Isaiah 29
29
The LORD’s Word Will Be Hidden from Some but Revealed to Others
1How horrible it will be for you Ariel, Ariel,#29:1 Ariel is an unknown Hebrew word which may mean “lion of God,” “mountain of God,” or “fireplace.”
the city where David camped.
Let year after year go by.
Let your annual festivals go on.
2I will torment Ariel,
and the city will be filled with people grieving and mourning.
The city will become like Ariel.
3I will set up war camps all around you.
I will blockade you with towers.
I will put up mounds of dirt around you.
4When you have fallen, you will speak as you lie on the ground.
Your words will be muffled by the dust.
Your voice will come out of the ground like that of a ghost.
Your words will be whispered from the dust.
5Your many enemies will be like fine dust.
Your many foes will be like husks blown by the wind.
All of this will happen suddenly, unexpectedly.
6The Lord of Armies will punish you
with thunder, earthquakes, and loud noises,
with windstorms, rainstorms, and fire storms.
7The armies from all the nations will go to war against Ariel.
They will go to war against it, blockade it, and torment it.
All of this will be like a dream, like a vision in the night.
8They will be like hungry people who dream that they’re eating
and wake up to find they’re hungry.
They will be like thirsty people who dream that they’re drinking
and wake up to find they’re lightheaded and parched with thirst.
This is what will happen to the armies from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
9If you confuse yourselves, you will be confused.
If you blind yourselves, you will be blinded.
You are drunk, but not from wine.
You stagger, but not from liquor.
10The Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep.
He will shut your eyes. (Your eyes are the prophets.)
He will cover your heads. (Your heads are the seers.#29:10 A seer is a prophet.)
11To you all these visions will be like words in a book that is closed and sealed. You give this book to someone who can read, saying, “Please read this.”
He answers, “I can’t read it. It’s sealed.”
12Then you give the book to someone who can’t read, saying, “Please read this.”
He answers, “I can’t read.”
13The Lord says,
“These people worship me with their mouths
and honor me with their lips.
But their hearts are far from me,
and their worship of me is ⌞based on⌟ rules made by humans.
14That is why I am going to do something completely amazing
for these people once again.
The wisdom of their wise people will disappear.
The intelligence of their intelligent people will be hidden.”
15How horrible it will be for those
who try to hide their plans from the Lord.
Their deeds are done in the dark,
and they say, “No one can see us”
and “No one can recognize us.”
16You turn things upside down!
Is the potter no better than his clay?
Can something that has been made
say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Can a piece of pottery
say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?
17In a very short time Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field
and the fertile field will be considered a forest.
18When that day comes, the deaf will hear the words written in the book.
The blind will see out of their gloom and darkness.
19Humble people again will find joy in the Lord.
The poorest of people will find joy in the Holy One of Israel.
20Tyrants will be gone.
Mockers will be finished.
All who look for ways to do wrong will come to an end:
21those who make people sin with words,
those who lay traps for judges,
those who, without any reason, deny justice
to people who are in the right.
22This is what the Lord, who saved Abraham, says about the descendants of Jacob:
Jacob will no longer be ashamed.
Jacob’s face will no longer turn pale.
23When they see all their children,
the children I made with my hands,
they will acknowledge my name as holy.
They will treat the Holy One of Jacob as holy.
They will stand in terror of the God of Israel.
24Then those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding,
and those who complain will accept instruction.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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