Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 29:1–4

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Ariel is Besieged

29:1Ariel is as good as dead1—

Ariel, the town David besieged!2

Keep observing your annual rituals,

celebrate your festivals on schedule.3

29:2I will threaten Ariel,

and she will mourn intensely

and become like an altar hearth4 before me.

29:3I will lay siege to you on all sides;5

I will besiege you with troops;6

I will raise siege works against you.

29:4You will fall;

while lying on the ground7 you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard.8

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld;9

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.10

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8).
  2. 2 Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
  3. 3 Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (), 1:.
  4. 4 The term אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.
  5. 5 The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khadur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (kédavid, “like David”), which is supported by the (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
  6. 6 The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
  7. 7 Heb “from the ground” (so , ).
  8. 8 Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
  9. 9 Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in . Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
  10. 10 Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Ah, Ariel, Ariel,

the city where David encamped!

Add year to year;

let the feasts run their round.

Yet I will distress Ariel,

and there shall be moaning and lamentation,

and she shall be to me like an Ariel.

And I will encamp against you all around,

and will besiege you with towers

and I will raise siegeworks against you.

And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,

and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;

your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,

and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Woe to you, Ariel, Ariel,

the city where David settled!

Add year to year

and let your cycle of festivals go on.

Yet I will besiege Ariel;

she will mourn and lament,

she will be to me like an altar hearth.

I will encamp against you on all sides;

I will encircle you with towers

and set up my siege works against you.

Brought low, you will speak from the ground;

your speech will mumble out of the dust.

Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth;

out of the dust your speech will whisper.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Woe to Ariel, Ariel,

the city where David camped!

Continue year after year;

let the festivals recur.

I will oppress Ariel,

and there will be mourning and crying,

and she will be to me like an Ariel.

I will camp in a circle around you;

I will besiege you with earth ramps,

and I will set up my siege towers against you.

You will be brought down;

you will speak from the ground,

and your words will come from low in the dust.

Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground;

your speech will whisper from the dust.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“What sorrow awaits Ariel, the City of David.

Year after year you celebrate your feasts.

Yet I will bring disaster upon you,

and there will be much weeping and sorrow.

For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means—

an altar covered with blood.

I will be your enemy,

surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls.

I will build siege towers

and destroy it.

Then deep from the earth you will speak;

from low in the dust your words will come.

Your voice will whisper from the ground

like a ghost conjured up from the grave.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Ah! Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped!

Add year to year,

let festivals recur.

Yet I will inflict Ariel,

and there shall be mourning and lamentation,

and it shall be to me like an altar hearth.

And I will encamp in a circle against you,

and I will lay siege to you with towers

and I will raise up siegeworks against you.

Then you shall be low;

you shall speak from the earth,

and your words will be low, from dust.

And your voice will be from the earth, like a ghost,

and your word will whisper from the dust.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!

Add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

Yet I will distress Ariel,

And there shall be heaviness and sorrow:

And it shall be unto me as Ariel.

And I will camp against thee round about,

And will lay siege against thee with a mount,

And I will raise forts against thee.

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.

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