Isaiah 29

1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city against which David fought: year has been added to year, the solemnities have unfolded.

Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the festivals come round.

2 And I will surround Ariel with siege works, and it will be in sorrow and mourning, and it will be like Ariel to me.

But I will besiege Ariel, and she will be mourning and lamenting; and she will be to me like Ariel.

3 And I will surround you like a sphere all around you, and I will raise up a rampart against you, and I will set up fortifications to blockade you.

I will encamp against you in a circle and will lay siege against you with a palisade, and I will raise siege works against you.

4 You will be brought low. You will speak from the ground, and your eloquence will be heard from the dirt. And, from the ground, your voice will be like that of the python, and your eloquence will mumble from the dirt.

You will be brought down and will speak from the ground; your speech will be low from the dust. Your voice will sound like a spirit that speaks from the ground, and out of the dust your speech will whisper.

5 And the multitude of those who fan you will be like fine dust. And the multitude of those who have prevailed against you will be like embers fading away.

The great number of your invaders will become like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones as chaff that passes away. It will happen suddenly, in an instant.

6 And this will happen suddenly and swiftly. It will be visited from the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquakes, and with the great noise of a whirlwind and a storm, and with a flame of devouring fire.

Yahweh of hosts will come to you with thunder, earthquake, great noise, with strong winds and violent storm, and the flames of a devouring fire.

7 And the multitude of all the nations that have struggled against Ariel will be like the dream of a vision by night, along with all who have battled, and besieged, and prevailed against it.

It will be like a dream, a vision of the night: A horde of all the nations will fight against Ariel and her stronghold. They will attack her and her fortifications to press upon her.

8 And it will be like one who is hungry and dreams of eating, but, when he has been awakened, his soul is empty. And it will be like one who is thirsty and dreams of drinking, but, after he has been awakened, he still languishes in thirst, and his soul is empty. So shall the multitude of all the nations be, who have struggled against Mount Zion.

It will be like when a hungry man dreams he is eating, but when he awakes, his stomach is empty. It will be like when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but he when he awakes, he is fainting, with his thirst not quenched. Yes, so will be the great number of nations that fights against Mount Zion.

9 Be stupefied and in wonder! Shake and quiver! Be inebriated, but not from wine! Stagger, but not from drunkenness!

Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with beer.

10 For the Lord has mixed for you a spirit of deep sleep. He will close your eyes. He will cover your prophets and leaders, who see visions.

For Yahweh has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep. He has closed your eyes, the prophets, and has covered your heads, the seers.

11 And the vision of all will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they have given it to someone who knows how to read, they will say, “Read this,” but he will respond, “I cannot; for it has been sealed.”

All revelation has become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men might give to one who is learned, saying, “Read this.” He also says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

12 But if the book is given to someone who does not know how to read, and it is said to him, “Read,” then he will respond, “I do not know how to read.”

If the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

13 And the Lord said: Since this people have drawn near to me only with their mouth, and their lips glorify me while their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is based on the commandments and doctrines of men,

The Lord said, “This people comes close to me with their mouths and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Their honor for me is only a commandment of men that has been taught.

14 for this reason, behold, I will proceed to accomplish a wonder for this people, a great and mystifying miracle. For wisdom will perish from their wise, and the understanding of their prudent will be concealed.

Therefore, see, I will proceed to do a marvelous thing among this people, wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will disappear.”

15 Woe to you who use the depths of the heart, so that you may hide your intentions from the Lord. Their works are done in darkness, and so they say: “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”

Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in darkness. They say, “Who sees us, and who knows us?”

16 This intention of yours is perverse. It is as if the clay were to plan against the potter, or as if the work were to say to its maker: “You did not make me.” Or it is as if what has been formed were to say to the one who formed it, “You do not understand.”

You turn things upside down! Should the potter be considered like clay, so that the thing that is made should say about him who made it, “He did not make me,” or the thing formed say about him who formed it, “He does not understand”?

17 In not more than a little while and a brief time, Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and a fruitful field will be considered to be a forest.

In just a little while, Lebanon will be turned into a field, and the field will become a forest.

18 And in that day, the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind will see.

On that day the deaf will hear the words of a book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of the deep darkness.

19 And the meek will increase their rejoicing in the Lord, and the poor among men will exult in the Holy One of Israel.

The oppressed will again rejoice in Yahweh, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

20 For the one who was prevailing has failed, the one who was mocking has been consumed, and all those who were standing guard over iniquity have been cut down.

For the ruthless will cease, and the scoffer will vanish. All those who love to do evil will be eliminated,

21 For they caused men to sin by a word, and they supplanted him who argued against them at the gates, and they turned away from justice in vain.

who by a word make a man out to be an offender. They lay a snare for him who seeks justice at the gate and put the righteous down with empty lies.

22 Because of this, thus says the Lord, he who has redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob: From now on, Jacob will not be confounded; from now on his countenance will not blush with shame.

Therefore this is what Yahweh says concerning the house of Jacob—Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham, “Jacob will no longer be ashamed, nor will his face be pale.

23 Instead, when he sees his children, they will be the work of my hands in his midst, sanctifying my name, and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will preach the God of Israel.

But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, they will make my name holy. They will make holy the name of the Holy One of Jacob and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

24 And those who had gone astray in spirit will know understanding, and those who had murmured will learn the law.

Those who err in spirit will gain understanding, and complainers will learn knowledge.”