Esias 30

1 Woe to the apostate children, saith the Lord: ye have framed counsel, not by me, and covenants not by my Spirit, to add sins to sins:

Woe [to] apostate sons, The affirmation of Jehovah! To do counsel, and not from Me, And to spread out a covering, and not of My spirit, So as to add sin to sin.

2 [even] they that proceed to go down into Egypt, but they have not enquired of me, that they might be helped by Pharao, and protected by the Egyptians.

Who are walking to go down to Egypt, And My mouth have not asked, To be strong in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt.

3 For the protection of Pharaoh shall be to you a disgrace, and [there shall be] a reproach to them that trust in Egypt.

And the strength of Pharaoh Hath been to you for shame, And the trust in the shadow of Egypt confusion,

4 For there are princes in Tanes, evil messengers.

For in Zoan were his princes, And his messengers reach Hanes.

5 In vain shall they labour [in seeking] to a people, which shall not profit them for help, but [shall be] for a shame and reproach.

All he made ashamed of a people that profit not, Neither for help, not for profit, But for shame, and also for reproach!

6 THE VISION OF THE QUADRUPEDS IN THE DESERT. In affliction and distress, [where are] the lion and lion's whelp, thence [come] also asps, and the young of flying asps, [there shall they be] who bore their wealth on asses and camels to a nation which shall not profit them.

The burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, Of young lion and of old lion, Whence [are] viper and flying saraph, They carry on the shoulder of asses their wealth, And on the hump of camels their treasures, Unto a people not profitable.

7 The Egyptians shall help you utterly in vain: tell them, This your consolation is vain.

Yea, Egyptians [are] vanity, and in vain do help, Therefore I have cried concerning this: 'Their strength [is] to sit still.'

8 Now then sit down and write these words on a tablet, and in a book; for these things shall be for [many long] days, and even for ever.

No, go in, write it on a tablet with them, And on a book engrave it, And it is for a latter day, for a witness unto the age,

9 For the people is disobedient, false children, who would not hear the law of God:

That a rebellious people [is] this, sons — liars, Sons not willing to hear the law of Jehovah.

10 who say to the prophets, Report not to us; and to them that see visions, Speak [them] not to us, but speak and report to us another error;

Who have said to seers, 'Ye do not see,' And to prophets, 'Ye do not prophesy to us Straightforward things, Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits,

11 and turn us aside from this way; remove from us this path, and remove from us the oracle of Israel.

Turn aside from the way, decline from the path, Cause to cease from before us the Holy One of Israel.'

12 Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye have refused to obey these words, and have trusted in falsehood; and because thou hast murmured, and been confident in this respect:

Therefore, thus said the Holy One of Israel, Because of your kicking against this word, And ye trust in oppression, And perverseness, and rely on it,

13 therefore shall this sin be to you as a wall suddenly falling when a strong city has been taken, of which the fall is very near at hand.

Therefore is this iniquity to you as a breach falling, Swelled out in a wall set on high, Whose destruction suddenly, at an instant cometh.

14 And the fall thereof shall be as the breaking of an earthen vessel, [as] small fragments of a pitcher, so that thou shouldest not find among them a sherd, with which thou mightest take up fire, and with which thou shouldest draw a little water.

And He hath broken it As the breaking of the potters' bottle, Beaten down — He doth not spare, Nor is there found, in its beating down, A potsherd to take fire from the burning, And to draw out waters from a ditch.

15 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy Lord of Israel; When thou shalt turn and mourn, then thou shalt be saved; and thou shalt know where thou wast, when thou didst trust in vanities: [then] your strength became vain, yet ye would not hearken:

For thus said the Lord Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest ye are saved, In keeping quiet and in confidence is your might, And ye have not been willing.

16 but ye said, We will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will be aided by swift riders; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

And ye say, No, for on a horse we flee? Therefore ye flee, And on the swift we ride! Therefore swift are your pursuers.

17 A thousand shall flee because of the voice of one, and many shall flee on account of the voice of five; until ye be left as a signal-post upon a mountain, and as one bearing an ensign upon a hill.

One thousand because of the rebuke of one, Because of the rebuke of five ye flee, Till ye have been surely left as a pole On the top of the mountain, And as an ensign on the height.

18 And the Lord will again wait, that he may pity you, and will therefore be exalted that he may have mercy upon you: because the Lord your God is a judge: blessed are they that stay themselves upon him.

And therefore doth wait Jehovah to favour you, And therefore He is exalted to pity you, For a God of judgment [is] Jehovah, O the blessedness of all waiting for Him.

