Isaiah 30
1 Alas! for sons who are rebellious, Declareth Yahweh. Executing a purpose, but not from me, And pouring out a libation but not from my spirit, —That they may add sin to sin:
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not from me; and that set themselves a ruler, but not by my spirit, in order that they may add sin to sin:
2 Who are setting out to go down to Egypt, But at my mouth, have not asked, —Betaking them to the protection of Pharaoh And seeking refuge under the shadow of Egypt.
That travel to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my will; to strengthen themselves through the strength of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh become to you a shame, And, the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, an insult;
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh become your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your disgrace.
4 For their princes have been, in Zoan, —And, their messengers unto Hanes, would draw near.
For his princes were at Zo'an, and his ambassadors had reached Chanes.
5 Every one, hath felt ashamed of a people that could not serve them, —Neither with help, nor with service, But they are a shame, yea even a reproach.
They all are ashamed because of a people that cannot profit them, neither be a help nor give profit; but [bringeth] shame, and also a reproach.
6 The Oracle on the Beasts of the South, —Through a land of distress and oppression—Lioness and lion coming therefrom, Viper and fiery flying serpent, They would carry, on the shoulders of young asses their wealth And on the humps of camels their treasures Unto a people that cannot serve them.
The doom of the beasts of the south: Through the land of trouble and anguish, whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and flying dragons, they will carry upon the shoulders of young asses their riches, and upon the humps of camels their treasures, to a people that cannot profit.
7 But, the Egyptians, with vanity and emptiness, would help, —Therefore have I proclaimed concerning this, Insolent, they sit still!
And the Egyptians will help in vain, and to no purpose; therefore have I called this, Boasters they are in sitting still.
8 Now, enter—Write it upon a tablet before them And upon a scroll, inscribe it, —That it may serve for a later day, For futurity, unto times age-abiding: —
Now go, write it before them on a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the latest time to come, for ever, and to eternity:
9 That it is, a rebellious people, Sons apt at deceiving, —Sons unwilling to hear the law of Yahweh:
For this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Who have said to the seers, Ye must not see! To the prophets, Ye must not prophesy to us reproofs! Speak to us smooth things, Prophesy delusions:
Who have said to the seers, Ye shall not see; and to the prophets, Reveal not unto us true things, speak unto us smooth things, reveal deceits;
11 Depart ye from the way, Turn aside from the path, —Desist from setting before us the Holy One of Israel.
Depart you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, remove from before us the Holy One of Israel.
12 Therefore—Thus, saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye have rejected this word, —And have trusted in oppression and perverseness, And have relied thereon,
Therefore thus hath said the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and lean thereon for aid:
13 Therefore, shall this iniquity become to you As a breach ready to fall, A bulging in a high wall, —Whose breaking down cometh, suddenly in a twinkling.
Therefore shall this iniquity be to you as a threatening breach, swelling out in a high-towering wall, the fall of which will come unawares, suddenly.
14 Yea he will break it—as the breaking of the pitcher of a potter, crushed, he will not spare; So that there shall not be found when it is smashed, A sherd wherewith to snatch fire from a hearth, Or to skim off water out of a cistern.
And he will break it, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, dashing it in pieces without sparing it; so that there cannot be found among its fragments a sherd to rake fire from a hearth and to draw water from a pit.
15 For thus, said my Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel—By returning and resting, shall ye be saved, In keeping quiet and trusting, shall be your strength, —Howbeit ye would not!
For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, the Holy One of Israel, In repose and rest shall ye be helped; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not.
16 But ye said, —Nay! but on horses, will we flee For this cause, shall ye indeed flee, —And on the swift, will we ride, For this cause, swift, shall be your pursuers:
And ye said, “No; for upon horses will we flee;” therefore shall ye flee: and, “Upon swift beasts will we ride;” therefore shall your pursuers be swift.
17 One thousand, before the war-cry of one—before the war-cry of five, shall ye flee, —Until ye have been left, As a pole on the top of a mountain, And as an ensign upon a hill.
One thousand [shall flee] at the threatening of one; at the threatening of five shall ye [all] flee: till ye be left as a pole upon a mountain-top, and as an ensign on a hill.
18 And, therefore, will Yahweh wait, That he may grant you favour, And, therefore, will he lift himself up, That he may show you compassion, —For A God of justice, is, Yahweh, How happy all they who are waiting for him
And therefore will the Lord wait, to be gracious unto you, and therefore will he exalt himself, to have mercy upon you; for a God of justice is the Lord: happy are all those that wait for him.
