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Isaiah 28-30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah 28-30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judgment on Corrupt Rulers, Priests, and Prophets
28 Woe to the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
at the head of the fertile valley,
those overcome with wine!(A)
2 See, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong,
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters;
with force he will hurl them down to the earth.(B)
3 Trampled under foot will be
the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim.(C)
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
at the head of the fertile valley,
will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer;
whoever sees it eats it up
as soon as it comes to hand.(D)
5 On that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory
and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people(E)
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.(F)
7 These also reel with wine
and stagger with strong drink;
the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink;
they are confused with wine;
they stagger with strong drink;
they err in vision;
they stumble in giving judgment.(G)
8 All tables are covered with filthy vomit;
no place is clean.(H)
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?(I)
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”[a](J)
11 Truly, with stammering lip
and with another tongue
he will speak to this people,(K)
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary,
and this is repose,”
yet they would not hear.(L)
13 Therefore the word of the Lord will be to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,”[b]
in order that they may go and fall backward
and be broken and snared and taken.(M)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.(N)
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;(O)
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
“See, I am laying[c] in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
‘One who trusts will not panic.’(P)
17 And I will make justice the line
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.(Q)
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.(R)
19 As often as it passes through, it will take you,
for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night,
and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.”(S)
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,
and the covering is too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim;
he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon
to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
and to work his work—alien is his work!(T)
22 Now therefore do not scoff,
or your bonds will be made stronger,
for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land.(U)
23 Listen and hear my voice;
Pay attention and hear my speech.
24 Do those who plow for sowing plow continually?
Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
25 When they have leveled its surface,
do they not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and plant wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place[d]
and spelt as the border?
26 For they are well instructed;
their God teaches them.
27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick
and cumin with a rod.(V)
28 Grain is crushed for bread,
but one does not thresh it forever;
one drives the cart wheel and horses over it
but does not pulverize it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.(W)
The Siege of Jerusalem
29 Woe to Ariel, Ariel,
the city where David encamped!
Add year to year;
let the festivals run their round.(X)
2 Yet I will oppress Ariel,
and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
and you[e] shall be to me like an Ariel.[f](Y)
3 And like David[g] I will encamp against you;
I will besiege you with towers
and raise siegeworks against you.(Z)
4 Then deep from the earth you shall speak;
from low in the dust your words shall come;
your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,
and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.(AA)
5 But the multitude of your arrogant ones[h] shall be like fine dust
and the multitude of tyrants like flying chaff.
And in an instant, suddenly,(AB)
6 you will be visited by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a devouring fire.(AC)
7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
all that fight against her and her stronghold and who distress her,
shall be like a dream, a vision of the night.(AD)
8 Just as when a hungry person dreams of eating
and wakes up still hungry
or a thirsty person dreams of drinking
and wakes up faint, still thirsty,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that fight against Mount Zion.(AE)
9 Be astounded and stunned;
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk but not from wine;
stagger but not from strong drink!(AF)
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep;
he has closed your eyes (the prophets)
and covered your heads (the seers).(AG)
11 The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to those who can read with the command, “Read this,” they say, “We cannot, for it is sealed.”(AH) 12 And if it is given to those who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” they say, “We cannot read.”
13 The Lord said:
Because these people draw near with their mouths
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me
and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote,(AI)
14 so I will again do
amazing things with this people,
shocking and amazing.
The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.(AJ)
15 Woe to those who hide a plan too deep for the Lord,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”(AK)
16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay?
Shall the thing made say of its maker,
“He did not make me,”
or the thing formed say of the one who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?(AL)
Hope for the Future
17 Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful field
and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?(AM)
18 On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll,
and freed from gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.(AN)
19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.(AO)
20 For the tyrant shall be no more,
and the scoffer shall cease to be;
all those alert to do evil shall be cut off—(AP)
21 those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,
who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate
and undermine justice for the one in the right.(AQ)
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“No longer shall Jacob be ashamed;
no longer shall his face grow pale.(AR)
23 For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.(AS)
24 And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who grumble will accept instruction.”(AT)
The Futility of Reliance on Egypt
30 Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord,
who carry out a plan but not mine;
who make an alliance but against my will,
adding sin to sin;(AU)
2 who set out to go down to Egypt
without asking for my counsel,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt.(AV)
3 Therefore the protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation.(AW)
4 For though his officials are at Zoan
and his envoys reach Hanes,(AX)
5 everyone comes to shame
through a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
only shame and disgrace.(AY)
6 An oracle concerning the animals of the Negeb.
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and roaring[i] lion,
of viper and flying serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels
to a people that cannot profit them.(AZ)
7 For Egypt’s help is worthless and empty;
therefore I have called her,
“Rahab who sits still.”[j](BA)
A Rebellious People
8 Go now, write it before them on a tablet,
and inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.(BB)
9 For they are a rebellious people,
faithless children,
children who will not hear
the instruction of the Lord;(BC)
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things;
prophesy illusions;(BD)
11 leave the way; turn aside from the path;
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”(BE)
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word
and put your trust in oppression and deceit
and rely on them,(BF)
13 therefore this iniquity shall become for you
like a break in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant;(BG)
14 its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a sherd is found
for taking fire from the hearth
or dipping water out of the cistern.(BH)
15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
But you refused(BI) 16 and said,
‘No! We will flee upon horses’—
therefore you shall flee!
