Isaiah 29
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Siege of Jerusalem
29 Ho Ariel, Ariel,
the city where David encamped!
Add year to year;
let the feasts run their round.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel,
and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
and she shall be to me like an Ariel.
3 And I will encamp against you round about,
and will besiege you with towers
and I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 Then deep from the earth you shall speak,
from low in the dust your words shall come;
your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,
and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
5 But the multitude of your foes[a] shall be like small dust,
and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.
And in an instant, suddenly,
6 you will be visited by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,
shall be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 As when a hungry man dreams he is eating
and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,
or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking
and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that fight against Mount Zion.
9 Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor,
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine;
stagger, but not with strong drink!
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes, the prophets,
and covered your heads, the seers.
11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote;
14 therefore, behold, I will again
do marvelous things with this people,
wonderful and marvelous;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid.”
15 Woe to those who hide deep from the Lord their counsel,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay;
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
Hope for the Future
17 Is it not yet a very little while
until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
18 In that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless shall come to nought and the scoffer cease,
and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
21 who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:5 Cn: Heb strangers
Isaiah 29
New King James Version
Woe to Jerusalem
29 “Woe (A)to [a]Ariel, to Ariel, the city (B)where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.
3 I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 You shall be brought down,
You shall speak out of the ground;
Your speech shall be low, out of the dust;
Your voice shall be like a medium’s, (C)out of the ground;
And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
5 “Moreover the multitude of your (D)foes
Shall be like fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible ones
Like (E)chaff that passes away;
Yes, it shall be (F)in an instant, suddenly.
6 (G)You will be punished by the Lord of hosts
With thunder and (H)earthquake and great noise,
With storm and tempest
And the flame of devouring fire.
7 (I)The multitude of all the nations who fight against [b]Ariel,
Even all who fight against her and her fortress,
And distress her,
Shall be (J)as a dream of a night vision.
8 (K)It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look—he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look—he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves:
So the multitude of all the nations shall be,
Who fight against Mount Zion.”
The Blindness of Disobedience
9 Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
(L)They are drunk, (M)but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For (N)the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has (O)closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, (P)the seers.
11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a [c]book (Q)that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.”
(R)And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
12 Then the book is delivered to one who [d]is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I am not literate.”
13 Therefore the Lord said:
(S)“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me (T)with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 (U)Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
(V)For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
15 (W)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(X)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 (Y)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 (Z)Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
18 (AA)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 (AB)The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And (AC)the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the [e]terrible one is brought to nothing,
(AD)The scornful one is consumed,
And all who (AE)watch for iniquity are cut off—
21 Who make a man an offender by a word,
And (AF)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just (AG)by empty words.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (AH)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall not now be (AI)ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;
23 But when he sees his children,
(AJ)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 (AK)who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:1 Jerusalem, lit. Lion of God
- Isaiah 29:7 Jerusalem
- Isaiah 29:11 scroll
- Isaiah 29:12 Lit. does not know books
- Isaiah 29:20 terrifying
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
