in a moment, euen suddenly.

But the wealth of the ungodly shall be as dust from a wheel, and the multitude of them that oppress thee as flying chaff, and it shall be suddenly as a moment,

6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hostes with thunder, and shaking, and a great noyse, a whirlewinde, and a tempest, and a flame of a deuouring fire.

from the Lord of Hosts: for there shall be a visitation with thunder, and earthquake, and a loud noise, a rushing tempest, and devouring flame of fire.

7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against the altar, shalbe as a dreame or vision by night: euen all they that make the warre against it, and strong holdes against it, and lay siege vnto it.

And the wealth of all the nations together, as many as have fought against Ariel, and all they that war against Jerusalem, and all who are gathered against her, and they that distress her, shall be as one that dreams in sleep by night.

8 And it shalbe like as an hungry man dreameth, and beholde, he eateth: and when he awaketh, his soule is emptie: or like as a thirsty man dreameth, and loe, he is drinking, and when he awaketh, beholde, he is faint, and his soule longeth: so shall the multitude of all nations be that fight against mount Zion.

And as men drink and eat in sleep, and when they have arisen, the dream is vain: and as a thirsty man dreams as if he drank, and having arisen is still thirsty, and his soul has desired in vain: so shall be the wealth of all the nations, as many as have fought against the mount Sion.

9 Stay your selues, and wonder: they are blinde, and make you blinde: they are drunken but not with wine: they stagger, but not by strong drinke.

Faint ye, and be amazed, and be overpowered, not with strong drink nor with wine.

10 For the Lord hath couered you with a spirite of slumber, and hath shut vp your eyes: the Prophets, and your chiefe Seers hath he couered.

For the Lord has made you to drink a spirit of deep sleep; and he shall close their eyes, and [the eyes] of their prophets and of their rulers, who see secret things.

11 And the vision of them all is become vnto you, as the wordes of a booke that is sealed vp, which they deliuer to one that can reade, saying, Reade this, I pray thee. Then shall he say, I can not: for it is sealed.

And all these things shall be to you as the words of this sealed book, which if they shall give to a learned man, saying, Read this, he shall then say, I cannot read [it], for it is sealed.

12 And the booke is giuen vnto him that can not reade, saying, Reade this, I pray thee. And he shall say, I can not reade.

And this book shall be given into the hands of a man that is unlearned, and [one] shall say to him, Read this; and he shall say, I am not learned.

13 Therefore the Lord sayd, Because this people come neere vnto me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but haue remooued their heart farre from me, and their feare toward me was taught by the precept of men,

And the Lord has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.

14 Therefore behold, I wil againe doe a marueilous worke in this people, euen a marueilous worke, and a wonder: for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish, and the vnderstanding of their prudent men shalbe hid.

Therefore behold I will proceed to remove this people, and I will remove them: and I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent.

15 Wo vnto them that seeke deepe to hide their counsell from the Lord: for their workes are in darkenes, and they say, Who seeth vs? and who knoweth vs?

Woe to them that deepen their counsel, and not by the Lord. Woe to them that take secret counsel, and whose works are in darkness, and they say, Who has seen us? and who shall know us, or what we do?

16 Your turning of deuises shall it not be esteemed as the potters clay? for shall the worke say of him that made it, Hee made me not? or the thing formed, say of him that facioned it, He had none vnderstanding?

Shall ye not be counted as clay of the potter? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Thou didst not form me? or the work to the maker, Thou hast not made me wisely?

17 Is it not yet but a litle while, and Lebanon shall be turned into Carmel? and Carmel shall be counted as a forest?

[Is it] not yet a little while, and Libanus shall be changed as the mountains of Chermel, and Chermel shall be reckoned as a forest?

18 And in that day shall the deafe heare the wordes of the booke, and the eyes of the blinde shall see out of obscuritie, and out of darkenesse.

And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and they that are in darkness, and they that are in mist: the eyes of the blind shall see,

19 The meeke in the Lord shall receiue ioye againe, and the poore men shall reioyce in the holy one of Israel.

and the poor shall rejoice with joy because of the Lord, and they that had no hope among men shall be filled with joy.

20 For the cruel man shall cease, and the scornefull shalbe consumed: and all that hasted to iniquitie, shalbe cut off:

The lawless man has come to nought, and the proud man has perished, and they that transgress mischievously have been utterly destroyed:

21 Which made a man to sinne in ye worde, and tooke him in a snare: which reproued them in the gate, and made the iust to fall without cause.

and they that cause men to sin by a word: and men shall make all that reprove in the gates an offence, because they have unjustly turned aside the righteous.

22 Therefore thus sayth the Lord vnto the house of Iaakob, euen hee that redeemed Abraham, Iaakob shall not now be confounded, neither now shall his face be pale.

Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the house of Jacob, whom he set apart from Abraam, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall he now change countenance.

23 But when he seeth his children, the worke of mine hands, in the mids of him, they shall sanctifie my Name, and sanctifie the holy one of Iaakob, and shall feare the God of Israel.

But when their children shall have seen my works, they shall sanctify my name for my sake, and they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

24 Then they that erred in spirit, shall haue vnderstanding, and they that murmured, shall learne doctrine.

And they that erred in spirit shall know understanding, and the murmurers shall learn obedience, and the stammering tongues shall learn to speak peace.