Add parallel Print Page Options

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.
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.
And the protection of Pharaoh shall be shame to you,
    and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, humiliation.
For his officials are at Zoan,
    and his envoys reach to Hanes.

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

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.
For[i] Egyptians[j] help with vanity and emptiness,
    therefore I have called this one “Rahab, they are sitting.”
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.
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

  1. Isaiah 30:1 Literally “declaration of”
  2. Isaiah 30:1 Or “and”
  3. Isaiah 30:1 Or “and”
  4. Isaiah 30:1 Literally “for the sake of adding”
  5. Isaiah 30:2 Or “and”
  6. Isaiah 30:6 Literally “from”
  7. Isaiah 30:6 Literally “shoulder”
  8. Isaiah 30:6 Hebrew “hump”
  9. Isaiah 30:7 Or “And”
  10. Isaiah 30:7 Literally “Egypt”
  11. Isaiah 30:8 Or “and”
  12. Isaiah 30:8 Literally “for last day”
  13. Isaiah 30:12 Literally “going wrong”
  14. Isaiah 30:13 Literally “whose breaking comes”
  15. Isaiah 30:14 Literally “someone who forms”
  16. Isaiah 30:14 Hebrew “fragment”
  17. Isaiah 30:14 Literally “for the taking away of fire”
  18. Isaiah 30:14 Literally “for the skimming off of”
  19. Isaiah 30:15 Or “And”
  20. Isaiah 30:16 Hebrew “horse”
  21. Isaiah 30:16 Hebrew “horse”
  22. Isaiah 30:17 Literally “from the face of”
  23. Isaiah 30:17 Literally “from the face”
  24. Isaiah 30:17 Literally “head”
  25. Isaiah 30:20 Or “and”
  26. Isaiah 30:20 Hebrew “himself”
  27. Isaiah 30:20 Literally “be seeing”
  28. Isaiah 30:22 Hebrew “contaminated thing”
  29. Isaiah 30:22 Or “Get out!”
  30. Isaiah 30:23 Literally “fat”
  31. Isaiah 30:23 Hebrew “pasture”
  32. Isaiah 30:24 Or “tilling”
  33. Isaiah 30:29 Literally “There shall be a song for you”
  34. Isaiah 30:30 Hebrew “stone”
  35. Isaiah 30:32 Some translations emend this to “discipline”
  36. Isaiah 30:32 The reading tradition (Qere) has “them”
  37. Isaiah 30:33 Literally “numerous”

30 “Woe to the rebellious children”, says Yahweh, “who take counsel, but not from me; and who make an alliance, but not with my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin, who set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors have come to Hanes. They shall all be ashamed because of a people that can’t profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.”

The burden of the animals of the South.

Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to an unprofitable people. For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still. Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever. For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear Yahweh’s law; 10 who tell the seers, “Don’t see!” and the prophets, “Don’t prophesy to us right things. Tell us pleasant things. Prophesy deceits. 11 Get out of the way. Turn away from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” 12 Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on it, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant. 14 He will break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing, so that there won’t be found among the broken pieces a piece good enough to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.”

15 For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused, 16 but you said, “No, for we will flee on horses;” therefore you will flee; and, “We will ride on the swift;” therefore those who pursue you will be swift. 17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one. At the threat of five, you will flee until you are left like a beacon on the top of a mountain, and like a banner on a hill.

18 Therefore Yahweh will wait, that he may be gracious to you; and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy on you, for Yahweh is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him. 19 For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you. 20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won’t be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your teachers; 21 and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.” 22 You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, “Go away!”

23 He will give the rain for your seed, with which you will sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground will be rich and plentiful. In that day, your livestock will feed in large pastures. 24 The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory feed, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork. 25 There will be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in 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 light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up the fracture of his people, and heals the wound they were struck with.

27 Behold, Yahweh’s name comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke. His lips are full of indignation. His tongue is as a devouring fire. 28 His breath is as an overflowing stream that reaches even to the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction. A bridle that leads to ruin will be in the jaws of the peoples. 29 You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to come to Yahweh’s mountain, to Israel’s Rock. 30 Yahweh will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the descent of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, storm, and hailstones. 31 For through Yahweh’s voice the Assyrian will be dismayed. He will strike him with his rod. 32 Every stroke of the rod of punishment, which Yahweh will lay on him, will be with the sound of tambourines and harps. He will fight with them in battles, brandishing weapons. 33 For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, it is prepared for the king. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. Yahweh’s breath, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.