Isaiah 29
29
1Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! add ye year to year; let the feasts come round: 2then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation: and she shall be unto me as Ariel. 3And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a fort, and I will raise siege works against thee. 4And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. 5But the multitude of they foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. 6She shall be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. 7And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her strong hold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. 8And it shall be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
9Tarry ye and wonder, take your pleasure and be blind: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. 10For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered. 11And all vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: 12and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been taught them: 14therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 15Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16Ye turn things upside down! Shall the potter be counted as clay; that the thing made should say of him that made it, He made me not; or the thing framed say of him that framed it, He hath no understanding?
17Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be counted for a forest? 18And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. 19The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner ceaseth, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off: 21that make a man an offender in a cause, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought. 22Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. 23But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name; yea, they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24They also that err in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmur shall learn doctrine.
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Isaiah 29: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Isaiah 29
29
The Siege of David’s City
1“Woe to Ariel # 29:1 Ariel is a name for the altar in the temple (see Ezek. 43:13–27, including footnote on 43:18). It is used as a metonymy for the entire city of Jerusalem. The meaning of Ariel is “lion of God” or “altar hearth.” —Ariel, the town where David encamped! # 29:1 Or “the town David besieged.”
Go ahead—keep your annual feasts,
and year after year celebrate your annual festivals.
2I will bring distress to Ariel and there will be great mourning.
Jerusalem will be to me as the meaning of the name Ariel—a burning altar hearth.
3I will lay siege to you on all sides, # 29:3 Or “Like David I will encamp against you” (LXX). encircling you with towers
and raising up my siege works against you.
4Brought low, you will speak from the dust of the earth.
Your voice will be heard speaking from the ground,
and like the voice of a ghost, you will whisper out of the dust. # 29:4 Isaiah is using a series of metaphors to describe Israel’s defeated condition, as though Israel is speaking out of the dust of defeat.
5Then suddenly, in an instant, your ruthless enemies
will become nothing more than dust in the wind
and your vile tyrants like wind-driven chaff!
6She will be visited by the Lord Yahweh,
Commander of Angel Armies,
with thunder, earthquake, and deafening noise,
with whirlwind, tempest, and the blaze of a consuming fire!
7As quickly as a fading dream or as fleeting as a vision of the night,
so will all the vast hordes of all the nations fade away
and all who war against Ariel # 29:7 Or “attack her and besiege her.” and her fortress disappear.
8Just as a hungry man dreams that he is eating
but wakes up still hungry, # 29:8 Or “Empty is his soul.”
or as a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking
but wakes up weak and still longing for water, # 29:8 Or “His soul is craving.”
so it will be for the vast hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.”
Insensitive to God
9Be totally shocked and amazed by what I am about to say to you:
“Blind yourselves—and be totally blind!
(They are drunk but not from wine.
They stagger but not from hard liquor.)
10For Yahweh has poured out over you
the spirit of a deep, deep sleep # 29:10 See Rom. 11:8. —
putting the covers over your slumbering seers # 29:10 Or “He has covered the heads of the seers.”
and rocking all your prophets to sleep.”
11This entire prophetic revelation will become to you like the words of a sealed book. If it’s given to one who can read it with the command “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t because it is sealed.” 12Or if it’s given to one who is illiterate with the command “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t because I cannot read.”
13This is what the Lord says about these people:
“They come near to me with hollow words
and honor me superficially with their lips;
all the while their hearts run far away from me!
Their worship is nothing more than man-made rules. # 29:13 Or “Their fear of me is motivated by man’s teaching [of a fear of punishment].” The Hebrew word for “teaching” is lamed, which traced back to its Semitic roots means “an oxgoad,” something used to punish or prod. It is teaching motivated by the fear of punishment.
14So therefore, I will again jolt this people awake
with astonishing wonders upon wonders!
And the wisdom of their wise ones will fail,
and the intelligent know-it-alls will have no explanations. # 29:14 Or “the discernment of the discerning ones will be kept hidden.” See 1 Cor. 1:18–31.
15Woe to you who think you can hide
your plan from the Lord Yahweh.
Ha! Do you actually think your secret schemes are so hidden
that you say, ‘Who sees us doing this?
No one knows what we’re doing!’
16Oh, how great is your perversion!
Who is more intelligent—the potter or the clay?
Should a created thing say to its creator,
‘You didn’t make # 29:16 Or “imagine” (Hb. yêtser). The root word of yêtser is yâtsar and has the primary meaning of “to form, fashion, frame, or make, especially as a potter.” Before you can form or frame something, it has to be imagined. The first use of yâtsar in the Bible is Yahweh forming man from the dust of the ground (see Gen. 2:7). me’?
Should a clay pot say to the potter, ‘You don’t understand’?”
Our Future Hope
17Before you know it, Lebanon will be transformed
into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will seem like a forest. # 29:17 Isaiah frequently used Lebanon as a metaphor for mighty ones and those with great influence (see Isa. 2:13; 10:34; 35:2). This phrase refers to a restoration of God’s people who have experienced humiliation.
18In that day the deaf will begin to hear
the words that have been written, # 29:18 That is, their hearts are now open and tender toward God.
and out of the darkness and gloom,
the eyes of the blind will be opened to see.
19The meek will overflow with fresh joy in the Lord Yahweh,
and the poor will shout their praises
to the Holy One of Israel!
20For the terrible one # 29:20 See 2 Thess. 2:3–8. will be no more,
the scornful jester will not be found,
and all the lovers of evil # 29:20 Or “all the watchers of wrong [those diligent to do evil].” This would include those who use their political power or influence to harm others. will be cut off.
21Those who make the innocent appear guilty,
those who ensnare others with deceitful tactics,
and those who lie to keep the innocent from getting justice
will likewise be destroyed.
22So now, listen to what Yahweh, the God of Israel, who redeemed Abraham, has to say to Jacob’s tribes:
“My people # 29:22 Or “Jacob,” a metonymy for God’s people, Israel. will no longer be disgraced,
and their shame-faces will disappear.
23For when they see the miracle of the many children
that I give them, they will see me as holy and honor me. # 29:23 Or “they will sanctify my name.”
Yes, they will honor the Holy One of Jacob
and stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24Those who are in spiritual error
will come to understanding,
and those who are always complaining
will be glad to accept instruction.”
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