Isaiah 30
Lexham English Bible
Warning against Alliance with Egypt
30 “Oh rebellious children!” declares[a] Yahweh,
“to make a plan, but[b] not from me,
and pour out a libation, but[c] not from my Spirit,
so as to add[d] sin to sin.
2 Who go to go down to Egypt,
but[e] they do not ask of my mouth,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt.
3 And the protection of Pharaoh shall be shame to you,
and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, humiliation.
4 For his officials are at Zoan,
and his envoys reach to Hanes.
5 Everyone will start to stink because of a people that cannot profit them,
not for help and not for profiting,
but for shame and also for disgrace.”
Oracle regarding the Negev
6 An oracle of the animals of the Negev:
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and lion,
among[f] them are snake and flying serpent;
they carry their wealth on the backs[g] of male donkeys
and their treasures on the humps[h] of camels,
to a people that cannot profit them.
7 For[i] Egyptians[j] help with vanity and emptiness,
therefore I have called this one “Rahab, they are sitting.”
8 Now go, write it on a tablet with them,
and inscribe it on a scroll,
that[k] it may be for the time to come,[l]
forever, forever.
9 For it is a people of rebellion, deceitful children,
children who are not willing to hear the instruction of Yahweh,
10 who say to those who do see, “You must not see!”
and to the seers, “You must not see truth for us;
speak smooth things to us,
see illusions,
11 turn aside from the way, turn aside from the path,
put an end to the holy one of Israel from our face.”
12 Therefore the holy one of Israel says this:
“Because you are rejecting this word
and you trust in oppression and cunning[m]
and you rely on it,
13 therefore this iniquity shall come for you like a breach about to fall,
bulging out on a high wall that breaks[n] suddenly, in an instant.
14 And he breaks it like a vessel of a potter[o] breaks,
that is crushed; he has no compassion,
and no potsherd is found among its fragments[p] to take fire[q] from the hearth,
or to skim[r] water from the cistern.”
15 For the Lord Yahweh, the holy one of Israel, said this:
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
your strength shall be in quietness and in trust.”
But[s] you were not willing, 16 and you said,
“No! For we will flee on horses!”[t] Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses!”[u] Therefore your pursuers shall be swift!
17 One thousand because of[v] a threat of one,
because[w] of a threat of five you shall flee,
until you are left like a flagstaff on top[x] of a mountain,
and like a signal on a hill.
Yahweh Will Show Mercy
18 Therefore Yahweh waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he will rise up to show you mercy,
for Yahweh is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem, you will surely not weep.
Surely he will be gracious to you;
when he hears the sound of your cry, he will answer you.
20 And the Lord will give you the bread of distress
and the water of oppression,
but[y] your teachers will not hide themselves[z] any longer.
And your eyes shall see[aa] your teachers.
21 And your ears shall hear a word from behind you, saying,
“this is the way; walk in it,”
when you go to your right
and when you go to your left.
22 And you will defile the plating of your silver idols
and the covering of your gold image.
You will scatter them like contaminated things;[ab]
you will say to it, “Filth!”[ac]
23 And he will give rain for your seed with which you sow the ground,
and grain, the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and fertile.[ad]
On that day, your cattle will graze in broad pastures;[ae]
24 and the oxen and the donkeys that till[af] the ground will eat fodder, sorrel
that has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
25 And there will be streams on every high mountain and elevated hill,
watercourses of water, on a day of great slaughter, when towers fall.
26 And the light of the full 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 Yahweh binds up the breakage of his people,
and he heals the wound of his blow.
Judgment against Assyria
27 Look! The name of Yahweh comes from afar,
burning with his anger and heaviness of cloud.
His lips are full of indignation,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
28 And his breath is like an overflowing river;
it reaches up to the neck
to shake the nations with the sieve of worthlessness;
and a bridle that leads astray is on the jawbones of the peoples.
29 You shall have a song[ag] as in the night when a holy festival is kept,
and a gladness of heart like one who goes with the flute,
to go to the mountain of Yahweh, to the rock of Israel.
30 And Yahweh will cause the majesty of his voice to be heard,
and he will cause the descent of his arm to be seen,
in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire,
with a cloudburst and a rainstorm and stones[ah] of hail.
31 Indeed, Assyria will be shattered by the voice of Yahweh;
he strikes with the rod.
32 And every stroke of the staff of foundation[ai] that Yahweh lays will be on it with timbrels and lyres,
and he will fight against it[aj] with battles of brandishing.
33 For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday;
indeed, it is made ready for the king.
He makes its pile of wood deep and wide;
he makes fire and wood abundant.[ak]
The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:1 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 30:1 Or “and”
- Isaiah 30:1 Or “and”
- Isaiah 30:1 Literally “for the sake of adding”
- Isaiah 30:2 Or “and”
- Isaiah 30:6 Literally “from”
- Isaiah 30:6 Literally “shoulder”
- Isaiah 30:6 Hebrew “hump”
- Isaiah 30:7 Or “And”
- Isaiah 30:7 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 30:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 30:8 Literally “for last day”
- Isaiah 30:12 Literally “going wrong”
- Isaiah 30:13 Literally “whose breaking comes”
- Isaiah 30:14 Literally “someone who forms”
- Isaiah 30:14 Hebrew “fragment”
- Isaiah 30:14 Literally “for the taking away of fire”
- Isaiah 30:14 Literally “for the skimming off of”
- Isaiah 30:15 Or “And”
- Isaiah 30:16 Hebrew “horse”
- Isaiah 30:16 Hebrew “horse”
- Isaiah 30:17 Literally “from the face of”
- Isaiah 30:17 Literally “from the face”
- Isaiah 30:17 Literally “head”
- Isaiah 30:20 Or “and”
- Isaiah 30:20 Hebrew “himself”
- Isaiah 30:20 Literally “be seeing”
- Isaiah 30:22 Hebrew “contaminated thing”
- Isaiah 30:22 Or “Get out!”
- Isaiah 30:23 Literally “fat”
- Isaiah 30:23 Hebrew “pasture”
- Isaiah 30:24 Or “tilling”
- Isaiah 30:29 Literally “There shall be a song for you”
- Isaiah 30:30 Hebrew “stone”
- Isaiah 30:32 Some translations emend this to “discipline”
- Isaiah 30:32 The reading tradition (Qere) has “them”
- Isaiah 30:33 Literally “numerous”
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
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