Isaiah 29

1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the town where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let the festivals come round in order;

Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the festivals come round.

2 Yet will I distress Ariel, and there shall be groaning and wailing: and it shall be unto me like Ariel.

But I will besiege Ariel, and she will be mourning and lamenting; and she will be to me like Ariel.

3 And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with hostile posts, and I will raise up entrenchments against thee.

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 And brought down low, shalt thou speak [as though] out of the earth, and out of the dust shall come forth thy speech; and like one of a familiar spirit out of the earth shall be thy voice, and out of the dust shalt thou whisper forth thy speech.

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 And like the small dust shall be the multitude of thy barbarian enemies, and like the passing chaff the multitude of tyrants; and [this] shall be at unawares, suddenly.

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 From the Lord of hosts shall the visitation come with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the devouring 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 And as a dream of a night-vision shall be the multitude of all the nations that go to war against Ariel, even all that fight against her and raise towers against her, and that distress her.

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 And it shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, that, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, that, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul yet longeth: so shall it be with the multitude of all the nations, that go to war 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 Stay but still and wonder; turn your eyes away, and be blinded; they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with 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 hath poured out over you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: [over] the prophets, and your chiefs, the seers, hath he cast a vail.

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 vision of every thing is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that can read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot; for 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 And the book is then delivered to one that cannot read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot read.

If the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

13 And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is but the acquired precept of 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, behold, I will do yet farther a marvelous work with this people, doing wonder on wonder; so that the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost, and the understanding of their prudent men shall 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 unto those that seek to hide deeply their counsel from the Lord, so that their works may be in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

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 Oh your perverseness! shall the potter be esteemed as the clay? that the work shall say of its maker, He hath not made me? or shall the thing framed say of its framer, He had 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 Lo! but yet a very little while more, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest!

In just a little while, Lebanon will be turned into a field, and the field will become a forest.

18 And on that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and out of obscurity, and out of darkness, shall the eyes of the blind 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 And the sufferers shall have abundant joy in the Lord, and the needy among men shall be glad 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 tyrant is no more, and consumed is the scorner, and cut off are all that watch for injustice;

For the ruthless will cease, and the scoffer will vanish. All those who love to do evil will be eliminated,

21 That cause mankind to sin by [their] word; and lay a snare for him that reproveth [them] in the gate; and pervert through fraud the cause of the just.

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 thus hath said the Lord unto the house of Jacob, he who hath redeemed Abraham, Not now shall Jacob be ashamed, and not now shall his face be made 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 seeth his children, the work of my hands in the midst of him, how they sanctify my name: then will they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and the God of Israel will they reverence.

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 They also that were erring in spirit shall acquire understanding, and they that murmured shall obtain instruction.

Those who err in spirit will gain understanding, and complainers will learn knowledge.”