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Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance

30 “Woe to the (A)rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who (B)execute a plan, but not Mine,
And [a](C)make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
Who (D)proceed down to Egypt
Without (E)consulting [b]Me,
(F)To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh,
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be (G)your shame,
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
For (H)their officials are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
Everyone will be (I)ashamed because of a people who do not benefit them,
Who are (J)not a help or benefit, but a source of shame and also disgrace.”

The pronouncement concerning the (K)animals of the (L)Negev:

Through a land of (M)distress and anguish,
From [c]where come lioness and lion, viper and (N)flying serpent,
They (O)carry their riches on the [d]backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on (P)camels’ humps,
To a people who will not benefit them;
Even Egypt, whose (Q)help is vain and empty.
Therefore, I have called [e]her
[f](R)Rahab who has been exterminated.”
Now go, (S)write it on a tablet in their presence
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may [g]serve in the time to come
[h]As a witness forever.
For this is a (T)rebellious people, (U)false sons,
Sons who [i]refuse to (V)listen
To the [j]instruction of the Lord;
10 Who say to the (W)seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not (X)prophesy the truth to us.
(Y)Speak to us [k]pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way, (Z)turn aside from the path,
(AA)Stop speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel!”

12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

(AB)Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in (AC)oppression and crookedness, and have relied on them,
13 Therefore this (AD)wrongdoing will be to you
Like a (AE)breach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes (AF)suddenly in an instant,
14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a (AG)potter’s jar,
[l]So ruthlessly shattered
That a shard will not be found among its pieces
To [m]take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

15 For this is what the Lord [n]God, the Holy One of Israel, has said:

“In [o]repentance and (AH)rest you will be saved,
In (AI)quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on (AJ)horses!”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses!”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 (AK)One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left like a signal post on a mountain top,
And like a flag on a hill.

God Is Gracious and Just

18 Therefore the Lord [p](AL)longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He [q]waits on (AM)high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a (AN)God of justice;
How blessed are all those who [r](AO)long for Him.

19 [s]For, you people in Zion, (AP)inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will (AQ)weep no longer. He will certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will (AR)answer you. 20 Although the Lord has given you (AS)bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer (AT)hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the (AU)way, walk in it,” whenever you (AV)turn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will desecrate your carved (AW)images plated with silver, and your cast metal (AX)images plated with gold. You will scatter them as a filthy thing, and say to [t]them, “(AY)Be gone!”

23 Then He will (AZ)give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be [u]rich and [v]plentiful; on that day (BA)your livestock will graze in a wide pasture. 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat [w]seasoned feed, which [x]has been (BB)winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25 And on every lofty mountain and (BC)every high hill there will be [y]streams running with water on the day of the great (BD)slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 (BE)And the light of the full 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, on the day (BF)the Lord binds up the (BG)fracture of His people and (BH)heals the wound [z]He has inflicted.

27 Behold, (BI)the name of the Lord comes from a [aa]remote place;
(BJ)His anger is burning and [ab]dense with [ac]smoke;
His lips are filled with (BK)indignation,
And His tongue is like a (BL)consuming fire;
28 His (BM)breath is like an overflowing river,
Which (BN)reaches to the neck,
To (BO)shake the nations back and forth in a [ad]sieve,
And to put in the jaws of the peoples (BP)the bridle which leads astray.
29 You will have [ae]songs as in the night when you keep the festival,
And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord will cause [af]His voice of authority to be heard,
And the [ag]descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger,
And in the flame of a consuming fire
In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones.
31 For (BQ)at the voice of the Lord (BR)Assyria will be terrified,
When He strikes with the (BS)rod.
32 And every [ah]blow of the [ai](BT)rod of punishment,
Which the Lord will lay on him,
Will be with the music of (BU)tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, (BV)brandishing weapons, He will fight them.
33 For [aj](BW)Topheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
[ak]A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The (BX)breath of the Lord, like a torrent of (BY)brimstone, sets it afire.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 30:1 Lit pour out a drink offering
  2. Isaiah 30:2 Lit My mouth
  3. Isaiah 30:6 Lit them
  4. Isaiah 30:6 Lit shoulders
  5. Isaiah 30:7 Lit this one
  6. Isaiah 30:7 MT They are Rahab or arrogance, to remain; i.e., Egypt, as a sea monster; see note Job 26:12
  7. Isaiah 30:8 Lit be
  8. Isaiah 30:8 As in most ancient versions; MT Forever and ever
  9. Isaiah 30:9 Lit are not willing
  10. Isaiah 30:9 Or Law
  11. Isaiah 30:10 Lit smooth things
  12. Isaiah 30:14 Lit Crushed, it will not be spared
  13. Isaiah 30:14 Lit snatch up
  14. Isaiah 30:15 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  15. Isaiah 30:15 Lit returning
  16. Isaiah 30:18 Lit waits
  17. Isaiah 30:18 Lit is on high
  18. Isaiah 30:18 Lit wait
  19. Isaiah 30:19 MT For a people will inhabit Zion, Jerusalem
  20. Isaiah 30:22 Lit it “Go out”
  21. Isaiah 30:23 Lit fatness
  22. Isaiah 30:23 Lit fat
  23. Isaiah 30:24 Lit sorrel-seasoned
  24. Isaiah 30:24 Lit one winnows
  25. Isaiah 30:25 Lit canals, streams of water
  26. Isaiah 30:26 Lit of His blow
  27. Isaiah 30:27 Lit distance
  28. Isaiah 30:27 Lit heaviness
  29. Isaiah 30:27 Lit uplifting
  30. Isaiah 30:28 Lit sifting of the worthless
  31. Isaiah 30:29 Lit the song
  32. Isaiah 30:30 Lit the majesty of His voice
  33. Isaiah 30:30 Lit descent
  34. Isaiah 30:32 Lit passing
  35. Isaiah 30:32 Lit staff of foundation
  36. Isaiah 30:33 I.e., the place of human sacrifice to Molech
  37. Isaiah 30:33 Lit Its pile

