ישעה 30

1 הוי בנים סוררים נאם יהוה לעשות עצה ולא מני ולנסך מסכה ולא רוחי למען ספות חטאת על חטאת׃

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.

2 ההלכים לרדת מצרים ופי לא שאלו לעוז במעוז פרעה ולחסות בצל מצרים׃

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].

3 והיה לכם מעוז פרעה לבשת והחסות בצל מצרים לכלמה׃

[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.

4 כי היו בצען שריו ומלאכיו חנס יגיעו׃

Officials/ambassadors [from Judah] have gone to Zoan and Hanes [cities in Egypt to make treaties],

5 כל הבאיש על עם לא יועילו למו לא לעזר ולא להועיל כי לבשת וגם לחרפה׃

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].”

6 משא בהמות נגב בארץ צרה וצוקה לביא וליש מהם אפעה ושרף מעופף ישאו על כתף עירים חילהם ועל דבשת גמלים אוצרתם על עם לא יועילו׃

[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.

7 ומצרים הבל וריק יעזרו לכן קראתי לזאת רהב הם שבת׃

The promises made by [the king of] Egypt are worthless; therefore I call Egypt ‘the sea monster/dragon that does nothing’.

8 עתה בוא כתבה על לוח אתם ועל ספר חקה ותהי ליום אחרון לעד עד עולם׃

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.

9 כי עם מרי הוא בנים כחשים בנים לא אבו שמוע תורת יהוה׃

[It would remind them] that they are deceitful and always rebelling against Yahweh; they refuse to pay attention to what he tells/teaches them.

10 אשר אמרו לראים לא תראו ולחזים לא תחזו לנו נכחות דברו לנו חלקות חזו מהתלות׃

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!

11 סורו מני דרך הטו מני ארח השביתו מפנינו את קדוש ישראל׃

Stop doing what you have been doing [DOU]; stop telling us what the Holy One of Israel [says to us]!”

12 לכן כה אמר קדוש ישראל יען מאסכם בדבר הזה ותבטחו בעשק ונלוז ותשענו עליו׃

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.

13 לכן יהיה לכם העון הזה כפרץ נפל נבעה בחומה נשגבה אשר פתאם לפתע יבוא שברה׃

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].

14 ושברה כשבר נבל יוצרים כתות לא יחמל ולא ימצא במכתתו חרש לחתות אש מיקוד ולחשף מים מגבא׃

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.”

15 כי כה אמר אדני יהוה קדוש ישראל בשובה ונחת תושעון בהשקט ובבטחה תהיה גבורתכם ולא אביתם׃

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].

16 ותאמרו לא כי על סוס ננוס על כן תנוסון ועל קל נרכב על כן יקלו רדפיכם׃

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.

17 אלף אחד מפני גערת אחד מפני גערת חמשה תנסו עד אם נותרתם כתרן על ראש ההר וכנס על הגבעה׃

[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.”

18 ולכן יחכה יהוה לחננכם ולכן ירום לרחמכם כי אלהי משפט יהוה אשרי כל חוכי לו׃

[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.

19 כי עם בציון ישב בירושלם בכו לא תבכה חנון יחנך לקול זעקך כשמעתו ענך׃

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.

20 ונתן לכם אדני לחם צר ומים לחץ ולא יכנף עוד מוריך והיו עיניך ראות את מוריך׃

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.

21 ואזניך תשמענה דבר מאחריך לאמר זה הדרך לכו בו כי תאמינו וכי תשמאילו׃

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!”

22 וטמאתם את צפוי פסילי כספך ואת אפדת מסכת זהבך תזרם כמו דוה צא תאמר לו׃

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!”

23 ונתן מטר זרעך אשר תזרע את האדמה ולחם תבואת האדמה והיה דשן ושמן ירעה מקניך ביום ההוא כר נרחב׃

[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.

24 והאלפים והעירים עבדי האדמה בליל חמיץ יאכלו אשר זרה ברחת ובמזרה׃

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.

25 והיה על כל הר גבה ועל כל גבעה נשאה פלגים יבלי מים ביום הרג רב בנפל מגדלים׃

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].

26 והיה אור הלבנה כאור החמה ואור החמה יהיה שבעתים כאור שבעת הימים ביום חבש יהוה את שבר עמו ומחץ מכתו ירפא׃

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.

27 הנה שם יהוה בא ממרחק בער אפו וכבד משאה שפתיו מלאו זעם ולשונו כאש אכלת׃

[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.

28 ורוחו כנחל שוטף עד צואר יחצה להנפה גוים בנפת שוא ורסן מתעה על לחיי עמים׃

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.

29 השיר יהיה לכם כליל התקדש חג ושמחת לבב כהולך בחליל לבוא בהר יהוה אל צור ישראל׃

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].

30 והשמיע יהוה את הוד קולו ונחת זרועו יראה בזעף אף ולהב אש אוכלה נפץ וזרם ואבן ברד׃

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].

31 כי מקול יהוה יחת אשור בשבט יכה׃

[The soldiers of] Assyria will be terrified when they hear the voice of Yahweh and when he strikes them with his rod.

32 והיה כל מעבר מטה מוסדה אשר יניח יהוה עליו בתפים ובכנרות ובמלחמות תנופה נלחם בה׃

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.

33 כי ערוך מאתמול תפתה גם הוא למלך הוכן העמיק הרחב מדרתה אש ועצים הרבה נשמת יהוה כנחל גפרית בערה בה׃

[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.