Isaiah 29

1 Ah altar, altar of the citie that Dauid dwelt in: adde yere vnto yere: let them kill lambs.

Alas for Ariel, Ariel, The city against which, David encamped, —Add ye a year to a year. Let the festivals, come round;

2 But I wil bring the altar into distresse, and there shalbe heauines and sorowe, and it shall be vnto me like an altar.

Yet will I bring Ariel into straits, —And she shall become a bewailing and wailing, Yea she shall become to me a veritable Hearth of God.

3 And I wil besiege thee as a circle, and fight against thee on a mount, and will cast vp ramparts against thee.

And I will encamp round about against thee, —And lay siege against thee with a fort, And raise against thee siege-works;

4 So shalt thou be humbled, and shalt speake out of the ground, and thy speach shalbe as out of the dust: thy voyce also shall be out of the ground like him that hath a spirite of diuination, and thy talking shall whisper out of the dust.

And thou shalt be brought low—Out of the earth, shalt thou speak, And out of the dust, shalt thou lower thine utterance, —And as one that hath a familiar spirit, Out of the earth, shall come thy voice, And out of the dust, thy speech shall chirp;

5 Moreouer, the multitude of thy strangers shalbe like small dust, and the multitude of strong men shalbe as chaffe that passeth away, and it shall be in a moment, euen suddenly.

Then shall be as fine dust the multitude of thy foreigners, —And as chaff that passeth away, the multitude of tyrants; And it shall come to pass, in a twinkling, Suddenly,

6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hostes with thunder, and shaking, and a great noyse, a whirlewinde, and a tempest, and a flame of a deuouring fire.

From Yahweh of hosts, shalt thou be visited, With thunder, and with earthquake and a great noise, hurricane and storm and flame of fire devouring;

7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against the altar, shalbe as a dreame or vision by night: euen all they that make the warre against it, and strong holdes against it, and lay siege vnto it.

And it shall be like the dream of a night vision, With the multitude of all the nations who have been making war against Ariel, —Even with all who have been making war against her and her stronghold and who have been laying siege to her;

8 And it shalbe like as an hungry man dreameth, and beholde, he eateth: and when he awaketh, his soule is emptie: or like as a thirsty man dreameth, and loe, he is drinking, and when he awaketh, beholde, he is faint, and his soule longeth: so shall the multitude of all nations be that fight against mount Zion.

Yea it shall be As when the hungry man dreameth and lo! he is eating, But he awaketh, and his soul, is empty, Or as when the thirsty man dreameth and lo! he is drinking, But he awaketh and lo! he is faint and his soul, is craving, So, shall it be with the multitude of all the nations, that have come forth to war against Mount Zion.

9 Stay your selues, and wonder: they are blinde, and make you blinde: they are drunken but not with wine: they stagger, but not by strong drinke.

Stand ye stock still and stare, Besmear your eyes and be blind, —They are drunken but not with wine, They reel, but not with strong drink;

10 For the Lord hath couered you with a spirite of slumber, and hath shut vp your eyes: the Prophets, and your chiefe Seers hath he couered.

For Yahweh, hath poured out upon you, a spirit of deep sleep, Yea hath tightly shut your eyes—the prophets, —And, your heads—the seers, hath he covered,

11 And the vision of them all is become vnto you, as the wordes of a booke that is sealed vp, which they deliuer to one that can reade, saying, Reade this, I pray thee. Then shall he say, I can not: for it is sealed.

And so all vision hath become unto you as the words of a writing that is sealed, Which is delivered unto one acquainted with writing, saying, Pray thee read this, And he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed;

12 And the booke is giuen vnto him that can not reade, saying, Reade this, I pray thee. And he shall say, I can not reade.

And then the writing is delivered to one unacquainted with writing, saying, Pray thee read this, And he saith I am not acquainted with writing.

13 Therefore the Lord sayd, Because this people come neere vnto me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but haue remooued their heart farre from me, and their feare toward me was taught by the precept of men,

Wherefore My Lord hath said, —Because this people, hath drawn near with their mouth, And with their lips, have honoured me, But their heart, have they moved far from me, And so their reverence of me hath become A commandment of men in which they have been schooled,

14 Therefore behold, I wil againe doe a marueilous worke in this people, euen a marueilous worke, and a wonder: for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish, and the vnderstanding of their prudent men shalbe hid.

Therefore, behold me! again dealing wonderfully with this people, doing wonderfully a wonderful thing, —So shall perish, the wisdom of their wise men, And the intelligence of their intelligent men, shall vanish!

15 Wo vnto them that seeke deepe to hide their counsell from the Lord: for their workes are in darkenes, and they say, Who seeth vs? and who knoweth vs?

Alas! for them who would fain have been too deep for Yahweh by giving secret counsel, —and therefore in the dark, have been their doings, and they have said Who can see us? and—Who can understand us?

16 Your turning of deuises shall it not be esteemed as the potters clay? for shall the worke say of him that made it, Hee made me not? or the thing formed, say of him that facioned it, He had none vnderstanding?

Your perverseness! As if like clay, the potter could be reckoned; For shall, the thing made say of him that made it, he made me not? Or hath the thing fashioned ever said of him that fashioned it, He hath no understanding.

17 Is it not yet but a litle while, and Lebanon shall be turned into Carmel? and Carmel shall be counted as a forest?

Is it not yet a very little while, And Lebanon shall be turned, into garden land, —And garden land, for a forest, be reckoned?

18 And in that day shall the deafe heare the wordes of the booke, and the eyes of the blinde shall see out of obscuritie, and out of darkenesse.

Therefore, in that day, shall the deaf hear the words of a book, —And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see;

19 The meeke in the Lord shall receiue ioye againe, and the poore men shall reioyce in the holy one of Israel.

And again shall the humbled in Yahweh, have joy, —And the needy of mankind in the Holy One of Israel, exult;

20 For the cruel man shall cease, and the scornefull shalbe consumed: and all that hasted to iniquitie, shalbe cut off:

For the tyrant, hath vanished, And the scoffer, is no more, Yea cut off are all who watch for iniquity: —

21 Which made a man to sinne in ye worde, and tooke him in a snare: which reproued them in the gate, and made the iust to fall without cause.

Who bring a man into condemnation with a rumour, And for him that decideth in the gate, lay a snare, —And have driven away, for a thing of nought, one who was righteous.

22 Therefore thus sayth the Lord vnto the house of Iaakob, euen hee that redeemed Abraham, Iaakob shall not now be confounded, neither now shall his face be pale.

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, concerning the house of Jacob, [even he saith it] who redeemed Abraham, —Not now, shall, Jacob turn pale, And, not now, shall their faces whiten;

23 But when he seeth his children, the worke of mine hands, in the mids of him, they shall sanctifie my Name, and sanctifie the holy one of Iaakob, and shall feare the God of Israel.

For, when he seeth his children the work of my hands, in his midst, They will hallow my Name, —Yea they will hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And the God of Israel, will they regard with awe.

24 Then they that erred in spirit, shall haue vnderstanding, and they that murmured, shall learne doctrine.

Then will they who erred in spirit comprehend, And the murmurers, accept instruction.