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Isaiah 30
Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 30
Christian Standard Bible
Condemnation of the Egyptian Alliance
30 Woe to the rebellious children!(A)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They carry out a plan,(B) but not mine;
they make an alliance,
but against my will,
piling sin on top of sin.
2 Without asking my advice
they set out to go down to Egypt(C)
in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.(D)
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame,
and refuge in Egypt’s shadow your humiliation.(E)
4 For though his[a] princes are at Zoan(F)
and his messengers reach as far as Hanes,
5 everyone will be ashamed
because of a people who can’t help.
They are of no benefit, they are no help;
they are good for nothing but shame and disgrace.(G)
6 A pronouncement(H) concerning the animals of the Negev:[b]
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and lion,
of viper and flying serpent,(I)
they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people who will not help them.
7 Egypt’s help is completely worthless;
therefore, I call her:
Rahab Who Just Sits.(J)
8 Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence
and inscribe it on a scroll;
it will be for the future,
forever and ever.
9 They are a rebellious people,
deceptive children,(K)
children who do not want to listen to the Lord’s instruction.
10 They say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets,
“Do not prophesy the truth to us.
Tell us flattering things.(L)
Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way!
Leave the pathway.
Rid us of the Holy One of Israel.”(M)
12 Therefore the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message
and have trusted in oppression and deceit,
and have depended on them,
13 this iniquity(N) of yours will be
like a crumbling gap,
a bulge in a high wall
whose collapse will come in an instant—suddenly!
14 Its collapse will be like the shattering
of a potter’s jar,(O) crushed to pieces,
so that not even a fragment of pottery
will be found among its shattered remains—
no fragment large enough to take fire from a hearth
or scoop water from a cistern.”
15 For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said:
“You will be delivered by returning and resting;
your strength will lie in quiet confidence.
But you are not willing.”
16 You say, “No!
We will escape on horses”—
therefore you will escape!—
and, “We will ride on fast horses”—
but those who pursue you will be faster.(P)
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one,(Q)
at the threat of five you will flee,
until you remain
like a solitary pole on a mountaintop
or a banner on a hill.
The Lord’s Mercy to Israel
18 Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,(R)
for the Lord is a just God.
All who wait patiently for him are happy.
19 For people will live on Zion in Jerusalem. You will never weep again; he will show favor to you at the sound of your outcry; as soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 The Lord will give you meager bread and water during oppression,(S) but your Teacher[c] will not hide any longer. Your eyes will see your Teacher, 21 and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”(T) 22 Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth.
23 Then he will send rain for your seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food, the produce of the ground, will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.(U) 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel(V) and fork. 25 Streams flowing with water will be on every high mountain and every raised hill on the day of great slaughter when the towers fall. 26 The moonlight will be as bright as the sunlight, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter(W)—like the light of seven days—on the day(X) that the Lord bandages his people’s injuries and heals the wounds he inflicted.(Y)
Annihilation of the Assyrians
27 Look! The name of the Lord is coming from far away,
his anger burning and heavy with smoke.[d]
His lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent(Z)
that rises to the neck.(AA)
He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction
and to put a bridle on the jaws of the peoples
to lead them astray.(AB)
29 Your singing will be like that
on the night of a holy festival,
and your heart will rejoice
like one who walks to the music of a flute,
going up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.(AC)
30 And the Lord will make the splendor of his voice heard
and reveal his arm(AD) striking in angry wrath
and a flame of consuming fire,
in driving rain, a torrent, and hailstones.
31 Assyria will be shattered by the voice of the Lord.
He will strike with a rod.
32 And every stroke of the appointed[e] staff
that the Lord brings down on him
will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres;
he will fight against him with brandished weapons.
33 Indeed! Topheth has been ready(AE)
for the king for a long time.
Its funeral pyre is deep and wide,
with plenty of fire and wood.
The breath of the Lord,(AF) like a torrent of burning sulfur,
kindles it.
Isaiah 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Futility of Reliance on Egypt
30 Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord,
who carry out a plan but not mine;
who make an alliance but against my will,
adding sin to sin;(A)
2 who set out to go down to Egypt
without asking for my counsel,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt.(B)
3 Therefore the protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame,
and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation.(C)
4 For though his officials are at Zoan
and his envoys reach Hanes,(D)
5 everyone comes to shame
through a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
only shame and disgrace.(E)
6 An oracle concerning the animals of the Negeb.
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and roaring[a] lion,
of viper and flying serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels
to a people that cannot profit them.(F)
7 For Egypt’s help is worthless and empty;
therefore I have called her,
“Rahab who sits still.”[b](G)
A Rebellious People
8 Go now, write it before them on a tablet,
and inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.(H)
9 For they are a rebellious people,
faithless children,
children who will not hear
the instruction of the Lord;(I)
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things;
prophesy illusions;(J)
11 leave the way; turn aside from the path;
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”(K)
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word
and put your trust in oppression and deceit
and rely on them,(L)
13 therefore this iniquity shall become for you
like a break in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant;(M)
14 its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a sherd is found
for taking fire from the hearth
or dipping water out of the cistern.(N)
15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
But you refused(O) 16 and said,
‘No! We will flee upon horses’—
therefore you shall flee!
