Isaiah 30
1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, Who form plans, and not from me, And make covenants without my spirit, That they may add sin to sin!
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
2 Who go down into Egypt, Without inquiring at my mouth, To seek refuge in Pharaoh's protection, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.
3 The protection of Pharaoh shall be your shame; Your trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
4 For their princes are at Zoan, Their ambassadors have arrived at Hanes.
For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 But they are all ashamed of a people that do not profit them; That are no help and no profit, But only a shame and a reproach.
everyone will be put to shame because of a people useless to them. They cannot be of help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.”
6 The loaded beasts go southward. Through a land of anguish and distress, Whence come forth the lioness, and the fierce lion, The viper, and the flying fiery serpent; On the shoulders of young asses they carry their wealth, And on the bunches of camels their treasures, To a people that will not profit them!
This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
7 Vain and empty is the help of Egypt; Wherefore I call her, The Blusterer that sitteth still.
Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.
8 Go now, write this on a tablet before them; Note it down upon a book, That it may remain for future times, A testimony forever!
Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
9 For this is a rebellious people, false children; Children who will not hear the law of Jehovah;
These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
10 Who say to the seers, “See not!” And to the prophets, “Prophesy not right things; Speak to us smooth things, Prophesy falsehood!
They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
11 Turn aside from the way, Depart from the path, Remove from our sight the Holy One of Israel!”
Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel: Since ye despise this word, And trust in oppression and perverseness, And lean thereon,
Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, trusting in oppression and relying on deceit,
13 Therefore shall this iniquity be to you Like a breach ready to give way, That swelleth out in a high wall, Whose fall cometh suddenly, in an instant.
this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly— in an instant!
14 It is broken like a potter's vessel, Which is dashed in pieces and not spared, So that among its fragments not a sherd is found to take up fire from the hearth, Or to dip water from the cistern.
It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”
15 For thus said the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel: By a return and by rest shall ye be saved; In quietness and confidence is your strength;
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence— but you were not willing.”
16 But ye would not. Ye said, “No! we will bound along upon horses”; Truly ye shall bound along in flight. “We will ride upon swift coursers”; But they shall be swift that pursue you.
“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
17 A thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one, And ten thousand at the rebuke of five, Till what remains of you shall be as a beacon on the top of a mountain, As a banner upon a hill.
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.
18 And yet will Jehovah wait to be gracious to you, And yet will he arise to have mercy upon you; For Jehovah is a righteous God; Happy are all they who wait for him!
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
19 For, O people of Zion, that dwellest in Jerusalem, Thou shalt not always weep! He will be very gracious to thee at the voice of thy cry; No sooner shall he hear it, than he will answer thee.
O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
20 Though Jehovah hath given thee the bread of distress, and the water of affliction, Yet shall thy teachers be hidden from thee no more; But thine eyes shall see thy teachers.
The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.
21 And thine ears shall hear a voice behind thee, Saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it!” When ye turn aside to the right hand, or to the left.
And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
22 Ye shall treat as defiled the silver coverings of your graven images, And the golden clothing of your molten images, Ye shall cast them away as an unclean thing; Away! shall ye say to them.
So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
23 Then will he give rain for thy seed, With which thou shalt sow the ground, And the bread-corn, the produce of the land, shall be rich and nourishing; Then shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.
24 The oxen also, and the young asses, that till the ground, Shall eat well-seasoned provender, Which hath been winnowed with the shovel and the fan.
The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
25 And on every lofty mountain, And on every high hill, Shall be brooks and streams of water, In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall.
And from every high mountain and every raised hill, streams of water will flow in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Then shall the light of the moon be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, [[As the light of seven days, ]] When Jehovah bindeth up the bruises of his people, And healeth the wound which they have received.
The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.
27 Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from afar, His anger burneth, and violent is the flame, His lips are full of indignation, And his tongue like a devouring fire.
Behold, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent, That reacheth even to the neck; He will toss the nation with the winnowing-fan of destruction; He will put a bridle upon the jaws of the people, that shall lead them astray.
His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.
29 But ye shall then sing as in the night of a solemn festival; Your heart shall be glad, like his who marcheth with the sound of the pipe To the mountain of Jehovah, to the rock of Israel.
You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.
30 Jehovah will cause his glorious voice to be heard, And the blow of his arm to be seen, With furious anger, and flames of devouring fire; With flood, and storm, and hailstones.
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
31 For by the voice of Jehovah shall the Assyrian be beaten down; He will smite him with the rod.
For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.
32 And as often as the appointed rod shall strike, Which Jehovah shall lay heavily upon him, It shall be accompanied with tabrets and harps; And with fierce battles will he fight against him.
And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished.
33 For long hath the burning place been prepared; Yea, for the king hath it been made ready; The pile is made deep and broad; There is fire and wood in abundance; The breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, kindle it.
For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.