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;
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)
But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
    Egypt’s shade(H) will bring you disgrace.(I)
Though they have officials in Zoan(J)
    and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
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)

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,
    to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(V)
Therefore I call her
    Rahab(W) the Do-Nothing.

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)
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)

Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance

30 “Woe (judgment is coming) to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who carry out a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance [by pouring out a libation], but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;

Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting [a]Me,
To take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh
And to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

“Therefore the safety and protection of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation and disgrace.

“For his princes are at Zoan
And his ambassadors arrive at Hanes [in Egypt].

“All will be ashamed because of a people (the Egyptians) who cannot benefit them,
Who are not a help or benefit, but a shame and also a disgrace.”

A [mournful, inspired] oracle ([b]a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South):

Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From [c]where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,
They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.

For Egypt’s help is worthless and good for nothing.
Therefore, I have called her
“Rahab Who Has Been Exterminated.”

Now, go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
So that it may serve in the time to come
As a witness [against them] forevermore.

For this is a rebellious people, lying sons,
Sons who refuse to listen to
The law and instruction of the Lord;
10 
Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions from God”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right!
Speak to us pleasant things and smooth words,
Prophesy [deceitful] illusions [that we will enjoy].
11 
“Get out of the [true] way, turn aside from the path [of God],
Stop bothering us with the Holy One of Israel.”

12 Therefore, the Holy One of Israel says this,

“Because you have refused and rejected this word [of Mine]
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,
13 
Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to you
Like a crack [in a wall] about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
14 
“Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
Crushed so savagely
that there cannot be found among its pieces a potsherd [large enough]
To take [coals of] fire from a fireplace,
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

15 For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said this,

“In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved,
In quietness and confident trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16 
And you said, “No! We will flee on horses!”
Therefore you will flee [from your enemies]!
And [you said], “We will ride on swift horses!”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 
A thousand of you will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left like a flag on the top of a mountain,
And like a signal on a hill.

God Is Gracious and Just

18 
Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
[d]For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].(A)

19 [e]O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will most certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry for help; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20 Though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of oppression, yet your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will [constantly] see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will defile your carved images overlaid with silver, and your cast images plated with gold. You will scatter them like a bloodstained cloth, and will say to them, “Be gone!”

23 Then He will give you rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread [grain] from the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful. In that day your livestock will graze in large and roomy pastures. 24 Also the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25 On every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams of water on the day of the great slaughter (the day of the Lord), when the towers fall [and all His enemies are destroyed]. 26 The light of the full 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 [concentrated in one], in the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted [because of their sins].

27 
Now look, the [f]name of the Lord comes from far away,
Burning with His anger, and heavy with [g]smoke;
His lips are full of [h]indignation,
And His tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 
His breath is like an overflowing river,
Which reaches to the neck,
To sift the nations back and forth in a sieve [of disaster],
And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin.
29 
You will have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept,
And joy of heart as when one marches [in procession] with a flute,
To go to the [temple on the] mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 
And the Lord will make His majestic voice heard,
And show the descending of His arm [striking] in [His] fierce anger,
And in the flame of a devouring fire,
In the crashing sound of heavy rain, cloudburst, and hailstones.
31 
For at the voice of the Lord the Assyrians will be terrified,
When He strikes [them] with the rod.
32 
And every blow of the rod of punishment,
Which the Lord will lay on them,
Will be to the music of Israel’s tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight Assyria.
33 
For [i]Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;
Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.
He has made it deep and wide,
A pit of fire with plenty of wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.(B)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 30:2 Lit My mouth.
  2. Isaiah 30:6 I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.
  3. Isaiah 30:6 Lit them.
  4. Isaiah 30:18 The ancient rabbis posed the question of why God waits to bring in the kingdom, if both He and Israel desire it. Their answer was that God’s attribute of justice delays it, i.e. that Israel is not yet deserving of it. Nevertheless, they maintained, it is meritorious to look forward to it, and those who do will be blessed (rewarded).
  5. Isaiah 30:19 MT reads For a people will dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem.
  6. Isaiah 30:27 The revelation of the power and glory and brilliance of God.
  7. Isaiah 30:27 Lit lifting up, possibly referring to clouds.
  8. Isaiah 30:27 Lit cursing.
  9. Isaiah 30:33 A pagan site where children were burned as sacrifices to Molech, a Semitic god.

