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Isaiah 28:14-30:11
New American Standard Bible
Isaiah 28:14-30:11
New American Standard Bible
Judah Is Warned
14 Therefore, (A)hear the word of the Lord, you (B)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (C)covenant with death,
And with [a]Sheol we have made a [b]pact.
(D)The [c]gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made (E)falsehood our refuge and we have (F)concealed ourselves with deception.”
16 Therefore this is what the Lord [d]God says:
“(G)Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested (H)stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, [e]firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be [f]disturbed.
17 I will make (I)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (J)hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (K)covenant with death will be [g](L)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the (M)[h]gushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its (N)trampling ground.
19 As (O)often as it passes through, it will [i]seize you;
For (P)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [j]sheer (Q)terror to understand [k]what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (R)blanket is too [l]small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (S)Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of (T)Gibeon,
To do His (U)task, His [m](V)unusual task,
And to work His work, His [n]extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as (W)scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord [o]God of armies
Of decisive (X)destruction on all the earth.
23 Listen and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the [p]farmer plow [q]continually to plant seed?
Does he continually [r]turn and break up his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter (Y)cumin
And [s]plant (Z)wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its [t]area?
26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
27 For dill is not threshed with a (AA)threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel [u]driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually [v]damage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
29 This also comes from the Lord of armies,
Who has made His counsel (AB)wonderful and His wisdom (AC)great.
Jerusalem Is Warned
29 Woe, [w]Ariel, [x]Ariel the city where David once (AD)camped!
Add year to year, [y](AE)keep your feasts on schedule.
2 I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of grieving and (AF)mourning;
And she will be like an [z]Ariel to me.
3 I will (AG)camp against you [aa]encircling you,
And I will set up siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4 Then you will (AH)be 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 [ab]spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 But the multitude of your [ac]enemies will become like fine (AI)dust,
And the multitude of the (AJ)ruthless ones like the chaff which [ad]blows away;
And it will happen (AK)instantly, suddenly.
6 From the Lord of armies you will be (AL)punished with (AM)thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7 And the (AN)multitude of all the nations who wage war against [ae]Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a (AO)vision of the night.
8 It will be as when a hungry person dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his [af]hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty person dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his [ag]thirst is not quenched.
(AP)So will the multitude of all the nations be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.
9 (AQ)Be delayed and horrified,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They (AR)become drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep (AS)sleep,
He has (AT)shut 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 [ah](AU)book, which, when they give it to the one who [ai]is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” 12 Then the [aj]book will be given to the one who [ak]is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I [al]cannot read.”
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because (AV)this people approaches Me with their [am]words
And honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me,
And their [an]reverence for Me [ao]consists of the commandment of men that is taught;
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal (AW)marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And (AX)the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.”
15 Woe to those who deeply (AY)hide their [ap]plans from the Lord,
And whose (AZ)deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “(BA)Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered [aq]as equal with the clay,
That (BB)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”?
Blessing after Discipline
17 Is it not yet just a little while
[ar]Before Lebanon will be turned into a (BC)fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day those who are (BD)deaf will hear (BE)words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the (BF)eyes of those who are blind will see.
19 The (BG)afflicted also will increase their joy in the Lord,
And the (BH)needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the (BI)ruthless will come to an end and the (BJ)scorner will be finished,
Indeed (BK)all who [as]are intent on doing evil will be eliminated,
21 Who [at]cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And (BL)set a trap for the arbitrator at the gate,
And [au](BM)defraud the one in the right with [av]meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed (BN)Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob (BO)will not be ashamed now, nor will his face turn pale now;
23 But when [aw]he sees his (BP)children, the (BQ)work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will (BR)sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who (BS)err in [ax]mind will (BT)know [ay]the truth,
And those who [az]criticize will [ba](BU)accept instruction.
Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance
30 “Woe to the (BV)rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who (BW)execute a plan, but not Mine,
And [bb](BX)make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
2 Who (BY)proceed down to Egypt
Without (BZ)consulting [bc]Me,
(CA)To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh,
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be (CB)your shame,
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4 For (CC)their officials are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5 Everyone will be (CD)ashamed because of a people who do not benefit them,
Who are (CE)not a help or benefit, but a source of shame and also disgrace.”
6 The pronouncement concerning the (CF)animals of the (CG)Negev:
Through a land of (CH)distress and anguish,
From [bd]where come lioness and lion, viper and (CI)flying serpent,
They (CJ)carry their riches on the [be]backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on (CK)camels’ humps,
To a people who will not benefit them;
7 Even Egypt, whose (CL)help is vain and empty.
Therefore, I have called [bf]her
“[bg](CM)Rahab who has been exterminated.”
8 Now go, (CN)write it on a tablet in their presence
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may [bh]serve in the time to come
[bi]As a witness forever.
9 For this is a (CO)rebellious people, (CP)false sons,
Sons who [bj]refuse to (CQ)listen
To the [bk]instruction of the Lord;
10 Who say to the (CR)seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not (CS)prophesy the truth to us.
(CT)Speak to us [bl]pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way, (CU)turn aside from the path,
(CV)Stop speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel!”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:15 I.e., the netherworld
- Isaiah 28:15 As in some ancient versions; MT seer
- Isaiah 28:15 Or overwhelming scourge
- Isaiah 28:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit well-laid
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit in a hurry
- Isaiah 28:18 Lit covered over
- Isaiah 28:18 Or overwhelming scourge
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit take
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit only
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit the report; or the message
- Isaiah 28:20 Lit narrow
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit task is strange
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit work is foreign
- Isaiah 28:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 28:24 Lit plowman
- Isaiah 28:24 Lit all day
- Isaiah 28:24 Lit open
- Isaiah 28:25 Lit put
- Isaiah 28:25 Lit region
- Isaiah 28:27 Lit rolled
- Isaiah 28:28 Lit discomfit
- Isaiah 29:1 I.e., Lion of God, or Jerusalem
- Isaiah 29:1 I.e., Lion of God, or Jerusalem
- Isaiah 29:1 Lit let your feasts run their round
- Isaiah 29:2 Ariel (i.e., Jerusalem) is a Heb word for “altar hearth” where offerings were burned
- Isaiah 29:3 Lit like a circle
- Isaiah 29:4 Or ghost
- Isaiah 29:5 Lit strangers
- Isaiah 29:5 Lit passes away
- Isaiah 29:7 See note 1 v 1
- Isaiah 29:8 Lit soul
- Isaiah 29:8 Lit soul
- Isaiah 29:11 Or scroll
- Isaiah 29:11 Lit knows books
- Isaiah 29:12 Or scroll
- Isaiah 29:12 Lit does not know books
- Isaiah 29:12 Lit do not know books
- Isaiah 29:13 Lit mouth
- Isaiah 29:13 Lit fear of Me
- Isaiah 29:13 Lit is
- Isaiah 29:15 Lit counsel
- Isaiah 29:16 Lit like
- Isaiah 29:17 Lit And
- Isaiah 29:20 Lit watch evil
- Isaiah 29:21 Lit bring a person under condemnation
- Isaiah 29:21 Lit turn aside
- Isaiah 29:21 Lit confusion
- Isaiah 29:23 Or his children see
- Isaiah 29:24 Lit spirit
- Isaiah 29:24 Lit understanding
- Isaiah 29:24 Lit murmur
- Isaiah 29:24 Lit learn
- Isaiah 30:1 Lit pour out a drink offering
- Isaiah 30:2 Lit My mouth
- Isaiah 30:6 Lit them
- Isaiah 30:6 Lit shoulders
- Isaiah 30:7 Lit this one
- Isaiah 30:7 MT They are Rahab or arrogance, to remain; i.e., Egypt, as a sea monster; see note Job 26:12
- Isaiah 30:8 Lit be
- Isaiah 30:8 As in most ancient versions; MT Forever and ever
- Isaiah 30:9 Lit are not willing
- Isaiah 30:9 Or Law
- Isaiah 30:10 Lit smooth things
Isaiah 28:14-30:11
New International Version
Isaiah 28:14-30:11
New International Version
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(A) you scoffers(B)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(C)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(D)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(E) our refuge
and falsehood[a] our hiding place.(F)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(G) a tested stone,(H)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(I)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(J)
17 I will make justice(K) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(L)
hail(M) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(N) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(O)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(P)
you will be beaten down(Q) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(R)
morning after morning,(S) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(T)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(U)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(V)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(W)—
to do his work,(X) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(Y)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(Z) against the whole land.(AA)
23 Listen(AB) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(AC) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(AD)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[b]
barley(AE) in its plot,[c]
and spelt(AF) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(AG) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(AH) with a sledge,(AI)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(AJ)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(AK) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(AL)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(AM)
Woe to David’s City
29 Woe(AN) to you, Ariel, Ariel,(AO)
the city(AP) where David settled!
Add year to year
and let your cycle of festivals(AQ) go on.
2 Yet I will besiege Ariel;(AR)
she will mourn and lament,(AS)
she will be to me like an altar hearth.[d](AT)
3 I will encamp against you on all sides;
I will encircle(AU) you with towers
and set up my siege works(AV) against you.
4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
your speech will mumble(AW) out of the dust.(AX)
Your voice will come ghostlike(AY) from the earth;
out of the dust your speech will whisper.(AZ)
5 But your many enemies will become like fine dust,(BA)
the ruthless(BB) hordes like blown chaff.(BC)
Suddenly,(BD) in an instant,
6 the Lord Almighty will come(BE)
with thunder(BF) and earthquake(BG) and great noise,
with windstorm and tempest(BH) and flames of a devouring fire.(BI)
7 Then the hordes of all the nations(BJ) that fight against Ariel,(BK)
that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,(BL)
with a vision in the night—
8 as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
but awakens(BM) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
but awakens faint and thirsty still.(BN)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.(BO)
9 Be stunned and amazed,(BP)
blind yourselves and be sightless;(BQ)
be drunk,(BR) but not from wine,(BS)
stagger,(BT) but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:(BU)
He has sealed your eyes(BV) (the prophets);(BW)
he has covered your heads (the seers).(BX)
11 For you this whole vision(BY) is nothing but words sealed(BZ) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
13 The Lord says:
“These people(CA) come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,(CB)
but their hearts are far from me.(CC)
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[e](CD)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;(CE)
the wisdom of the wise(CF) will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.(CG)”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide(CH) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us?(CI) Who will know?”(CJ)
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(CK)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(CL) it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(CM)
“You know nothing”?(CN)
17 In a very short time,(CO) will not Lebanon(CP) be turned into a fertile field(CQ)
and the fertile field seem like a forest?(CR)
18 In that day(CS) the deaf(CT) will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness(CU)
the eyes of the blind will see.(CV)
19 Once more the humble(CW) will rejoice in the Lord;
the needy(CX) will rejoice in the Holy One(CY) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(CZ) will vanish,(DA)
the mockers(DB) will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil(DC) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in court(DD)
and with false testimony(DE) deprive the innocent of justice.(DF)
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(DG) Abraham,(DH) says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(DI)
no longer will their faces grow pale.(DJ)
23 When they see among them their children,(DK)
the work of my hands,(DL)
they will keep my name holy;(DM)
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(DN) of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(DO) in spirit will gain understanding;(DP)
those who complain will accept instruction.”(DQ)
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
30 “Woe(DR) to the obstinate children,”(DS)
declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance,(DT) but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt(DU)
without consulting(DV) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(DW)
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(DX)
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade(DY) will bring you disgrace.(DZ)
4 Though they have officials in Zoan(EA)
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people(EB) useless(EC) to them,
who bring neither help(ED) nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.(EE)”
6 A prophecy(EF) concerning the animals of the Negev:(EG)
Through a land of hardship and distress,(EH)
of lions(EI) and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,(EJ)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(EK) backs,
their treasures(EL) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(EM)
Therefore I call her
Rahab(EN) the Do-Nothing.
8 Go now, write it on a tablet(EO) for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,(EP)
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.(EQ)
9 For these are rebellious(ER) people, deceitful(ES) children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(ET)
10 They say to the seers,(EU)
“See no more visions(EV)!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(EW)
prophesy illusions.(EX)
11 Leave this way,(EY)
get off this path,
and stop confronting(EZ) us
with the Holy One(FA) of Israel!”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 29:2 The Hebrew for altar hearth sounds like the Hebrew for Ariel.
- Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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