Isaiah 30

1 Woe [to] apostate sons, The affirmation of Jehovah! 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.

“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 are walking to go down to Egypt, And My mouth have not asked, To be strong in the strength of Pharaoh, 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 And the strength of Pharaoh Hath been to you for shame, And the trust in the shadow of Egypt confusion,

But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.

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

For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

5 All he made ashamed of a people that profit not, Neither for help, not for profit, But for shame, and also for 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 burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, Of young lion and of old lion, Whence [are] viper and flying saraph, They carry on the shoulder of asses their wealth, And on the hump of camels their treasures, Unto a people not profitable.

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 Yea, Egyptians [are] vanity, and in vain do help, Therefore I have cried concerning this: 'Their strength [is] to sit still.'

Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.

8 No, go in, write it on a tablet with them, And on a book engrave it, And it is for a latter day, for a witness unto the age,

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 That a rebellious people [is] this, sons — liars, Sons not willing to hear the law of Jehovah.

These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.

10 Who have said to seers, 'Ye do not see,' And to prophets, 'Ye do not prophesy to us Straightforward things, Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits,

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, decline from the path, Cause to cease from before us the Holy One of Israel.'

Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”

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

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

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 And He hath broken it As the breaking of the potters' bottle, Beaten down — He doth 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.

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: 'In returning and rest ye are saved, In keeping quiet and in confidence is your might, And ye have not been willing.

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 And ye say, No, for on a horse we flee? Therefore ye flee, And on the swift we ride! Therefore swift are your pursuers.

“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.

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

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 therefore doth wait Jehovah to favour you, And therefore He is exalted to pity you, For a God of judgment [is] Jehovah, O the blessedness of all waiting 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 the people in Zion dwell in Jerusalem, Weep thou not, weeping, Pitying, He pitieth thee at the voice of thy cry, When He heareth He answereth 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 And the Lord hath given to you bread of adversity, And water of oppression. And thy directors remove no more, And thine eyes have seen thy directors,

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 ear heareth a word behind thee, Saying, 'This [is] the way, go ye in it,' When ye turn to the right, And when ye turn 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 And ye have defiled the covering of Thy graven images of silver, And the ephod of thy molten image of gold, Thou scatterest them as a sickening thing, 'Go out,' thou sayest to it.

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 And He hath given rain [for] thy seed, With which thou dost sow the ground, And bread, the increase of the ground, And it hath been fat and plenteous, Enjoy do thy cattle in that day an enlarged pasture.

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 And the oxen and the young asses serving the ground, Fermented provender do eat, That one is winnowing with shovel and fan.

The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.

25 And there hath been on every high mount, And on every exalted hill, Rivulets — streams of waters, In a day of much slaughter, in the falling of towers.

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 And the light of the moon hath 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 Jehovah's binding up the breach of His people, When the stroke of its wound He healeth.

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 Lo, the name of Jehovah is coming from far, Burning is His anger, and great the flame, His lips have been full of indignation, And His tongue [is] as 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 And His breath [is] as an overflowing stream, Unto the neck it divideth, To sift nations with a sieve of vanity, And a bridle causing to err, [Is] on the jaws of the peoples.

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 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 in to the mountain of Jehovah, Unto 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 And caused to be heard hath Jehovah The honour of His voice, And the coming down of His arm He doth shew with the raging of anger, And the flame of a consuming fire, Scattering, and inundation, and hailstone.

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 from the voice of Jehovah broken down [is] Asshur, With a rod He smiteth.

For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.

32 And every passage of the settled staff, That Jehovah causeth to rest on him, Hath been with tabrets, and with harps, And in battles of shaking he hath fought with it.

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, arranged from former time is Tophet, Even it for the king is prepared, He hath made deep, He hath made large, Its pile [is] fire and much wood, The breath of Jehovah, As a stream of brim stone, is burning in 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.