Isaiah
Select chapter 29

Isaiah 29

Jerusalem Is Warned

1Woe, O [a]Ariel, [b]Ariel the city where David once camped!
Add year to year, [c]observe your feasts on schedule.
2 I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of lamenting and mourning;
And she will be like an Ariel to me.
3 I will camp against you [d]encircling you,
And I will set siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4 Then you will be brought low;
From the earth you will speak,
And from the dust where you are prostrate
Your words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a [e]spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.

5 But the multitude of your [f]enemies will become like fine dust,
And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which [g]blows away;
And it will happen instantly, suddenly.
6 From the Lord of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against [h]Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 It will be as when a hungry man dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his [i]hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his [j]thirst is not quenched.
Thus the multitude of all the nations will be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.

9 Be delayed and wait,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They become drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,
He has shut your eyes, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, the seers.

11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed [k]book, which when they give it to the one who [l]is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the [m]book will be given to the one who [n]is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I [o]cannot read.”

13 Then the Lord said,

“Because this people draw near with their [p]words
And honor Me with their [q]lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their [r]reverence for Me [s]consists of [t]tradition learned by rote,
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

15 Woe to those who deeply hide their [u]plans from the Lord,
And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered [v]as equal with the clay,
That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

Blessing after Discipline

17 Is it not yet just a little while
[w]Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
19 The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,
And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who [x]are intent on doing evil will be cut off;
21 Who [y]cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,
And [z]defraud the one in the right with [aa]meaningless arguments.

22 Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;
23 But when [ab]he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 “Those who err in [ac]mind will know [ad]the truth,
And those who [ae]criticize will [af]accept instruction.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 29:1 I.e. Lion of God, or Jerusalem
  2. Isaiah 29:1 I.e. Lion of God, or Jerusalem
  3. Isaiah 29:1 Lit let your feasts run their round
  4. Isaiah 29:3 Lit like a circle
  5. Isaiah 29:4 Or ghost
  6. Isaiah 29:5 Lit strangers
  7. Isaiah 29:5 Lit passes away
  8. Isaiah 29:7 V 1, note 1
  9. Isaiah 29:8 Lit soul
  10. Isaiah 29:8 Lit soul
  11. Isaiah 29:11 Or scroll
  12. Isaiah 29:11 Lit knows books
  13. Isaiah 29:12 Or scroll
  14. Isaiah 29:12 Lit does not know books
  15. Isaiah 29:12 Lit do not know books
  16. Isaiah 29:13 Lit mouth
  17. Isaiah 29:13 Lit lips
  18. Isaiah 29:13 Lit fear of Me
  19. Isaiah 29:13 Lit is
  20. Isaiah 29:13 Lit commandment of rulers
  21. Isaiah 29:15 Lit counsel
  22. Isaiah 29:16 Lit like
  23. Isaiah 29:17 Lit And
  24. Isaiah 29:20 Lit watch evil
  25. Isaiah 29:21 Lit bring a person under condemnation
  26. Isaiah 29:21 Lit turn aside
  27. Isaiah 29:21 Lit confusion
  28. Isaiah 29:23 Or his children see
  29. Isaiah 29:24 Lit spirit
  30. Isaiah 29:24 Lit understanding
  31. Isaiah 29:24 Lit murmur
  32. Isaiah 29:24 Lit learn
Isaiah 29