Isaiah 29

Woe to Ariel

¹Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped![#29:1 Lion of God, lion of Jerusalem; #29:1 Lion of God, lion of Jerusalem]

Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule.

²I will bring distress to Ariel,[#29:2 See v 1, note 1]

And she will be a city of mourning and moaning;

And she will be like an Ariel to me.

³And I will camp against you encircling you ,[#29:3 Lit like a circle]

And I will fortify siegeworks against you,

And I will raise up fortifications against you.

⁴Then 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 spirit from the ground,

And your speech will whisper from the dust.

⁵¶But it will be that the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust,[#29:5 Lit strangers]

And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away;

And it will happen instantly, suddenly.

⁶From Yahweh of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,

With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

⁷And it will be that the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,[#29:7 v 1, note 1]

Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,

Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.

⁸And it will be as when a hungry man dreams—

And behold, he is eating;

But he awakens, and his soul is empty,

Or as when a thirsty man dreams—

And behold, he is drinking,

But he awakens, and behold, he is faint,

And his soul is not quenched.

Thus the multitude of all the nations will be

Who wage war against Mount Zion.

⁹¶Astonish yourselves and be astonished,

Blind yourselves and be blind;

They become drunk, but not with wine;

They stagger, but not with strong drink.

¹⁰For Yahweh has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep;

He has shut your eyes, the prophets;

And He has covered your heads, the seers.

¹¹The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”[#29:11 Or scroll; #29:11 Lit knows books]

¹²Then the book will be given to the one who does not know how to read a book, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I do not know how to read a book.”[#29:12 Or scroll; #29:12 Lit does not know books; #29:12 Lit do not know books]

¹³Then the Lord said,

“Because this people draw near with their mouth

And honor Me with their lips,

But they remove their hearts far from Me,

And their fear of Me is in the command of men learned by rote ,

¹⁴Therefore 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 hidden.”

¹⁵¶Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh,

And whose deeds are done in a dark place,

And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

¹⁶You turn things around!

Shall the potter be considered 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”?

The Afflicted Will Rejoice

¹⁷¶Is it not yet just a little while

Before Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful orchard,

And the fruitful orchard will be counted as a forest?

¹⁸On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,

And out of darkness and thick darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

¹⁹The afflicted also will increase their gladness in Yahweh,

And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰For the ruthless will come to an end and the scoffer will be finished,

Indeed all who are watching out to do evil will be cut off;

²¹Who cause a person to sin by a word,[#29:21 Lit bring a person under condemnation]

And ensnare him who reproves at the gate,

And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

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

“Jacob shall not now be ashamed, and now his face shall not turn pale;

²³But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,[#29:23 Or his children see]

They will sanctify My name;

Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob

And will stand trembling before the God of Israel.

²⁴“Those who err in spirit will know discernment,

And those who criticize will gain learning.