Chapter 29

Jerusalem Is Warned

1 Woe, O 1Ariel, 1Ariel the city where David once acamped!

Add year to year, 2bobserve your feasts on schedule.

2 I will bring distress to Ariel,

And she will be a city of lamenting and amourning;

And she will be like an Ariel to me.

3 I will acamp against you 1encircling you,

And I will set siegeworks against you,

And I will raise up battle towers against you.

4 Then you will abe brought low;

From the earth you will speak,

And from the dust where you are prostrate

Your words will come.

Your voice will also be like that of a 1spirit from the ground,

And your speech will whisper from the dust.

5 But the multitude of your 1enemies will become like fine adust,

And the multitude of the bruthless ones like the chaff which 2blows away;

And it will happen cinstantly, suddenly.

6 From the Lord of hosts you will be apunished with bthunder and earthquake and loud noise,

With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

7 And the amultitude of all the nations who wage war against 1Ariel,

Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,

Will be like a dream, a bvision of the night.

8 It will be as when a hungry man dreams—

And behold, he is eating;

But when he awakens, his 1hunger is not satisfied,

Or as when a thirsty man dreams—

And behold, he is drinking,

But when he awakens, behold, he is faint

And his 1thirst is not quenched.

aThus the multitude of all the nations will be

Who wage war against Mount Zion.

9 aBe delayed and wait,

Blind yourselves and be blind;

They bbecome drunk, but not with wine,

They stagger, but not with strong drink.

10 For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep asleep,

He has bshut your eyes, the prophets;

And He has covered your heads, the seers.

11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed 1abook, which when they give it to the one who 2is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

12 Then the 1book will be given to the one who 2is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I 3cannot read.”

13 Then the Lord said,

“Because athis people draw near with their 1words

And honor Me with their 2lip service,

But they remove their hearts far from Me,

And their 3reverence for Me 4consists of 5tradition learned by rote,

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

And bthe wisdom of their wise men will perish,

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

15 Woe to those who deeply ahide their 1plans from the Lord,

And whose bdeeds are done in a dark place,

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

16 You turn things around!

Shall the potter be considered 1as equal with the clay,

That awhat 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”?

Blessing after Discipline

17 Is it not yet just a little while

1Before Lebanon will be turned into a afertile field,

And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

18 On that day the adeaf will hear bwords of a book,

And out of their gloom and darkness the ceyes of the blind will see.

19 The aafflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,

And the bneedy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

20 For the aruthless will come to an end and the bscorner will be finished,

Indeed call who 1are intent on doing evil will be cut off;

21 Who 1cause a person to be indicted by a word,

And aensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,

And 2bdefraud the one in the right with 3meaningless arguments.

22 Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed aAbraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob bshall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;

23 But when 1he sees his achildren, the bwork of My hands, in his midst,

They will sanctify My name;

Indeed, they will csanctify the Holy One of Jacob

And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

24 “Those who aerr in 1mind will bknow 2the truth,

And those who 3criticize will 4caccept instruction.