Isaiah 30

1 Yahweh says, “Terrible things will happen to you, my people who rebel against me. You make plans, but what you plan is not what I want. You have made an alliance [with the rulers of Egypt], but you did not ask my Spirit [if that was what you should do]. By doing that, you have increased the number of your sins.

Tragedy is coming to my defiant children, declares the Lord. You make plans that don't come from me; you make alliances against my wishes, adding sin to sin.

2 You went to Egypt [to ask their rulers for help], without asking for my advice. You have trusted in [the army of] the king of Egypt to protect you; you have [trusted in them] [like] people sit in the shade [to protect themselves from the sun] [MET].

You go to Egypt without asking me, looking to Pharaoh for protection, hoping to find safety hiding behind Egypt.

3 [But] the result of your trusting in the king of Egypt is that you will be [disappointed and] disgraced; because of trusting in him, you will be humiliated.

But the protection of Pharaoh will be an embarrassment to you; hiding behind Egypt will only bring you humiliation.

4 Officials/ambassadors [from Judah] have gone to Zoan and Hanes [cities in Egypt to make treaties],

Even though he has officials at Zoan and his messengers reach Hanes,

5 but all those [who trust in the King of Egypt] will be humiliated, because that nation will not be able to help you; the treaty that you have made [requesting help from them] will be useless; instead, the result will be that you will be humiliated and disgraced [DOU].”

the Egyptians will offend everyone because they are useless—they're no help and good for nothing, except for causing shame and bringing disgrace.

6 [I received from Yahweh] this message about the animals in the southern part of Judah: That area is one where [people experience a lot of] troubles and difficulties, an area where there are male and female lions and various kinds of poisonous snakes. Caravans go through that area taking donkeys and camels loaded with valuable goods. [They are taking them] to Egypt to seek for protection [by the army of Egypt], [but] it will be useless.

A message about the animals of the Negev. The messengers travel through a harsh and hostile land where lions and lionesses live, vipers and vicious snakes too. Their donkeys are burdened down with valuable gifts, their camels are loaded with treasure, to give to a worthless people that can't help.

7 The promises made by [the king of] Egypt are worthless; therefore I call Egypt ‘the sea monster/dragon that does nothing’.

Egypt's support is an empty breath of wind. That's why I call her Pride Sitting Down.

8 Yahweh told me to write on a scroll a message, in order that it would be a witness [to the people of Judah] that would endure forever.

Now go and write all this down on a tablet and on a scroll so that it will last forever and ever.

9 [It would remind them] that they are deceitful and always rebelling against Yahweh; they refuse to pay attention to what he tells/teaches them.

For they are a rebellious people, deceitful children, who refuse to listen to the Lord's instructions.

10 They tell the people who see/receive visions [from Yahweh], “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the prophets, “Do not reveal to us what is right! Tell us pleasant things; do not tell us visions about things that are true!

They tell people who see visions, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Don't give us prophecies about doing right—just tell us pleasant things and give us fake prophecies.

11 Stop doing what you have been doing [DOU]; stop telling us what the Holy One of Israel [says to us]!”

Stop telling us straight; go a different direction! We don't want to hear any more about the Holy One of Israel.”

12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “You have rejected my message, and you are relying on those who oppress and deceive others.

So this is how the Holy One of Israel replies, Since you have rejected this message, and since you trust in oppression and believe in dishonesty,

13 Therefore, the result of your sin [of rejecting me] will be that you will [suddenly experience disasters]; what will happen to you will be like [SIM] a cracked wall that suddenly collapses [DOU].

your punishment will suddenly fall on you, like a high wall that bulges out and collapses in an instant.

14 You will be smashed like a clay jar is smashed [when it is dropped], and it shatters completely, with the result that there is not one piece big enough to carry some coals from a stove or to carry a little bit of water from a well.”

You will be smashed like a clay pot, broken into such tiny pieces that there won't be a big enough piece to pick up coals from a hearth or a little bit of water from a well.

15 Yahweh, [our] God, the Holy One of Israel, [also] says this: “You will be rescued [from your enemies only] if you repent and trust [in what I will do for you]; you will be strong [only] if you quit worrying and trust in me. But you do not want [to do that].

This is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, said, If you repent and patiently trust in me, you would be saved; you would be strong if you had such calm confidence. But you refused to do it.

16 You said, ‘No, we will escape on horses [that the army of Egypt will give us]!’ So, you will [try to] flee. You said, ‘We will [escape from the army of Assyria] by riding on swift horses!’ [But] those who pursue you will [also ride] swiftly.

You replied, “No! We'll escape on horseback! We'll get away on fast horses!” But the fast ones will be the ones chasing you!

17 [As a result], 1,000 [of you] will flee when [only] one of them pursues you! When only five [of their soldiers] threaten [to kill you], [all of] will flee. [Only a few of] you will be left, like [SIM] a [single] flagpole on top of a mountain with one signal flag on the pole.”

Just one of them will chase after a thousand of you. Just five of them will make you all run away. All that will be left of you will look like a flag fluttering on the top of a mountain, a banner waving on a hill.

