Isaiah 29

¹Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, The city where David dwelt! Add year to year, Let the festivals go round,

²Then will I distress Ariel; Mourning and sorrow shall be there; Yet shall she be to me as Ariel [the lion of God].

³I will encamp against thee round about, And I will lay siege against thee with a mound, And I will raise towers against thee.

⁴Thou shalt be brought down, and speak from the ground, And thy speech shall be low from the dust; Thy voice shall be like that of a spirit under ground, And thy speech shall chirp as from the dust.

⁵Yet shall the multitude of thine enemies be like fine dust; The multitude of the terrible like flying chaff; It shall take place suddenly, in a moment.

⁶From Jehovah of hosts cometh the visitation With thunder, and earthquake, and great noise, With storm and tempest, And flames of devouring fire.

⁷As a dream, a vision of the night, Shall be the multitude of all the nations That fight against Ariel, That fight against her and her fortress, And distress her.

⁸As a hungry man dreameth, and lo! he eateth, But awaketh and is still hungry; And as a thirsty man dreameth, and lo! he drinketh, But awaketh, and lo! he is faint and thirsty; So shall it be with the multitude of all the nations That fight against mount Zion.

⁹Be in amazement and be amazed! Be blinded and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong drink!

¹⁰For Jehovah hath poured upon you a spirit of slumber; He hath closed your eyes, the prophets, And covered your heads, the seers;

¹¹And so every vision is to you as the words of a sealed book, Which is given to a man that is skilled in writing, Saying, "Read this, I pray thee"; But he answereth, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

¹²Or, if he give it to one that is not skilled in writing, Saying, "Read this, I pray thee," He answereth, "I am not skilled in writing."

¹³Therefore saith the Lord, Since this people draweth near to me with their mouth, And honoreth me with their lips, While their heart is far from me, And their worship of me is according to the commandments of men,

¹⁴Therefore, behold, I will proceed to deal marvellously with this people; Marvellously and wonderfully, For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the prudence of the prudent shall be hid.

¹⁵Woe to them that hide deep their purposes from Jehovah, Whose work is in darkness; That say, Who seeth us? Who knoweth us?

¹⁶Alas, your perverseness! Is the potter to be esteemed as the clay, That the work should say of its maker, He made me not? And the thing formed say of him that formed it, He hath no understanding?

¹⁷Is it not yet a very little while, And Lebanon shall be changed to a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed a forest.

¹⁸And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, And out of mist and darkness shall the eyes of the blind see.

¹⁹The afflicted shall exceedingly rejoice in Jehovah, And the poor shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰For the oppressor hath come to naught; the scoffer is destroyed; And all that watched for iniquity are cut off;

²¹Who condemned a man in his cause, And laid snares for him who defended himself in the gate, And with falsehood caused the righteous to fail.

²²Therefore concerning the house of Jacob thus saith Jehovah, He that redeemed Abraham: No more shall Jacob be ashamed, And no more shall his face grow pale.

²³For when his children behold the work of my hands in the midst of them, They shall honor my name. They shall honor the Holy One of Jacob, And reverence the God of Israel.

²⁴They that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, And the obstinate shall receive instruction.

Isaiah 29

¹Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

²Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

³And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

⁴And 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.

⁵Moreover 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.

⁶Thou 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.

⁷And 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.

⁸It 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.

⁹Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

¹⁰For 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.

¹¹And 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:

¹²And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

¹³Wherefore 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:

¹⁴Therefore, 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.

¹⁵Woe 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?

¹⁶Surely 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?

¹⁷Is 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?

¹⁸And 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.

¹⁹The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

²¹That 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.

²²Therefore 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.

²³But 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.

²⁴They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.