Isaiah 30
1 Yahweh says, “Terrible things will happen to you, my people who rebel against me. You make plans, but what you plan is not what I want. You have made an alliance [with the rulers of Egypt], but you did not ask my Spirit [if that was what you should do]. By doing that, you have increased the number of your sins.
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:
2 You went to Egypt [to ask their rulers for help], without asking for my advice. You have trusted in [the army of] the king of Egypt to protect you; you have [trusted in them] [like] people sit in the shade [to protect themselves from the sun] [MET].
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.
3 [But] the result of your trusting in the king of Egypt is that you will be [disappointed and] disgraced; because of trusting in him, you will be humiliated.
Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh become to you a shame, And, the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, an insult;
4 Officials/ambassadors [from Judah] have gone to Zoan and Hanes [cities in Egypt to make treaties],
For their princes have been, in Zoan, —And, their messengers unto Hanes, would draw near.
5 but all those [who trust in the King of Egypt] will be humiliated, because that nation will not be able to help you; the treaty that you have made [requesting help from them] will be useless; instead, the result will be that you will be humiliated and disgraced [DOU].”
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.
6 [I received from Yahweh] this message about the animals in the southern part of Judah: That area is one where [people experience a lot of] troubles and difficulties, an area where there are male and female lions and various kinds of poisonous snakes. Caravans go through that area taking donkeys and camels loaded with valuable goods. [They are taking them] to Egypt to seek for protection [by the army of Egypt], [but] it will be useless.
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.
7 The promises made by [the king of] Egypt are worthless; therefore I call Egypt ‘the sea monster/dragon that does nothing’.
But, the Egyptians, with vanity and emptiness, would help, —Therefore have I proclaimed concerning this, Insolent, they sit still!
8 Yahweh told me to write on a scroll a message, in order that it would be a witness [to the people of Judah] that would endure forever.
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: —
9 [It would remind them] that they are deceitful and always rebelling against Yahweh; they refuse to pay attention to what he tells/teaches them.
That it is, a rebellious people, Sons apt at deceiving, —Sons unwilling to hear the law of Yahweh:
10 They tell the people who see/receive visions [from Yahweh], “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the prophets, “Do not reveal to us what is right! Tell us pleasant things; do not tell us visions about things that are true!
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:
11 Stop doing what you have been doing [DOU]; stop telling us what the Holy One of Israel [says to us]!”
Depart ye from the way, Turn aside from the path, —Desist from setting before us the Holy One of Israel.
12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “You have rejected my message, and you are relying on those who oppress and deceive others.
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,
13 Therefore, the result of your sin [of rejecting me] will be that you will [suddenly experience disasters]; what will happen to you will be like [SIM] a cracked wall that suddenly collapses [DOU].
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.
14 You will be smashed like a clay jar is smashed [when it is dropped], and it shatters completely, with the result that there is not one piece big enough to carry some coals from a stove or to carry a little bit of water from a well.”
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.
15 Yahweh, [our] God, the Holy One of Israel, [also] says this: “You will be rescued [from your enemies only] if you repent and trust [in what I will do for you]; you will be strong [only] if you quit worrying and trust in me. But you do not want [to do that].
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!
16 You said, ‘No, we will escape on horses [that the army of Egypt will give us]!’ So, you will [try to] flee. You said, ‘We will [escape from the army of Assyria] by riding on swift horses!’ [But] those who pursue you will [also ride] swiftly.
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:
17 [As a result], 1,000 [of you] will flee when [only] one of them pursues you! When only five [of their soldiers] threaten [to kill you], [all of] will flee. [Only a few of] you will be left, like [SIM] a [single] flagpole on top of a mountain with one signal flag on the pole.”
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.
18 [But] wants to be kind to you; he desires to show you that he is merciful. [Do not forget that] Yahweh is a God who acts justly; he is pleased with those who patiently trust in him.
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
19 You people who live in Jerusalem [DOU], [some day] you will not cry any more. Yahweh will be kind to you when you call out to him for help. He will answer/help you as soon as he hears you call.
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!
20 Although [now] Yahweh has caused you to [daily] experience [MET] great troubles and suffer much, [he], your teacher, will not hide himself from you. He [SYN] will teach you many things clearly.
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.
21 And you will hear him speak to you to guide you. [Right] behind you he will say, “This is the road on which you should walk; walk on this road!”
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.
22 When that happens, you will destroy [all] your idols that are covered with silver or gold. You will throw them away like you throw away a filthy rag, and you will say to them, “We do not need you any more!”
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,
23 [If you do that], Yahweh will bless you by giving you good rain at the time that you plant your crops. You will have good harvests, and plenty of pasture with grass for your cattle to eat.
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:
24 After the wind [blows away the chaff], the oxen and donkeys that [pull the plow to] plow your ground will have good grain to eat.
And the oxen and the young asses that till the ground, salted provender, shall eat, which hath been winnowed with shovel or fan.
25 At that time, when [your enemies] have been slaughtered and their towers have (collapsed/been destroyed), there will be streams flowing down every hill and mountain [in Judah].
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.
26 The moon will seem to shine as brightly as the sun, and the sun will seem to shine seven times as brightly as previously. That is what it will be like when Yahweh causes [the suffering of] his people [to cease; it will be as though] [MET] he will be putting bandages on their wounds and healing them.
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.
27 [It is as though] we see Yahweh coming from far away; he is extremely angry, and there are thick clouds of smoke around him. By what he says [MTY] he shows that he is angry; what he says is like [SIM] a devastating/destructive fire.
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;
28 His breath is like [SIM] a flood that covers [his enemies] up to their necks. He will separate [MET] the nations in order to destroy [some of them]; [it is as though] he will put hooks in their mouths and take them away.
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.
29 But [his people] will sing joyfully like they sing during the nights when they celebrate a holy festival. They will be very joyful, like [SIM] [a large group of his people] are joyful when they go up to Zion Hill in Jerusalem, along with men playing flutes [when they are all going there to worship Yahweh]. He is [like] [MET] a huge rock under which [we] Israeli people [are safe].
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.
30 And Yahweh will enable [us] to hear him speaking powerfully/majestically. He will show us that he [SYN] is very powerful. [We] will see him [SYN] smash [his enemies]. Being very angry, he will descend with a big rainstorm and thunder and hail [to punish them].
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!
31 [The soldiers of] Assyria will be terrified when they hear the voice of Yahweh and when he strikes them with his rod.
For at the voice of Yahweh, shall Assyria be crushed, —With his rod, will he smite.
32 And while Yahweh strikes them to punish them, [his people] will [celebrate by] playing tambourines and harps. [It will be as though] Yahweh will lift up his powerful hand/arm and defeat the Assyrian army in battle.
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.
33 [The valley of] Topheth [outside Jerusalem] has been prepared for a long time; it is ready for the king [of Assyria]; the (funeral pyre/pile of wood) [for burning his body] is wide and high, and [it will be as though] Yahweh will light the fire with his breath, which will come out like a stream of burning sulfur.
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.
