Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

¹“The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the Lord ,[#tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”; #tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”]

“those who make plans without consulting me,

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit,

and thereby compound their sin.

²They travel down to Egypt

without seeking my will,

seeking Pharaoh’s protection,

and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade.

³But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,

and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.

⁴Though his officials are in Zoan[#sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.]

and his messengers arrive at Hanes,

⁵all will be put to shame[#tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”]

because of a nation that cannot help them,

who cannot give them aid or help,

but only shame and disgrace.”

⁶This is a message about the animals in the Negev:[#tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”]

Through a land of distress and danger,

inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions,

by snakes and darting adders,

they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys,

their riches on the humps of camels,

to a nation that cannot help them.

⁷Egypt is totally incapable of helping.[#tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”]

For this reason I call her

‘Proud one who is silenced.’”

⁸Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence,[#tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.; #tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.]

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness.

⁹For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord ’s law.

¹⁰They say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”[#tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.]

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right!

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages.

¹¹Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path.

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.”

¹²For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

“You have rejected this message;

you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick,

and rely on that kind of behavior.

¹³So this sin will become your downfall.

You will be like a high wall

that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;

it crumbles suddenly, in a flash.

¹⁴It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged.

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough

to scoop a hot coal from a fire

or to skim off water from a cistern.”

¹⁵For this is what the master, the Lord , the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered;

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength,

but you are unwilling.

¹⁶You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’

so you will indeed flee.

You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’

so your pursuers will be fast.

¹⁷One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier;[#tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.]

at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away,

until the remaining few are as isolated

as a flagpole on a mountaintop

or a signal flag on a hill.”

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

¹⁸For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you.

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.

¹⁹For people will live in Zion;

in Jerusalem you will weep no more.

When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;

when he hears it, he will respond to you.

²⁰The sovereign master will give you distress to eat[#tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).]

and suffering to drink;

but your teachers will no longer be hidden;

your eyes will see them.

²¹You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,[#tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).]

“This is the correct way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

²²You will desecrate your silver-plated idols[#tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”]

and your gold-plated images.

You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,

saying to them, “Get out!”

²³He will water the seed you plant in the ground,

and the ground will produce crops in abundance.

At that time your cattle will graze in wide pastures.

²⁴The oxen and donkeys used in plowing[#tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”]

will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.

²⁵On every high mountain

and every high hill

there will be streams flowing with water,

at the time of great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.

²⁶The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare

and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,

like the light of seven days,

when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones

and heals their severe wound.

²⁷Look, the name of the Lord comes from a distant place[#sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests – he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.]

in raging anger and awesome splendor.

He speaks angrily

and his word is like destructive fire.

²⁸His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river[#tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.]

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff;

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction.

²⁹You will sing

as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.

You will be happy like one who plays a flute

as he goes to the mountain of the Lord , the Rock who shelters Israel.

³⁰The Lord will give a mighty shout[#tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”]

and intervene in power,

with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire,

with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.

³¹Indeed, the Lord ’s shout will shatter Assyria;[#tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”]

he will beat them with a club.

³²Every blow from his punishing cudgel,[#tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).]

with which the Lord will beat them,

will be accompanied by music from the tambourine and harp,

and he will attack them with his weapons.

³³For the burial place is already prepared;[#tn Or “indeed.”; #tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).]

it has been made deep and wide for the king.

The firewood is piled high on it.

The Lord ’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,

will ignite it.