Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance

30 “Woe to the (A)rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who (B)execute a plan, but not Mine,
And [a](C)make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
Who (D)proceed down to Egypt
Without (E)consulting [b]Me,
(F)To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh,
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be (G)your shame,
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
For (H)their officials are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
Everyone will be (I)ashamed because of a people who do not benefit them,
Who are (J)not a help or benefit, but a source of shame and also disgrace.”

The pronouncement concerning the (K)animals of the (L)Negev:

Through a land of (M)distress and anguish,
From [c]where come lioness and lion, viper and (N)flying serpent,
They (O)carry their riches on the [d]backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on (P)camels’ humps,
To a people who will not benefit them;
Even Egypt, whose (Q)help is vain and empty.
Therefore, I have called [e]her
[f](R)Rahab who has been exterminated.”
Now go, (S)write it on a tablet in their presence
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may [g]serve in the time to come
[h]As a witness forever.
For this is a (T)rebellious people, (U)false sons,
Sons who [i]refuse to (V)listen
To the [j]instruction of the Lord;
10 Who say to the (W)seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not (X)prophesy the truth to us.
(Y)Speak to us [k]pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way, (Z)turn aside from the path,
(AA)Stop speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel!”

12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

(AB)Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in (AC)oppression and crookedness, and have relied on them,
13 Therefore this (AD)wrongdoing will be to you
Like a (AE)breach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes (AF)suddenly in an instant,
14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a (AG)potter’s jar,
[l]So ruthlessly shattered
That a shard will not be found among its pieces
To [m]take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

15 For this is what the Lord [n]God, the Holy One of Israel, has said:

“In [o]repentance and (AH)rest you will be saved,
In (AI)quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on (AJ)horses!”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses!”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 (AK)One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left like a signal post on a mountain top,
And like a flag on a hill.

God Is Gracious and Just

18 Therefore the Lord [p](AL)longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He [q]waits on (AM)high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a (AN)God of justice;
How blessed are all those who [r](AO)long for Him.

19 [s]For, you people in Zion, (AP)inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will (AQ)weep no longer. He will certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will (AR)answer you. 20 Although the Lord has given you (AS)bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer (AT)hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the (AU)way, walk in it,” whenever you (AV)turn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will desecrate your carved (AW)images plated with silver, and your cast metal (AX)images plated with gold. You will scatter them as a filthy thing, and say to [t]them, “(AY)Be gone!”

23 Then He will (AZ)give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be [u]rich and [v]plentiful; on that day (BA)your livestock will graze in a wide pasture. 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat [w]seasoned feed, which [x]has been (BB)winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25 And on every lofty mountain and (BC)every high hill there will be [y]streams running with water on the day of the great (BD)slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 (BE)And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day (BF)the Lord binds up the (BG)fracture of His people and (BH)heals the wound [z]He has inflicted.

27 Behold, (BI)the name of the Lord comes from a [aa]remote place;
(BJ)His anger is burning and [ab]dense with [ac]smoke;
His lips are filled with (BK)indignation,
And His tongue is like a (BL)consuming fire;
28 His (BM)breath is like an overflowing river,
Which (BN)reaches to the neck,
To (BO)shake the nations back and forth in a [ad]sieve,
And to put in the jaws of the peoples (BP)the bridle which leads astray.
29 You will have [ae]songs as in the night when you keep the festival,
And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord will cause [af]His voice of authority to be heard,
And the [ag]descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger,
And in the flame of a consuming fire
In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones.
31 For (BQ)at the voice of the Lord (BR)Assyria will be terrified,
When He strikes with the (BS)rod.
32 And every [ah]blow of the [ai](BT)rod of punishment,
Which the Lord will lay on him,
Will be with the music of (BU)tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, (BV)brandishing weapons, He will fight them.
33 For [aj](BW)Topheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
[ak]A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The (BX)breath of the Lord, like a torrent of (BY)brimstone, sets it afire.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 30:1 Lit pour out a drink offering
  2. Isaiah 30:2 Lit My mouth
  3. Isaiah 30:6 Lit them
  4. Isaiah 30:6 Lit shoulders
  5. Isaiah 30:7 Lit this one
  6. Isaiah 30:7 MT They are Rahab or arrogance, to remain; i.e., Egypt, as a sea monster; see note Job 26:12
  7. Isaiah 30:8 Lit be
  8. Isaiah 30:8 As in most ancient versions; MT Forever and ever
  9. Isaiah 30:9 Lit are not willing
  10. Isaiah 30:9 Or Law
  11. Isaiah 30:10 Lit smooth things
  12. Isaiah 30:14 Lit Crushed, it will not be spared
  13. Isaiah 30:14 Lit snatch up
  14. Isaiah 30:15 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  15. Isaiah 30:15 Lit returning
  16. Isaiah 30:18 Lit waits
  17. Isaiah 30:18 Lit is on high
  18. Isaiah 30:18 Lit wait
  19. Isaiah 30:19 MT For a people will inhabit Zion, Jerusalem
  20. Isaiah 30:22 Lit it “Go out”
  21. Isaiah 30:23 Lit fatness
  22. Isaiah 30:23 Lit fat
  23. Isaiah 30:24 Lit sorrel-seasoned
  24. Isaiah 30:24 Lit one winnows
  25. Isaiah 30:25 Lit canals, streams of water
  26. Isaiah 30:26 Lit of His blow
  27. Isaiah 30:27 Lit distance
  28. Isaiah 30:27 Lit heaviness
  29. Isaiah 30:27 Lit uplifting
  30. Isaiah 30:28 Lit sifting of the worthless
  31. Isaiah 30:29 Lit the song
  32. Isaiah 30:30 Lit the majesty of His voice
  33. Isaiah 30:30 Lit descent
  34. Isaiah 30:32 Lit passing
  35. Isaiah 30:32 Lit staff of foundation
  36. Isaiah 30:33 I.e., the place of human sacrifice to Molech
  37. Isaiah 30:33 Lit Its pile

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