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Isaiah 29:9-24
New King James Version
Isaiah 29:9-24
New King James Version
The Blindness of Disobedience
9 Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
(A)They are drunk, (B)but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For (C)the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has (D)closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, (E)the seers.
11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a [a]book (F)that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.”
(G)And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
12 Then the book is delivered to one who [b]is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I am not literate.”
13 Therefore the Lord said:
(H)“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me (I)with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 (J)Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
(K)For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
15 (L)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(M)They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the (N)thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
Future Recovery of Wisdom
17 Is it not yet a very little while
Till (O)Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
18 (P)In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 (Q)The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And (R)the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the [c]terrible one is brought to nothing,
(S)The scornful one is consumed,
And all who (T)watch for iniquity are cut off—
21 Who make a man an offender by a word,
And (U)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just (V)by empty words.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (W)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall not now be (X)ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;
23 But when he sees his children,
(Y)The work of My hands, in his midst,
They will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And fear the God of Israel.
24 These also (Z)who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:11 scroll
- Isaiah 29:12 Lit. does not know books
- Isaiah 29:20 terrifying
Isaiah 29:9-24
New International Version
Isaiah 29:9-24
New International Version
9 Be stunned and amazed,(A)
blind yourselves and be sightless;(B)
be drunk,(C) but not from wine,(D)
stagger,(E) but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:(F)
He has sealed your eyes(G) (the prophets);(H)
he has covered your heads (the seers).(I)
11 For you this whole vision(J) is nothing but words sealed(K) 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(L) come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,(M)
but their hearts are far from me.(N)
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[a](O)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;(P)
the wisdom of the wise(Q) will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.(R)”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide(S) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us?(T) Who will know?”(U)
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(V)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(W) it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(X)
“You know nothing”?(Y)
17 In a very short time,(Z) will not Lebanon(AA) be turned into a fertile field(AB)
and the fertile field seem like a forest?(AC)
18 In that day(AD) the deaf(AE) will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness(AF)
the eyes of the blind will see.(AG)
19 Once more the humble(AH) will rejoice in the Lord;
the needy(AI) will rejoice in the Holy One(AJ) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(AK) will vanish,(AL)
the mockers(AM) will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evil(AN) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in court(AO)
and with false testimony(AP) deprive the innocent of justice.(AQ)
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(AR) Abraham,(AS) says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(AT)
no longer will their faces grow pale.(AU)
23 When they see among them their children,(AV)
the work of my hands,(AW)
they will keep my name holy;(AX)
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(AY) of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(AZ) in spirit will gain understanding;(BA)
those who complain will accept instruction.”(BB)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.