18 [But] wants to be kind to you; he desires to show you that he is merciful. [Do not forget that] Yahweh is a God who acts justly; he is pleased with those who patiently trust in him.

So the Lord waits, wanting to be kind to you, ready to act to show you mercy, for the Lord is a God who does what is right. All who wait for him are blessed.

19 You people who live in Jerusalem [DOU], [some day] you will not cry any more. Yahweh will be kind to you when you call out to him for help. He will answer/help you as soon as he hears you call.

People of Zion, you who live in Jerusalem, you won't have to weep any more. When you cry for help he will be kind to you. He will answer you immediately he hears you.

20 Although [now] Yahweh has caused you to [daily] experience [MET] great troubles and suffer much, [he], your teacher, will not hide himself from you. He [SYN] will teach you many things clearly.

Even though the Lord will give you the bread of hardship to eat and the water of suffering to drink, your teacher will no longer hide himself from you—you will see him with your own eyes.

21 And you will hear him speak to you to guide you. [Right] behind you he will say, “This is the road on which you should walk; walk on this road!”

When you walk to the right or to the left, you will hear this command coming from behind you: “This is the way to follow.”

22 When that happens, you will destroy [all] your idols that are covered with silver or gold. You will throw them away like you throw away a filthy rag, and you will say to them, “We do not need you any more!”

You will defile your silver-coated idols coated with silver and your gold-covered images. You will throw them away like a dirty cloth used for periods, and say to them, “out of here!”

23 [If you do that], Yahweh will bless you by giving you good rain at the time that you plant your crops. You will have good harvests, and plenty of pasture with grass for your cattle to eat.

He will send rain when you sow, and the land will produce great harvests. At that time your cattle will feed in rich pastures.

24 After the wind [blows away the chaff], the oxen and donkeys that [pull the plow to] plow your ground will have good grain to eat.

The oxen and donkeys that help cultivate the earth will eat good greens and grain, spread with fork and shovel.

25 At that time, when [your enemies] have been slaughtered and their towers have (collapsed/been destroyed), there will be streams flowing down every hill and mountain [in Judah].

At that time when your enemies are killed and the fortresses fall, streams of water will flow down every mountain and hill.

26 The moon will seem to shine as brightly as the sun, and the sun will seem to shine seven times as brightly as previously. That is what it will be like when Yahweh causes [the suffering of] his people [to cease; it will be as though] [MET] he will be putting bandages on their wounds and healing them.

The moon will shine as bright as the sun, and the sun will shine seven times brighter, like having seven days light in one. This is the way it will be when the Lord bandages the injuries of his people and heals the wounds he caused them.

27 [It is as though] we see Yahweh coming from far away; he is extremely angry, and there are thick clouds of smoke around him. By what he says [MTY] he shows that he is angry; what he says is like [SIM] a devastating/destructive fire.

Look how the Lord arrives from far away, burning with anger and accompanied by thick clouds of smoke! What he says shows his anger—it's like a fire that burns everything up.

28 His breath is like [SIM] a flood that covers [his enemies] up to their necks. He will separate [MET] the nations in order to destroy [some of them]; [it is as though] he will put hooks in their mouths and take them away.

His breath rushes out like a flood that comes up to the neck. He shakes the nations in a sieve that destroys them; he puts bridles in the mouths of the different peoples to lead them away.

29 But [his people] will sing joyfully like they sing during the nights when they celebrate a holy festival. They will be very joyful, like [SIM] [a large group of his people] are joyful when they go up to Zion Hill in Jerusalem, along with men playing flutes [when they are all going there to worship Yahweh]. He is [like] [MET] a huge rock under which [we] Israeli people [are safe].

But you will have a song to sing like you do on the night of a holy festival. You will celebrate in happiness like those who play pipes as they go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.

30 And Yahweh will enable [us] to hear him speaking powerfully/majestically. He will show us that he [SYN] is very powerful. [We] will see him [SYN] smash [his enemies]. Being very angry, he will descend with a big rainstorm and thunder and hail [to punish them].

The Lord will shout so everyone hears him he will reveal his great power. He will hit out in his anger and fury, with a fire that burns everything up, and with torrential rain, storm, and hail.

31 [The soldiers of] Assyria will be terrified when they hear the voice of Yahweh and when he strikes them with his rod.

At the Lord's command the Assyrians will be shattered, knocked down by his scepter.

32 And while Yahweh strikes them to punish them, [his people] will [celebrate by] playing tambourines and harps. [It will be as though] Yahweh will lift up his powerful hand/arm and defeat the Assyrian army in battle.

Every time the Lord hits them with his rod of punishment it will be accompanied by the music of tambourines and harps as he fights them, swinging into them in battle.

33 [The valley of] Topheth [outside Jerusalem] has been prepared for a long time; it is ready for the king [of Assyria]; the (funeral pyre/pile of wood) [for burning his body] is wide and high, and [it will be as though] Yahweh will light the fire with his breath, which will come out like a stream of burning sulfur.

The place of burning has been prepared a long time ago, ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, and has plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the Lord, like a flood of burning sulfur, sets it on fire.