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Isaiah 29:13–16

13 And so the Lord says,

“These people say they are mine.

They honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

And their worship of me

is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.*

14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites

with amazing wonders.

The wisdom of the wise will pass away,

and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”

15 What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord,

who do their evil deeds in the dark!

“The Lord can’t see us,” they say.

“He doesn’t know what’s going on!”

16 How foolish can you be?

He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!

Should the created thing say of the one who made it,

“He didn’t make me”?

Does a jar ever say,

“The potter who made me is stupid”?

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Isaiah 29:13–16 — The New International Version (NIV)

13 The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth

and honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship of me

is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

14 Therefore once more I will astound these people

with wonder upon wonder;

the wisdom of the wise will perish,

the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

15 Woe to those who go to great depths

to hide their plans from the Lord,

who do their work in darkness and think,

“Who sees us? Who will know?”

16 You turn things upside down,

as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!

Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,

“You did not make me”?

Can the pot say to the potter,

“You know nothing”?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — English Standard Version (ESV)

13 And the Lord said:

“Because this people draw near 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 again

do wonderful things with this people,

with wonder upon wonder;

and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,

and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,

whose deeds are in the dark,

and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

16 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”?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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:

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.

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?

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?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths

And honor Me with their lips,

But have removed their hearts far from Me,

And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work

Among this people,

A marvelous work and a wonder;

For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,

And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

15 Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,

And their works are in the dark;

They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

16 Surely you have things turned around!

Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;

For shall the thing made say of him who made it,

“He did not make me”?

Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,

“He has no understanding”?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — New Century Version (NCV)

13 The Lord says:

“These people worship me with their mouths,

and honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is based on

nothing but human rules.

14 So I will continue to amaze these people

by doing more and more miracles.

Their wise men will lose their wisdom;

their wise men will not be able to understand.”

15 How terrible it will be for those who try

to hide things from the Lord

and who do their work in darkness.

They think no one will see them or know what they do.

16 You are confused.

You think the clay is equal to the potter.

You think that an object can tell the one who made it,

“You didn’t make me.”

This is like a pot telling its maker,

“You don’t know anything.”

Isaiah 29:13–16 — American Standard Version (ASV)

13 And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been taught them; 14 therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

15 Woe unto them that hide deep their counsel from Jehovah, and whose works are in the dark, and that say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Ye turn things upside down! Shall the potter be esteemed as clay; that the thing made should say of him that made it, He made me not; or the thing formed say of him that formed it, He hath no understanding?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

13 And the Lord saith, Forasmuch as this people draw near with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their heart is removed far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught of men; 14 therefore, behold, I will proceed to do marvellously with this people, to do marvellously, even with wonder, and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their intelligent ones shall be hid. 15 Woe unto them that hide deep, far from Jehovah, their counsel! And their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Oh your perverseness! —Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay, so that the work should say of him that made it, He made me not; or the thing formed say of him that formed it, He hath no understanding?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

13 The Lord says, 

“These people worship me with their mouths 

and honor me with their lips. 

But their hearts are far from me, 

and their worship of me is ⸤based on⸥ rules made by humans. 

14 That is why I am going to do something completely amazing 

for these people once again. 

The wisdom of their wise people will disappear. 

The intelligence of their intelligent people will be hidden.” 

15 How horrible it will be for those 

who try to hide their plans from the Lord

Their deeds are done in the dark, 

and they say, “No one can see us” 

and “No one can recognize us.” 

16 You turn things upside down! 

Is the potter no better than his clay? 

Can something that has been made 

say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”? 

Can a piece of pottery 

say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”? 

Isaiah 29:13–16 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13 The Lord said:

Because these people approach Me with their mouths

to honor Me with lip-service —

yet their hearts are far from Me,

and their worship consists of man-made rules

learned by rote—

14 therefore I will again confound these people

with wonder after wonder.

The wisdom of their wise men will vanish,

and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden.

15 Woe to those who go to great lengths

to hide their plans from the Lord.

They do their works in darkness,

and say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

16 You have turned things around,

as if the potter were the same as the clay.

How can what is made say about its maker,

“He didn’t make me”?

How can what is formed

say about the one who formed it,

“He doesn’t understand what he’s doing”?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 The Lord said:

Because these people draw near with their mouths

and honor me with their lips,

while their hearts are far from me,

and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote;

14 so I will again do

amazing things with this people,

shocking and amazing.

The wisdom of their wise shall perish,

and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.

15 Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the Lord,

whose deeds are in the dark,

and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

16 You turn things upside down!

Shall the potter be regarded as the clay?

Shall the thing made say of its maker,

“He did not make me”;

or the thing formed say of the one who formed it,

“He has no understanding”?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

13 And the Lord said,

“Because this people draw near with its mouth,

and with its lips it honors me,

and its heart is far from me,

and their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught,

14 therefore look, I am again doing something spectacular

and a spectacle with this spectacular people.

And the wisdom of its wise men shall perish,

and the discernment of its discerning ones shall keep itself hidden.”

15 Ah! Those who make a plan deep, to hide it from Yahweh,

and their deeds are in a dark place.

And they say, “Who sees us?

And who knows us?”

16 Your perversity!

As if a potter shall be regarded as the clay!

That the product of its maker says,

“He did not make me,”

and the thing made into shape says of its potter,

“He has no understanding.”

Isaiah 29:13–16 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

13 The Lord says,

“These people worship me only with their words.

They honor me by what they say.

But their hearts are far away from me.

Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.

They teach nothing but human rules.

14 So once more I will shock these people

with many wonderful acts.

I will destroy the wisdom of those who think they are so wise.

I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart.”

15 How terrible it will be for people who do everything they can

to hide their plans from the Lord!

They do their work in darkness.

They think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”

16 They turn everything upside down.

How silly they are to think that potters are like the clay they work with!

Can what is made say to the one who made it,

“You didn’t make me”?

Can the pot say to the potter,

“You don’t know anything”?

Isaiah 29:13–16 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

13 Then the Lord said,

Because this people draw near with their words

And honor Me with their lip service,

But they remove their hearts far from Me,

And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;

And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,

And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

15 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,

And whose deeds are done in a dark place,

And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

16 You turn things around!

Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,

That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;

Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?


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