Isaiah 29

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

Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city which David took: year is added to year: the solemnities are at an end.

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

And I will make a trench about Ariel, and it shall be in sorrow and mourning, and it shall be to me as Ariel.

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

And I will make a circle round about thee, and will cast up a rampart against thee, and raise up bulwarks to besiege thee.

4 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.

Thou shalt be brought down, thou shalt speak out of the earth, and thy speech shall be heard out of the ground: and thy voice shall be from the earth like that of the python, and out of the ground thy speech shall mutter.

5 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.

And the multitude of them that fan thee, shall be like small dust: and as ashes passing away, the multitude of them that have prevailed against thee.

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

And it shall be at an instant suddenly. A visitation shall come from the Lord of hosts in thunder, and with earthquake, and with a great noise of whirlwind and tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.

7 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.

And the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel, shall be as the dream of a vision by night, and all that have fought, and besieged and prevailed against it.

8 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.

And as he that is hungry dreameth, and eateth, but when he is awake, his soul is empty: and as he that is thirsty dreameth, and drinketh, and after he is awake, is yet faint with thirst, and his soul is empty: so shall be the multitude of all the Gentiles, that have fought against mount Sion.

9 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!

Be astonished, and wander, waver, and stagger: be drunk, and not with wine: stagger, and not with drunkenness.

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

For the Lord hath mingled for you the spirit of a deep sleep, he will shut up your eyes, he will cover your prophets and princes, that see visions.

11 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.”

And the vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which when they shall deliver to one that is learned, they shall say: Read this: and he shall answer: I cannot, for it is sealed.

12 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.”

And the book shall be given to one that knoweth no letters, and it shall be said to him: Read: and he shall answer: I know no letters.

13 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,

And the Lord said: Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far from me, and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men:

14 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.

Therefore behold I will proceed to cause an admiration in this people, by a great and wonderful miracle: for wisdom shall perish from their wise men, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

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

Woe to you that are deep of heart, to hide your counsel from the Lord: and their works are in the dark, and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us?

16 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?

This thought of yours is perverse: as if the clay should think against the potter, and the work should say to the maker thereof: Thou madest me not: or the thing framed should say to him that fashioned it: Thou understandest not.

17 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.

Is it not yet a very little while, and Libanus shall be turned into charmel, and charmel shall be esteemed as a forest?

18 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.

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

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

And the meek shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

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

For he that did prevail hath failed, the scorner is consumed, and they are all cut off that watched for iniquity:

21 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.

That made men sin by word, and supplanted him that reproved them in the gate, and declined in vain from the just.

22 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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord to the house of Jacob, he that redeemed Abraham: Jacob shall not now be confounded, neither shall his countenance now be ashamed:

23 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.

But when he shall see his children, the work of my hands in the midst of him sanctifying my name, and they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall glorify the God of Israel:

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

And they that erred in spirit, shall know understanding, and they that murmured, shall learn the law.