and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds’—
therefore your pursuers shall be swift!(BJ)
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee
until you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.(BK)
God’s Promise to Zion
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.(BL)
19 O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.(BM) 20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any longer, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.(BN) 21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”(BO) 22 Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like impure things; you will say to them, “Away with you!”(BP)
23 He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures,(BQ) 24 and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage that has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25 On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.(BR)
Judgment on Assyria
27 See, the name of the Lord comes from far away,
his anger burning and his burden heavy;[k]
his lips are full of indignation,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire;(BS)
28 his breath is like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck—
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction
and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads them astray.(BT)
29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.(BU) 30 And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones.(BV) 31 The Assyrian will be terror-stricken at the voice of the Lord when he strikes with his rod.(BW) 32 And every stroke of the staff of punishment[l] that the Lord lays upon him will be to the sound of timbrels and lyres with dancing;[m] with brandished arm he will fight with him.(BX) 33 For his burning place[n] has long been prepared, also for the king;[o] its pyre is made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.(BY)
Footnotes
- 28.10 Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
- 28.13 Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
- 28.16 Q mss Compare Syr Tg: MT he laid
- 28.25 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 29.2 Cn Compare Q ms: MT she
- 29.2 That is, altar hearth
- 29.3 Heb mss Gk: MT like a circle
- 29.5 Q ms Compare Gk: MT strangers
- 30.6 Cn: Heb from them
- 30.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 30.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 30.32 Heb mss Syr: MT foundation
- 30.32 Cn: Heb and with battles
- 30.33 Or Topheth
- 30.33 Or Molech
Isaiah 28-30
New International Version
Isaiah 28-30
New International Version
Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah
28 Woe(A) to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(B) drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley(C)—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!(D)
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful(E) and strong.
Like a hailstorm(F) and a destructive wind,(G)
like a driving rain and a flooding(H) downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(I) drunkards,
will be trampled(J) underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,(K)
will be like figs(L) ripe before harvest—
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.
5 In that day(M) the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious(N) crown,(O)
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant(P) of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justice(Q)
to the one who sits in judgment,(R)
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle(S) at the gate.
7 And these also stagger(T) from wine(U)
and reel(V) from beer:
Priests(W) and prophets(X) stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,(Y)
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit(Z)
and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?(AA)
To whom is he explaining his message?(AB)
To children weaned(AC) from their milk,(AD)
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that[a];
a little here, a little there.(AE)”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(AF)
God will speak to this people,(AG)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(AH)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there(AI)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(AJ) and snared and captured.(AK)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(AL) you scoffers(AM)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(AN)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(AO)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(AP) our refuge
and falsehood[b] our hiding place.(AQ)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(AR) a tested stone,(AS)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(AT)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(AU)
17 I will make justice(AV) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(AW)
hail(AX) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(AY) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(AZ)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(BA)
you will be beaten down(BB) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(BC)
morning after morning,(BD) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(BE)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(BF)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(BG)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(BH)—
to do his work,(BI) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(BJ)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(BK) against the whole land.(BL)
23 Listen(BM) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(BN) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(BO)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[c]
barley(BP) in its plot,[d]
and spelt(BQ) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(BR) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(BS) with a sledge,(BT)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(BU)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(BV) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(BW)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(BX)
Woe to David’s City
29 Woe(BY) to you, Ariel, Ariel,(BZ)
the city(CA) where David settled!
Add year to year
and let your cycle of festivals(CB) go on.
2 Yet I will besiege Ariel;(CC)
she will mourn and lament,(CD)
she will be to me like an altar hearth.[e](CE)
3 I will encamp against you on all sides;
I will encircle(CF) you with towers
and set up my siege works(CG) against you.
