Isaiah 30

1 Woe [to] apostate sons, A declaration of YHWH! 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.

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:

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

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.

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

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

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

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

5 He made all ashamed of a people that do not profit, Not for help, and not for profit, But for shame, and also for reproach!

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.

6 The burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, Of young lion and of old lion, From where [are] viper and flying, burning serpent, They carry their wealth on the shoulder of donkeys, And their treasures on the hump of camels, To a people not profitable.

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.

7 Indeed, Egyptians [are] vanity, and help in vain, Therefore I have cried concerning this: “Their strength [is] to sit still.”

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.

8 No, go in, write it on a tablet with them, And inscribe it on a scroll, And it is for a latter day, for a witness for all time,

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.

9 That this [is] a people of rebellion, sons—liars, Sons not willing to hear the Law of YHWH.

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

10 Who have said to seers, “Do not see,” And to prophets, “Do not prophesy to us straightforward things, Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits,

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:

11 Turn aside from the way, Decline from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.”

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

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

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:

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

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

14 And He has broken it As the breaking of the potters’ bottle, Beaten down—He does 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.”

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.

15 For thus said Lord YHWH, The Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you are saved, In keeping quiet and in confidence is your might,” And you have not been willing.

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.

16 And you say, “No, for we flee on a horse,” Therefore you flee, And, “We ride on the swift!” Therefore your pursuers are swift.

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.

17 One thousand [flee] because of the rebuke of one, Because of the rebuke of five you flee, Until you have surely been left as a pole On the top of the mountain, And as an ensign on the height.

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.

18 And therefore YHWH waits to favor you, And therefore He is exalted to pity you, For YHWH [is] a God of judgment, O the blessedness of all waiting for Him.

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.

19 For the people in Zion dwell in Jerusalem, Do not weep—weeping, Pitying, He pities you at the voice of your cry, When He hears He answers you.

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.

20 And the Lord has given to you bread of adversity, And water of oppression. And your teachers remove no longer, And your eyes have seen your teachers,

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:

21 And your ear hears a word behind you, saying, “This [is] the way, go in it,” When you turn to the right, And when you turn to the left.

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.

22 And you have defiled the covering of Your carved images of silver, And the ephod of your molten image of gold, You scatter them as a sickening thing, “Go out,” you say to it.

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!

23 And He has given rain [for] your seed, With which you sow the ground, And bread, the increase of the ground, And it has been fat and plentiful, Your livestock enjoy an enlarged pasture in that day.

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.

24 And the oxen and the young donkeys serving the ground, Eat fermented provender, That one is winnowing with shovel and fan.

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.

25 And there has been on every high mountain, And on every exalted hill, Streams—conduits of waters, In a day of much slaughter, in the falling of towers.

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.

26 And the light of the moon has 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 YHWH’s binding up the breach of His people, When He heals the stroke of its wound.

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.

27 Behold, the Name of YHWH is coming from far, His anger is burning, and the flame [is] great, His lips have been full of indignation, And His tongue [is] as a devouring fire.

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:

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

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.

29 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 to the mountain of YHWH, To the rock of Israel.

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.

30 And YHWH has caused The splendor of His voice to be heard, And the coming down of His arm He shows with the raging of anger, And the flame of a consuming fire, Scattering, and inundation, and hailstone.

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.

31 For from the voice of YHWH Asshur [is] broken down, He strikes with a rod.

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

32 And every passage of the settled staff, That YHWH causes to rest on him, Has been with tambourines and with harps, And in battles of shaking He has fought with it.

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.

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

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.