Isaiah 30
Holman 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 They set out to go down to Egypt(C)
without asking My advice,
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 disgrace.(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 reproach.(G)
6 An oracle(H) about 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 obey 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 spreading breach,
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 alone 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 you people will live on Zion in Jerusalem and will never cry again. He will show favor to you at the sound of your cry; when 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 Himself[d] any longer. Your eyes will see your Teacher,[e] 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, Yahweh[f] comes from far away,
His anger burning and heavy with smoke.[g]
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[h] 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 now.
Its funeral pyre is deep and wide,
with plenty of fire and wood.
The breath of the Lord,(AF) like a torrent of brimstone,
kindles it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:4 Or Judah’s
- Isaiah 30:6 Or Southland
- Isaiah 30:20 Or teachers
- Isaiah 30:20 Or themselves
- Isaiah 30:20 Or teachers
- Isaiah 30:27 Lit the name Yahweh
- Isaiah 30:27 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 30:32 Some Hb mss read punishing
Isaiah 30
International Standard Version
Foolish Trust in Egypt
30 “Oh, you stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out plans—
but they are not mine,
and who make alliances—
but not by my Spirit,
piling sin upon sin.
2 They set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking my advice;
taking refuge in Pharaoh’s protection,
and seeking shelter in Egypt’s shadow.
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame,
and sheltering in Egypt’s shadow your longing.[a]
4 And it will turn out that[b] his officials are at Zoan,
and his envoys will reach Hanes.
5 There is only loathsome destruction[c]
through a people that cannot benefit them,
who bring neither help nor profit,
but only shame and disgrace.”
The Animals of the Negev
6 An oracle about the animals of the Negev:[d]
“Through a land of trouble, dryness,[e] and distress,
of lionesses and roaring lions,
where there is no water,[f]
a land of vipers and darting snakes,
he carries[g] their riches on donkeys’ backs,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot benefit them,
7 to Egypt, which gives help that is worthless and useless.
Therefore I call her,
‘Rahab,[h] who just sits still.’”
The Illusions of False Prophecy
8 “Go now, and write it down[i] on a tablet in their presence,
inscribing it in a book,
so that for times to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
children unwilling to hear
the Lord’s instruction.
10 They say to the seers,
‘Don’t see visions,’
and to the prophets,
‘Don’t give us visions of what is right!
Instead, tell us welcome things, prophesy illusions,
11 get out of the way,
turn aside from the path,
and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.”[j]
Rejecting God’s Message
12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you reject this message,
and put your trust in oppression and enjoy it,[k]
and since you rely on it,
13 therefore, for you this sin will become
like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse,
bulging out,
and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant.
14 Its breaking will be like when potters’ vessels are broken,
shattered so ruthlessly[l]
that among its fragments not even a broken sliver will be found
for taking fire from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
“In repentance and rest you will be saved;
in staying calm and trusting will be your strength.
But you refused.
16 Instead, you said,
‘No! We’ll escape on horses!’
Therefore, you’ll flee away.
And you said,
‘We’ll ride off on swift steeds!’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift.
17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one;
and run away, pursued by[o] five,
until you are left
like a flagpole on a mountaintop,[p]
like a banner on a hill.”
Restoration is Promised to Israel
18 “Nevertheless, the Lord will wait
so he can be gracious to you;
and thus he will rise up to show you mercy.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
How blessed are all those who wait for him.”
19 Indeed, you people who live in Zion and in Jerusalem,[q] you[r] will weep no more. How gracious the Lord[s] will be to you at the sound of your cry! As soon as he hears it, he will answer you. 20 And although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water[t] of affliction, your teachers won’t hide themselves[u] anymore, but your own eyes will see your teachers. 21 And whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a message behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your carved idols that are overlaid with silver and your images plated with gold. You’ll throw them away like disgusting objects[v] and say to them, “Away with you!”
23 He will also provide rain for your seed that you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the ground will be[w] rich and abundant. At that time,[x] your cattle will graze in broad meadows, 24 and oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned[y] fodder that workers will winnow with shovels and forks. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks and canals[z] running with water on the 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 sun’s light will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days,[aa] when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
27 See, the name of the Lord comes from far away,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent,
and it rises right up to the neck,
to shake[ab] the nations in the sieve of destruction,
and to place in the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray.
29 You will have songs as on nights when people celebrate a holy festival,[ac] and gladness of heart, as when they set out with flutes to go to the Lord’s mountain, to the Rock of Israel.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
30 And the Lord will make heard—yes, he will make heard[ad]—his majestic voice, and make his arm[ae] seen descending in raging anger and in a flame of consuming fire, with a cloudburst, thunderstorm and hailstones. 31 Indeed, the Assyrians will be shattered at the Lord’s voice, when he strikes them with his scepter. 32 And every stroke of his punishing rod[af] that the Lord brings down on them will be to the sound of tambourines and harps, as he fights against her[ag] in battle with a brandished arm.
33 For the Fire Pit[ah] has long been prepared; truly it is for the king; it will indeed be made ready.[ai] And[aj] its pyre will be deep and wide, with abundant fire and wood. Like a stream of burning sulfur, the breath of the Lord will set it ablaze.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read disgrace
- Isaiah 30:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read For even though
- Isaiah 30:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Everyone comes to shame
- Isaiah 30:6 I.e. southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Isaiah 30:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack dryness; cf. Isa 41:18
- Isaiah 30:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read from whence come
- Isaiah 30:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read they carry
- Isaiah 30:7 The Heb. word Rahab means The One who Storms; i.e. Egypt; cf. Isa 51:9; Ps 87:4
- Isaiah 30:8 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac LXX read write down
- Isaiah 30:11 Lit. bring to an end the Holy One from before us.
- Isaiah 30:12 Apparent meaning 1QIsaa; MT reads and are perverse
- Isaiah 30:14 Lit. broken—they do not take pity; so 1QIsaa; MT reads broken—he does not take pity
- Isaiah 30:15 So 1QIsaa
- Isaiah 30:15 So 1QIsaa corrector
- Isaiah 30:17 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read away at the threat of
- Isaiah 30:17 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads the mountaintop
- Isaiah 30:19 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; MT reads at Jerusalem
- Isaiah 30:19 So 1QIsaa (pl.); MT (sing.)
- Isaiah 30:19 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read he
- Isaiah 30:20 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks the correct Heb. construct
- Isaiah 30:20 So 1QIsaa; MT reads himself
- Isaiah 30:22 Lit. like menstrual rags
- Isaiah 30:23 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads and it will be
- Isaiah 30:23 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 30:24 Lit. salted
- Isaiah 30:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads streams
- Isaiah 30:26 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks like the light of seven full days
- Isaiah 30:28 So 1QIsaa; MT reads to sift; LXX reads to confuse
- Isaiah 30:29 So 1QIsaa; MT reads one celebrates a holy festival
- Isaiah 30:30 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read heard only once
- Isaiah 30:30 I.e. the Messiah
- Isaiah 30:32 So MTmss; 1QIsaa reads the rod of his foundation; MT reads the rod of foundation
- Isaiah 30:32 So 1QIsaa MT; MTqere, mss read against them
- Isaiah 30:33 Lit. the Topheth; i.e. a fire pit near Jerusalem where the Canaanite deity Molech was worshipped
- Isaiah 30:33 So 1QIsaa; MT reads it is made ready for the king; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 30:33 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks And
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
