Isaiah 30:1–33:24
30 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
a“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who 1devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
bThat they may add sin to sin;
2 cWho walk to go down to Egypt,
And dhave not asked My advice,
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 eTherefore the strength of Pharaoh
Shall be your shame,
And trust in the shadow of Egypt
Shall be your humiliation.
4 For his princes were at fZoan,
And his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 gThey were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them,
Or be help or benefit,
But a shame and also a reproach.”
6 hThe 2burden against the beasts of the South.
Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From which came the lioness and lion,
iThe viper and fiery flying serpent,
They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people who shall not profit;
7 jFor the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose.
Therefore I have called her
3Rahab-Hem-Shebeth.
8 Now go, kwrite it before them on a tablet,
And note it on a scroll,
That it may be for time to come,
Forever and ever:
9 That lthis is a rebellious people,
Lying children,
Children who will not hear the law of the Lord;
10 mWho say to the seers, “Do not see,”
And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things;
nSpeak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
Turn aside from the path,
Cause the Holy One of Israel
To cease from before us.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
“Because you odespise this word,
And trust in oppression and perversity,
And rely on them,
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you
pLike a breach ready to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose breaking qcomes suddenly, in an instant.
14 And rHe shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel,
Which is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare.
So there shall not be found among its fragments
4A shard to take fire from the hearth,
Or to take water from the cistern.”
15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
s“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
tBut you would not,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
17 uOne thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
At the threat of five you shall flee,
Till you are left as a 5pole on top of a mountain
And as a banner on a hill.
18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be vgracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
wBlessed are all those who xwait for Him.
19 For the people yshall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;
You shall zweep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will aanswer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you
bThe bread of adversity and the water of 6affliction,
Yet cyour teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you dturn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 eYou will also defile the covering of your images of silver,
And the ornament of your molded images of gold.
You will throw them away as an unclean thing;
fYou will say to them, “Get away!”
23 gThen He will give the rain for your seed
With which you sow the ground,
And bread of the increase of the earth;
It will be 7fat and plentiful.
In that day your cattle will feed
In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground
Will eat cured fodder,
Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be hon every high mountain
And on every high hill
Rivers and streams of waters,
In the day of the igreat slaughter,
When the towers fall.
26 Moreover jthe light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days,
In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar,
Burning with His anger,
And His burden is heavy;
His lips are full of indignation,
And His tongue like a devouring fire.
28 kHis breath is like an overflowing stream,
lWhich reaches up to the neck,
To sift the nations with the sieve of futility;
And there shall be ma bridle in the jaws of the people,
Causing them to err.
As in the night when a holy festival is kept,
And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute,
To come into nthe mountain of the Lord,
To 8the Mighty One of Israel.
30 oThe Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard,
And show the descent of His arm,
With the indignation of His anger
And the flame of a devouring fire,
With scattering, tempest, pand hailstones.
31 For qthrough the voice of the Lord
Assyria will be 9beaten down,
As He strikes with the rrod.
32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes,
Which the Lord lays on him,
It will be with tambourines and harps;
And in battles of sbrandishing He will fight with it.
33 tFor Tophet was established of old,
Yes, for the king it is prepared.
He has made it deep and large;
Its pyre is fire with much wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone,
Kindles it.
31 Woe to those awho go down to Egypt for help,
And brely on horses,
Who trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
cNor seek the Lord!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
And dwill not 1call back His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out His hand,
Both he who helps will fall,
And he who is helped will fall down;
They all will perish etogether.
4 For thus the Lord has spoken to me:
f“As a lion roars,
And a young lion over his prey
(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,
He will not be afraid of their voice
Nor be disturbed by their noise),
So the Lord of hosts will come down
To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 gLike birds flying about,
So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem.
Defending, He will also deliver it;
Passing over, He will preserve it.”
6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have hdeeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall ithrow away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—jsin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8 “Then Assyria shall kfall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of mankind shall ldevour him.
But he shall flee from the sword,
And his young men shall become forced labor.
9 mHe shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,
And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”
Says the Lord,
Whose fire is in Zion
And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
32 Behold, aa king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And ba 1cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 cThe eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 Also the heart of the 2rash will dunderstand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5 The foolish person will no longer be called 3generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work einiquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with flying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8 But a 4generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
9 Rise up, you women gwho are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 hOn the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in ithe joyous city;
14 jBecause the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15 Until kthe Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And lthe wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 mThe work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet nresting places,
19 oThough hail comes down pon the forest,
And the city is brought low in humiliation.
20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send out freely the feet of qthe ox and the donkey.
33 Woe to you awho plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
bWhen you cease plundering,
You will be cplundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
dWe have waited for You.
Be 1their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3 At the noise of the tumult the people eshall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall …