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Isaiah 29
New American Standard Bible
Isaiah 29
New American Standard Bible
Jerusalem Is Warned
29 Woe, [a]Ariel, [b]Ariel the city where David once (A)camped!
Add year to year, [c](B)keep your feasts on schedule.
2 I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of grieving and (C)mourning;
And she will be like an [d]Ariel to me.
3 I will (D)camp against you [e]encircling you,
And I will set up siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4 Then you will (E)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 [f]spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 But the multitude of your [g]enemies will become like fine (F)dust,
And the multitude of the (G)ruthless ones like the chaff which [h]blows away;
And it will happen (H)instantly, suddenly.
6 From the Lord of armies you will be (I)punished with (J)thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7 And the (K)multitude of all the nations who wage war against [i]Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a (L)vision of the night.
8 It will be as when a hungry person dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his [j]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 [k]thirst is not quenched.
(M)So will the multitude of all the nations be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.
9 (N)Be delayed and horrified,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They (O)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 (P)sleep,
He has (Q)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 [l](R)book, which, when they give it to the one who [m]is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” 12 Then the [n]book will be given to the one who [o]is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I [p]cannot read.”
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because (S)this people approaches Me with their [q]words
And honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me,
And their [r]reverence for Me [s]consists of the commandment of men that is taught;
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal (T)marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And (U)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 (V)hide their [t]plans from the Lord,
And whose (W)deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “(X)Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered [u]as equal with the clay,
That (Y)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
[v]Before Lebanon will be turned into a (Z)fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day those who are (AA)deaf will hear (AB)words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the (AC)eyes of those who are blind will see.
19 The (AD)afflicted also will increase their joy in the Lord,
And the (AE)needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the (AF)ruthless will come to an end and the (AG)scorner will be finished,
Indeed (AH)all who [w]are intent on doing evil will be eliminated,
21 Who [x]cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And (AI)set a trap for the arbitrator at the gate,
And [y](AJ)defraud the one in the right with [z]meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed (AK)Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob (AL)will not be ashamed now, nor will his face turn pale now;
23 But when [aa]he sees his (AM)children, the (AN)work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will (AO)sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who (AP)err in [ab]mind will (AQ)know [ac]the truth,
And those who [ad]criticize will [ae](AR)accept instruction.
Footnotes
- 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 29
New International Version
Isaiah 29
New International Version
Woe to David’s City
29 Woe(A) to you, Ariel, Ariel,(B)
the city(C) where David settled!
Add year to year
and let your cycle of festivals(D) go on.
2 Yet I will besiege Ariel;(E)
she will mourn and lament,(F)
she will be to me like an altar hearth.[a](G)
3 I will encamp against you on all sides;
I will encircle(H) you with towers
and set up my siege works(I) against you.
4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
your speech will mumble(J) out of the dust.(K)
Your voice will come ghostlike(L) from the earth;
out of the dust your speech will whisper.(M)
5 But your many enemies will become like fine dust,(N)
the ruthless(O) hordes like blown chaff.(P)
Suddenly,(Q) in an instant,
6 the Lord Almighty will come(R)
with thunder(S) and earthquake(T) and great noise,
with windstorm and tempest(U) and flames of a devouring fire.(V)
7 Then the hordes of all the nations(W) that fight against Ariel,(X)
that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,(Y)
with a vision in the night—
8 as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
but awakens(Z) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
but awakens faint and thirsty still.(AA)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.(AB)
9 Be stunned and amazed,(AC)
blind yourselves and be sightless;(AD)
be drunk,(AE) but not from wine,(AF)
stagger,(AG) but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:(AH)
He has sealed your eyes(AI) (the prophets);(AJ)
he has covered your heads (the seers).(AK)
11 For you this whole vision(AL) is nothing but words sealed(AM) 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(AN) come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,(AO)
but their hearts are far from me.(AP)
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[b](AQ)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;(AR)
the wisdom of the wise(AS) will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.(AT)”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide(AU) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us?(AV) Who will know?”(AW)
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(AX)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(AY) it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(AZ)
“You know nothing”?(BA)
17 In a very short time,(BB) will not Lebanon(BC) be turned into a fertile field(BD)
and the fertile field seem like a forest?(BE)
18 In that day(BF) the deaf(BG) will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness(BH)
the eyes of the blind will see.(BI)
19 Once more the humble(BJ) will rejoice in the Lord;
the needy(BK) will rejoice in the Holy One(BL) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(BM) will vanish,(BN)
the mockers(BO) will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil(BP) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in court(BQ)
and with false testimony(BR) deprive the innocent of justice.(BS)
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(BT) Abraham,(BU) says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(BV)
no longer will their faces grow pale.(BW)
23 When they see among them their children,(BX)
the work of my hands,(BY)
they will keep my name holy;(BZ)
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(CA) of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(CB) in spirit will gain understanding;(CC)
those who complain will accept instruction.”(CD)
Footnotes
- 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) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.