4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
your speech will mumble(CH) out of the dust.(CI)
Your voice will come ghostlike(CJ) from the earth;
out of the dust your speech will whisper.(CK)
5 But your many enemies will become like fine dust,(CL)
the ruthless(CM) hordes like blown chaff.(CN)
Suddenly,(CO) in an instant,
6 the Lord Almighty will come(CP)
with thunder(CQ) and earthquake(CR) and great noise,
with windstorm and tempest(CS) and flames of a devouring fire.(CT)
7 Then the hordes of all the nations(CU) that fight against Ariel,(CV)
that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,(CW)
with a vision in the night—
8 as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
but awakens(CX) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
but awakens faint and thirsty still.(CY)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.(CZ)
9 Be stunned and amazed,(DA)
blind yourselves and be sightless;(DB)
be drunk,(DC) but not from wine,(DD)
stagger,(DE) but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:(DF)
He has sealed your eyes(DG) (the prophets);(DH)
he has covered your heads (the seers).(DI)
11 For you this whole vision(DJ) is nothing but words sealed(DK) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
13 The Lord says:
“These people(DL) come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,(DM)
but their hearts are far from me.(DN)
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[f](DO)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;(DP)
the wisdom of the wise(DQ) will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.(DR)”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide(DS) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us?(DT) Who will know?”(DU)
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(DV)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(DW) it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(DX)
“You know nothing”?(DY)
17 In a very short time,(DZ) will not Lebanon(EA) be turned into a fertile field(EB)
and the fertile field seem like a forest?(EC)
18 In that day(ED) the deaf(EE) will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness(EF)
the eyes of the blind will see.(EG)
19 Once more the humble(EH) will rejoice in the Lord;
the needy(EI) will rejoice in the Holy One(EJ) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(EK) will vanish,(EL)
the mockers(EM) will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil(EN) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in court(EO)
and with false testimony(EP) deprive the innocent of justice.(EQ)
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(ER) Abraham,(ES) says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(ET)
no longer will their faces grow pale.(EU)
23 When they see among them their children,(EV)
the work of my hands,(EW)
they will keep my name holy;(EX)
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(EY) of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(EZ) in spirit will gain understanding;(FA)
those who complain will accept instruction.”(FB)
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
30 “Woe(FC) to the obstinate children,”(FD)
declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance,(FE) but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt(FF)
without consulting(FG) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(FH)
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(FI)
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade(FJ) will bring you disgrace.(FK)
4 Though they have officials in Zoan(FL)
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people(FM) useless(FN) to them,
who bring neither help(FO) nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.(FP)”
6 A prophecy(FQ) concerning the animals of the Negev:(FR)
Through a land of hardship and distress,(FS)
of lions(FT) and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,(FU)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(FV) backs,
their treasures(FW) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(FX)
Therefore I call her
Rahab(FY) the Do-Nothing.
8 Go now, write it on a tablet(FZ) for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,(GA)
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.(GB)
9 For these are rebellious(GC) people, deceitful(GD) children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(GE)
10 They say to the seers,(GF)
“See no more visions(GG)!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(GH)
prophesy illusions.(GI)
11 Leave this way,(GJ)
get off this path,
and stop confronting(GK) us
with the Holy One(GL) of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One(GM) of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,(GN)
relied on oppression(GO)
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,(GP) cracked and bulging,
that collapses(GQ) suddenly,(GR) in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,(GS)
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereign(GT) Lord, the Holy One(GU) of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest(GV) is your salvation,
in quietness and trust(GW) is your strength,
but you would have none of it.(GX)
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee(GY) on horses.’(GZ)
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five(HA)
you will all flee(HB) away,
till you are left(HC)
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner(HD) on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longs(HE) to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.(HF)
For the Lord is a God of justice.(HG)
Blessed are all who wait for him!(HH)
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.(HI) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!(HJ) As soon as he hears, he will answer(HK) you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread(HL) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers(HM) will be hidden(HN) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice(HO) behind you, saying, “This is the way;(HP) walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols(HQ) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;(HR) you will throw them away like a menstrual(HS) cloth and say to them, “Away with you!(HT)”
23 He will also send you rain(HU) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich(HV) and plentiful.(HW) In that day(HX) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.(HY) 24 The oxen(HZ) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder(IA) and mash, spread out with fork(IB) and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter,(IC) when the towers(ID) fall, streams of water will flow(IE) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun,(IF) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals(IG) the wounds he inflicted.
27 See, the Name(IH) of the Lord comes from afar,
with burning anger(II) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,(IJ)
and his tongue is a consuming fire.(IK)
28 His breath(IL) is like a rushing torrent,(IM)
rising up to the neck.(IN)
He shakes the nations in the sieve(IO) of destruction;
he places in the jaws of the peoples
a bit(IP) that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;(IQ)
your hearts will rejoice(IR)
as when people playing pipes(IS) go up
to the mountain(IT) of the Lord,
to the Rock(IU) of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice(IV)
and will make them see his arm(IW) coming down
with raging anger(IX) and consuming fire,(IY)
with cloudburst, thunderstorm(IZ) and hail.(JA)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;(JB)
with his rod he will strike(JC) them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
with his punishing club(JD)
will be to the music of timbrels(JE) and harps,
as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.(JF)
33 Topheth(JG) has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath(JH) of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulfur,(JI)
sets it ablaze.(JJ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 29:2 The Hebrew for altar hearth sounds like the Hebrew for Ariel.
- Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules
Isaiah 28-30
King James Version
Isaiah 28-30
King James Version
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
29 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
3 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts 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 whisper out of the dust.
5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
8 It shall even 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.
9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11 And the vision of all 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:
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 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
15 Woe 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?
16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had 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 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 the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:
21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
22 Therefore 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.
23 But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.
24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.
30 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Which 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 stay 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 at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus saith the Lord God, 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 rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy 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 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, 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 ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers 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 the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.
30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
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