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
Common English Bible
Ariel besieged but spared
29 Oh, Ariel, Ariel,
town where David encamped!
Year by year, let the festivals come around—
2 but I will oppress Ariel.
There will be mourning and lamentation;
she will be like an Ariel to me.
3 I will surround you like a wall,
and I will lay a siege against you with assault towers,
and I will raise up siegeworks against you.
4 You will be brought down;
from the ground you will speak;
from low in the dust your speech will come.
Your voice will be like a ghost’s from the earth;
from the dust your words will whisper.
5 But your many enemies will be like fine dust,
the terrible horde like passing chaff.
Suddenly, in an instant, 6 the Lord of heavenly forces will come to you with thunder, earthquake, and a mighty voice,
with whirlwind, tempest, and flames of devouring fire.
7 The horde of nations fighting against Ariel,
and all who make war on her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 It will be like when a hungry person dreams of eating
but wakes up and the mouth is empty.
Or when a thirsty person dreams of drinking
but wakes up and has a dry throat.
So will it be for all the horde of nations
who fight against Mount Zion.
9 Be shocked and stunned;
blind yourselves; be blind!
Be drunk, but not on wine;
stagger, but not on account of beer!
10 The Lord has poured on you a spirit of deep sleep,
and has shut your eyes, you prophets,
and covered your heads, you seers.
11 This entire vision has become for you like the words of a sealed scroll. When they give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” that one will say, “I can’t, because it’s sealed.” 12 And when the scroll is given to one who can’t read, saying, “Read this,” that one will say, “I can’t read.”
The wisdom of their wise
13 The Lord says:
Since these people turn toward me with their mouths,
and honor me with lip service
while their heart is distant from me,
and their fear of me is just a human command that has been memorized,
14 I will go on doing amazing things to these people,
shocking and startling things.
The wisdom of their wise will perish,
and the discernment of their discerning will be hidden.
15 Doom to those who hide their plan deep, away from the Lord,
whose deeds are in the dark,
who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 You have everything backward!
Should the potter be thought of as clay?
Should what is made say of its maker,
“He didn’t make me”?
Should what is shaped say of the one who shaped it,
“He doesn’t understand”?
17 In just a little while won’t Lebanon become farmland once again,
and the farmland be considered a forest?
18 On that day: The deaf will hear the words of a scroll and, freed from dimness and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.
19 The poor will again find joy in the Lord,
and the neediest of people will rejoice in the holy one of Israel.
20 The tyrant will be no more,
the mocker will perish,
and all who plot evil will be eliminated:
21 all who incriminate others wrongly,
who entrap the judge in the gate,
and pointlessly postpone justice for the innocent.
22 Therefore, proclaims the Lord,
the God of[a] the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Jacob won’t be ashamed now,
and his face won’t grow pale now.
23 When he sees his children among them,
the work of my hands,
proclaiming my name holy,
they will make holy the holy one of Jacob,
and stand in awe of Israel’s God.
24 Those who wander in spirit will have understanding,
and those who grumble will gain insight.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:22 Or to
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