Isaiah 29-32

American Standard Version

29 ^[a]Ho ^[b]Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! add ye year to year; let the feasts come round: ² then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; ^[c]and she shall be unto me as Ariel. ³ And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with posted troops, and I will raise siege works against thee. ⁴ And 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 ^[d]whisper out of the dust.

⁵ But the multitude of thy ^[e]foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be in an instant suddenly. ^6 [f]She shall be visited of Jehovah of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. ⁷ And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. ⁸ And it shall be as when a 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.

^9 [g]Tarry ye and wonder; ^[h]take your pleasure and be blind: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. ¹⁰ For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed ^[i]your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered. ¹¹ And all vision is become unto you as the words of a ^[j]book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that ^[k]is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: ¹² and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned.

¹³ And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been ^[l]taught them; ¹⁴ therefore, behold, I will ^[m]proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

¹⁵ Woe unto them that hide deep their counsel from Jehovah, and whose works are in the dark, and that say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? ^16 [n]Ye turn things upside down! Shall the potter be esteemed as clay; that the thing made should say of him that made it, He made me not; or the thing formed say of him that formed it, He hath no understanding?

¹⁷ Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? ¹⁸ And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of ^[o]the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. ¹⁹ The meek also shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. ²⁰ For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scoffer ceaseth, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off; ²¹ that ^[p]make a man an offender ^[q]in his cause, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought.

²² Therefore thus saith Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. ^23 [r]But when he seeth his children, the work of my 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. ²⁴ They also that err in spirit ^[s]shall come to understanding, and they that murmur shall receive instruction.

30 Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that ^[t]make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, ² that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to ^[u]strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! ³ Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. ⁴ For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors are come to Hanes. ⁵ They shall all be ashamed because of a people that cannot profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

⁶ The ^[v]burden of the beasts of the South.

Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. ⁷ For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I ^[w]called her Rahab that sitteth still.

⁸ Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come ^[x]for ever and ever. ⁹ For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the ^[y]law of Jehovah; ¹⁰ that say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, ¹¹ get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. ¹² Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely thereon; ¹³ therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly in an instant. ¹⁴ And he shall break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing; so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd wherewith to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.

¹⁵ For thus said the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. And ye would not: ¹⁶ but ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. ¹⁷ One thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as ^[z]a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.

¹⁸ And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for him. ¹⁹ For ^[aa]the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more; he will surely be gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear, he will answer thee. ^20 [ab]And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy ^[ac]teachers ^[ad]be hidden anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy ^[ae]teachers; ²¹ and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it; when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. ²² And ye shall defile the overlaying of thy graven images of silver, and the plating of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt ^[af]cast them away as an ^[ag]unclean thing; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

²³ And he will give the rain for thy seed, wherewith thou shalt sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground, and it shall be fat and plenteous. In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures; ²⁴ the oxen likewise and the young asses that till the ground shall eat ^[ah]savory provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork. ²⁵ And there shall be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, brooks and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. ²⁶ Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

²⁷ Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire; ²⁸ and his breath is as an overflowing stream, that reacheth even unto the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction: and a bridle that causeth to err shall be in the jaws of the peoples. ²⁹ Ye shall have a song as in the night ^[ai]when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel. ³⁰ And Jehovah will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with ^[aj]a blast, and tempest, and hailstones. ³¹ For through the voice of Jehovah shall the Assyrian be dismayed; with his rod will he smite him. ³² And every ^[ak]stroke of the ^[al]appointed staff, which Jehovah shall lay upon him, shall be with the sound of tabrets and harps; and in battles with the brandishing of his arm will he fight with them. ³³ For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

31 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah! ² Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. ³ Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit: and when Jehovah shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.

⁴ For thus saith Jehovah unto me, As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds be called forth against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so will Jehovah of hosts come down to fight ^[am]upon mount Zion, and ^[an]upon the hill thereof. ⁵ As birds hovering, so will Jehovah of hosts protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it, he will pass over and preserve it. ⁶ Turn ye unto him ^[ao]from whom ^[ap]ye have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. ⁷ For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. ⁸ And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to taskwork. ⁹ And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

32 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice. ² And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land. ³ And the eyes of them that see shall not be ^[aq]dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. ⁴ And the heart of the ^[ar]rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. ⁵ The fool shall be no more called noble, nor the ^[as]churl said to be bountiful. ⁶ For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. ⁷ And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the ^[at]meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. ⁸ But the noble deviseth noble things; and ^[au]in noble things shall he continue.

⁹ Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice; ye ^[av]careless daughters, give ear unto my speech. ^10 [aw]For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come. ¹¹ Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and ^[ax]gird sackcloth upon your loins. ¹² They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. ¹³ Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city. ¹⁴ For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; ^[ay]the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; ¹⁵ until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.

¹⁶ Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field. ¹⁷ And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever. ¹⁸ And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places. ¹⁹ But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low. ²⁰ Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.