and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds’—
therefore your pursuers shall be swift!(P)
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee
until you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.(Q)
God’s Promise to Zion
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.(R)
19 O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.(S) 20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any longer, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.(T) 21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”(U) 22 Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like impure things; you will say to them, “Away with you!”(V)
23 He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures,(W) 24 and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage that has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25 On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.(X)
Judgment on Assyria
27 See, the name of the Lord comes from far away,
his anger burning and his burden heavy;[c]
his lips are full of indignation,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire;(Y)
28 his breath is like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck—
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction
and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads them astray.(Z)
29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.(AA) 30 And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and tempest and hailstones.(AB) 31 The Assyrian will be terror-stricken at the voice of the Lord when he strikes with his rod.(AC) 32 And every stroke of the staff of punishment[d] that the Lord lays upon him will be to the sound of timbrels and lyres with dancing;[e] with brandished arm he will fight with him.(AD) 33 For his burning place[f] has long been prepared, also for the king;[g] its pyre is made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.(AE)
Isaiah 30
New International Version
Isaiah 30
New International Version
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
30 “Woe(A) to the obstinate children,”(B)
declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance,(C) but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt(D)
without consulting(E) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(F)
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(G)
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade(H) will bring you disgrace.(I)
4 Though they have officials in Zoan(J)
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people(K) useless(L) to them,
who bring neither help(M) nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.(N)”
6 A prophecy(O) concerning the animals of the Negev:(P)
Through a land of hardship and distress,(Q)
of lions(R) and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,(S)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(T) backs,
their treasures(U) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(V)
Therefore I call her
Rahab(W) the Do-Nothing.
8 Go now, write it on a tablet(X) for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,(Y)
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.(Z)
9 For these are rebellious(AA) people, deceitful(AB) children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(AC)
10 They say to the seers,(AD)
“See no more visions(AE)!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(AF)
prophesy illusions.(AG)
11 Leave this way,(AH)
get off this path,
and stop confronting(AI) us
with the Holy One(AJ) of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One(AK) of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,(AL)
relied on oppression(AM)
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,(AN) cracked and bulging,
that collapses(AO) suddenly,(AP) in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,(AQ)
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereign(AR) Lord, the Holy One(AS) of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest(AT) is your salvation,
in quietness and trust(AU) is your strength,
but you would have none of it.(AV)
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee(AW) on horses.’(AX)
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five(AY)
you will all flee(AZ) away,
till you are left(BA)
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner(BB) on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longs(BC) to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.(BD)
For the Lord is a God of justice.(BE)
Blessed are all who wait for him!(BF)
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.(BG) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!(BH) As soon as he hears, he will answer(BI) you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread(BJ) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers(BK) will be hidden(BL) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice(BM) behind you, saying, “This is the way;(BN) walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols(BO) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;(BP) you will throw them away like a menstrual(BQ) cloth and say to them, “Away with you!(BR)”
23 He will also send you rain(BS) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich(BT) and plentiful.(BU) In that day(BV) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.(BW) 24 The oxen(BX) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder(BY) and mash, spread out with fork(BZ) and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter,(CA) when the towers(CB) fall, streams of water will flow(CC) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun,(CD) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals(CE) the wounds he inflicted.
27 See, the Name(CF) of the Lord comes from afar,
with burning anger(CG) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,(CH)
and his tongue is a consuming fire.(CI)
28 His breath(CJ) is like a rushing torrent,(CK)
rising up to the neck.(CL)
He shakes the nations in the sieve(CM) of destruction;
he places in the jaws of the peoples
a bit(CN) that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;(CO)
your hearts will rejoice(CP)
as when people playing pipes(CQ) go up
to the mountain(CR) of the Lord,
to the Rock(CS) of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice(CT)
and will make them see his arm(CU) coming down
with raging anger(CV) and consuming fire,(CW)
with cloudburst, thunderstorm(CX) and hail.(CY)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;(CZ)
with his rod he will strike(DA) them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
with his punishing club(DB)
will be to the music of timbrels(DC) and harps,
as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.(DD)
33 Topheth(DE) has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath(DF) of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulfur,(DG)
sets it ablaze.(DH)
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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