19 For the holy people shall dwell in Sion: and [whereas] Jerusalem has wept bitterly, [saying], Pity me; he shall pity thee: when he perceived the voice of thy cry, he hearkened to thee.

For the people in Zion dwell in Jerusalem, Weep thou not, weeping, Pitying, He pitieth thee at the voice of thy cry, When He heareth He answereth thee.

20 And [though] the Lord shall give you the bread of affliction and scant water, yet they that cause thee to err shall no more at all draw nigh to thee; for thine eyes shall see those that cause thee to err,

And the Lord hath given to you bread of adversity, And water of oppression. And thy directors remove no more, And thine eyes have seen thy directors,

21 and thine ears shall hear the words of them that went after thee to lead thee astray, who say, This [is] the way, let us walk in it, whether to the right or to the left.

And thine ear heareth a word behind thee, Saying, 'This [is] the way, go ye in it,' When ye turn to the right, And when ye turn to the left.

22 And thou shalt pollute the plated idols, and thou shalt grind to powder the gilt ones, and shalt scatter them as the water of a removed [woman], and thou shalt thrust them forth as dung.

And ye have defiled the covering of Thy graven images of silver, And the ephod of thy molten image of gold, Thou scatterest them as a sickening thing, 'Go out,' thou sayest to it.

23 Then shall there be rain to the seed of thy land; and the bread of the fruit of thy land shall be plenteous and rich: and thy cattle shall feed in that day in a fertile and spacious place.

And He hath given rain [for] thy seed, With which thou dost sow the ground, And bread, the increase of the ground, And it hath been fat and plenteous, Enjoy do thy cattle in that day an enlarged pasture.

24 Your bulls and your oxen that till the ground, shall eat chaff mixed with winnowed barley.

And the oxen and the young asses serving the ground, Fermented provender do eat, That one is winnowing with shovel and fan.

25 And there shall be upon every lofty mountain and upon every high hill, water running in that day, when many shall perish, and when the towers shall fall.

And there hath been on every high mount, And on every exalted hill, Rivulets — streams of waters, In a day of much slaughter, in the falling of towers.

26 And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold in the day when the Lord shall heal the breach of his people, and shall heal the pain of thy wound.

And the light of the moon hath been as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun is sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day of Jehovah's binding up the breach of His people, When the stroke of its wound He healeth.

27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes after a [long] time, burning wrath: the word of his lips is with glory, a word full of anger, and the anger of his wrath shall devour as fire.

Lo, the name of Jehovah is coming from far, Burning is His anger, and great the flame, His lips have been full of indignation, And His tongue [is] as a devouring fire.

28 And his breath, as rushing water in a valley, shall reach as far as the neck, and be divided, to confound the nations for [their] vain error: error also shall pursue them, and overtake them.

And His breath [is] as an overflowing stream, Unto the neck it divideth, To sift nations with a sieve of vanity, And a bridle causing to err, [Is] on the jaws of the peoples.

29 Must ye always rejoice, and go into my holy places continually, as they that keep a feast? and must ye go with a pipe, as those that rejoice, into the mountain of the Lord, to the God of Israel?

Singing is to you as in a night sanctified for a festival, And joy of heart as he who is going with a pipe, To go in to the mountain of Jehovah, Unto the rock of Israel.

30 And the Lord shall make his glorious voice to be heard, and the wrath of his arm, to make a display with wrath and anger and devouring flame: he shall lighten terribly, and [his wrath shall be] as water and violent hail.

And caused to be heard hath Jehovah The honour of His voice, And the coming down of His arm He doth shew with the raging of anger, And the flame of a consuming fire, Scattering, and inundation, and hailstone.

31 For by the voice of the Lord the Assyrians shall be overcome, [even] by the stroke wherewith he shall smite them.

For from the voice of Jehovah broken down [is] Asshur, With a rod He smiteth.

32 And it shall happen to him from every side, [that] they from whom their hope of assistance was, in which he trusted, themselves shall war against him in turn with drums and with harp.

And every passage of the settled staff, That Jehovah causeth to rest on him, Hath been with tabrets, and with harps, And in battles of shaking he hath fought with it.

33 For thou shalt be required before [thy] time: has it been prepared for thee also to reign? nay, God has [prepared for thee] a deep trench, wood piled, fire and much wood: the wrath of the Lord [shall be] as a trench kindled with sulphur.

For, arranged from former time is Tophet, Even it for the king is prepared, He hath made deep, He hath made large, Its pile [is] fire and much wood, The breath of Jehovah, As a stream of brim stone, is burning in it!