19 For, a people, In Zion, shall dwell, In Jerusalem, —As for weeping, thou shalt not weep! As for favour, he will grant thee favour, at the sound of thine outcry, —As soon as he heareth, he hath answered thee!
For O people of Zion that shall dwell at Jerusalem! thou shalt indeed not weep: he will be surely gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; so soon as he heareth it, he answereth thee.
20 Though My Lord, should give you bread in short measure and water in scant allowance Yet will thy Teacher not hide himself any more, But thine eyes shall ever be looking on thy Teacher.
And the Lord will give you bread [in] adversity, and water [in] oppression; and thy teachers shall not have to hide themselves in a corner any more, but thy eyes shall see thy teachers:
21 So shall, thine own ears, hear a word from behind thee saying, —This, is the way, walk ye therein, When ye would turn to the right hand Or when ye would turn to the left.
And thy ears shall hear the word behind thee, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it,” when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
22 Then will ye defile—The overlaying of thy graven images of silver, And the coating of thy molten image, of gold, —Thou wilt cash them away, as a woman the token of her sickness, Begone! shalt thou say thereto,
And ye will regard as unclean the covering of thy graven idols of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou wilt cast them away as a filthy thing; “Get thee hence,” wilt thou say unto them.
23 Then will he give—Rain for thy seed—wherewith thou shalt sow thy ground and Bread as the increase of thy ground, which shall be fertile and fat, —Thy cattle, in that day, shall feed in broad pasture:
Then will he give the rain for thy seed, that thou mayest sow in the ground; and bread—the produce of the ground—this shall be fat and nutritious: thy cattle shall feed on that day in extensive pastures.
24 And the oxen and the young asses that till the ground, salted provender, shall eat, which hath been winnowed with shovel or fan.
The oxen likewise and the young asses that till the ground shall eat salted provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
25 Then shall there be, On every lofty mountain and On every lifted hill, Channels, Conduits of water, —In the great day of slaughter, When the towers fall.
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every prominent hill, rivulets, streams of waters on the day of the great slaughter, when 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, —In the day—When Yahweh, bindeth up, the laceration of his people, and When the severe wound caused by smiting them, he healeth.
And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days, on the day that the Lord bindeth up the broken [limbs] of his people, and healeth the bruise of their wound.
27 Lo! the Name of Yahweh, coming in from afar, His anger kindling, A heavy storm, —His lips, are full of indignation, And, his tongue, is like a fire that devoureth;
Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from afar, burning is his anger, and heavy the smoke; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire;
28 And, his breath like an overflowing torrent, even unto the neck, doth reach, To sift nations with a sieve of calamity, —A bridle leading to ruin, being upon the jaws of the peoples.
And his breath, like an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to toss the nations with the van of falsehood: and [to place] a deceiving bridle on the jaws of the people.
29 A song, shall ye have, As in the night of hallowing a festival, —And gladness of heart, As when one goeth with the flute to enter Into the mountain of Yahweh Unto the Rock of Israel.
[Then] shall ye have a song, as in the night when a festival is ushered in, and joy of heart, as when one goeth with the flute to come unto the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 Then will Yahweh cause to be heard—the resounding of his voice And the bringing down of his arm, shall be seen, In a rage of anger, And with the flame of a devouring fire, —A burst and a downpour, and a hailstone!
And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard, and will show the stretching down of his arm, in the indignation of [his] anger, and in the flame of a devouring fire, in flood, and tempest, and stones of hail.
31 For at the voice of Yahweh, shall Assyria be crushed, —With his rod, will he smite.
For because of the voice of the Lord shall be terrified Asshur, that smote [you] with the rod.
32 And it shall come to pass, —that, every stroke of the staff of doom which Yahweh shall lay upon him, shall be with timbrels and with lyres, —when, with battles of brandished weapons, he hath fought against them.
And at every passage of the appointed staff which the Lord will let fall on him, there shall be [music] on tambourine and harp; and in the tumult of battles will he fight with them.
33 For there hath been set in order, beforehand a Topheth, Yea, the same, for the king, hath been prepared He hath made it deep—made it large, —The circumference thereof is for fire and wood in abundance, the breath of Yahweh, like a torrent of brimstone, is ready to kindle it.
For already of old is Topheth made ready; also this is prepared for the king—deep and wide; its pile hath fire and wood in plenty, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, will kindle it into a flame.
