Isaiah 29
The LORD pronounces woe to Ariel -- Jerusalem -- which He will besiege and bring low, yet the multitude of her enemies will be like a dream that vanishes. He rebukes those who seek to hide their plans from the LORD and those whose worship is mere lip service while their hearts are far from Him. Lebanon shall become a fruitful field and the deaf shall hear and the blind shall see.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. | Woe to Ariel — Ariel, the city where David camped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their cycle. |
| 2 | Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. | Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation. She shall be to Me like an altar hearth. |
| 3 | And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. | I will encamp against you all around; I will besiege you with towers and raise siegeworks against you. |
| 4 | And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. | Brought down, you shall speak from the ground; your words shall come from the dust. Your voice shall be like a ghost's from the ground; from the dust your speech shall whisper. |
| 5 | Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. | But the crowd of your foes shall be like fine dust, and the crowd of the ruthless like passing chaff. It shall happen suddenly, in an instant. |
| 6 | Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. | You shall be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder, earthquake, and great noise — with whirlwind, tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. |
| 7 | And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. | The crowd of all the nations that fight against Ariel — all who fight against her and her stronghold and distress her — shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. |
| 8 | It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. | It shall be like a hungry man who dreams He is eating — then wakes, and is still hungry — or like a thirsty man who dreams He is drinking — then wakes, and is still faint with thirst. So shall the crowd of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. |
| 9 | Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. | Pause and wonder — blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not from strong drink. |
| 10 | For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. | For the LORD has poured out on You a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed Your eyes — the prophets — and covered Your heads — the seers. |
| 11 | And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: | The vision of all this has become to You like the words of a sealed book. When people give it to one who can read and say, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." |
| 12 | And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. | When they give it to one who cannot read and say, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read." |
| 13 | Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: | The Lord said: "Because this people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men, |
| 14 | Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. | therefore I will again do a marvelous work among this people — a marvelous work and a wonder. The wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their discerning men shall be hidden." |
| 15 | Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? | Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, Who do their deeds in the dark and say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" |
| 16 | Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? | You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay — that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me," or the thing formed say of Him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? |
| 17 | Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? | Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? |
| 18 | And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. | In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. |
| 19 | The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. | The humble shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. |
| 20 | For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: | For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer shall cease; and all who watch for evil shall be cut off — |
| 21 | That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. | those who make a man out to be a criminal by a word, who lay a snare for the one who argues justly at the gate, and who push aside the innocent with empty arguments. |
| 22 | Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. | Therefore thus says the LORD, Who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall no longer be ashamed; no longer shall his face grow pale. |
| 23 | But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. | For when He sees His children — the work of My hands — in His midst, they shall sanctify My name. They shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and stand in awe of the God of Israel. |
| 24 | They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. | Those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction." |