30 Ai dos filhos rebeldes, diz o Senhor, que tomaram conselho, mas não de mim! E que se cobriram com uma cobertura, mas não do meu Espírito, para acrescentarem pecado a pecado! Que descem ao Egito, sem perguntarem à minha boca, para se fortificarem com a força de Faraó e para confiarem na sombra do Egito! Porque a força de Faraó se vos tornará em vergonha, e a confiança na sombra do Egito, em confusão. Porque os seus príncipes estão em Zoã, e os seus embaixadores chegaram a Hanes. Eles se envergonharão de um povo que de nada lhe servirá, nem de ajuda, nem de proveito; antes, de vergonha e de opróbrio. Peso dos animais do Sul. Para a terra de aflição e de angústia (donde vem a leoa, o leão, o basilisco e a áspide ardente voadora) levarão às costas de jumentinhos as suas fazendas, e sobre as corcovas de camelos, os seus tesouros a um povo que de nada lhes aproveitará. Porque o Egito os ajudará em vão e para nenhum fim; pelo que clamei acerca disto: No estarem quietos, estará a sua força.

Vai, pois, agora, escreve isto em uma tábua perante eles e aponta-o em um livro; para que fique escrito para o tempo vindouro, para sempre e perpetuamente. Porque povo rebelde é este, filhos mentirosos, filhos que não querem ouvir a lei do Senhor; 10 que dizem aos videntes: Não vejais; e aos profetas: Não profetizeis para nós o que é reto; dizei-nos coisas aprazíveis e tende para nós enganadoras lisonjas; 11 desviai-vos do caminho, apartai-vos da vereda; fazei que deixe de estar o Santo de Israel perante nós. 12 Pelo que assim diz o Santo de Israel: Visto que rejeitais esta palavra, e confiais na opressão e na perversidade, e sobre isso vos estribais, 13 por isso, esta maldade vos será como a parede fendida, que já forma barriga desde o mais alto sítio, e cuja queda virá subitamente, em um momento. 14 E ele o quebrará como se quebra o vaso do oleiro e, quebrando-o, não se compadecerá; não se achará entre os seus pedaços um que sirva para tomar fogo do lar ou tirar água da poça. 15 Porque assim diz o Senhor Jeová, o Santo de Israel: Em vos converterdes e em repousardes, estaria a vossa salvação; no sossego e na confiança, estaria a vossa força, mas não a quisestes. 16 Mas dizeis: Não; antes, sobre cavalos fugiremos; portanto, fugireis; e: Sobre cavalos ligeiros cavalgaremos; por isso, os vossos perseguidores serão ligeiros. 17 Mil homens fugirão ao grito de um e, ao grito de cinco, todos vós fugireis, até que sejais deixados como o mastro no cume do monte e como a bandeira no outeiro.

18 Por isso, o Senhor esperará para ter misericórdia de vós; e, por isso, será exalçado para se compadecer de vós, porque o Senhor é um Deus de equidade. Bem-aventurados todos os que nele esperam. 19 Porque o povo habitará em Sião, em Jerusalém; não chorarás mais; certamente, se compadecerá de ti, à voz do teu clamor; e, ouvindo-a, te responderá. 20 Bem vos dará o Senhor pão de angústia e água de aperto, mas os teus instruidores nunca mais fugirão de ti, como voando com asas; antes, os teus olhos verão a todos os teus mestres. 21 E os teus ouvidos ouvirão a palavra que está por detrás de ti, dizendo: Este é o caminho; andai nele, sem vos desviardes nem para a direita nem para a esquerda. 22 E terás por contaminadas as coberturas das tuas esculturas de prata e a coberta das tuas esculturas fundidas de ouro; e as lançarás fora como um pano imundo e dirás a cada uma delas: Fora daqui!

23 Então, te dará chuva sobre a semente com que semeares a terra, como também pão da novidade da terra; e esta será fértil e cheia; naquele dia, o teu gado pastará em lugares largos de pasto. 24 E os bois e os jumentinhos que lavram a terra comerão grão puro, que for padejado com a pá e cirandado com a ciranda. 25 E haverá, em todo monte alto e em todo outeiro elevado, ribeiros e correntes de águas, no dia da grande matança, quando caírem as torres. 26 E será a luz da lua como a luz do sol, e a luz do sol, sete vezes maior, como a luz de sete dias, no dia em que o Senhor ligar a quebradura do seu povo e curar a chaga da sua ferida.

27 Eis que o nome do Senhor vem de longe ardendo na sua ira e lançando espessa fumaça; os seus lábios estão cheios de indignação, e a sua língua é como um fogo consumidor; 28 e a sua respiração é como o ribeiro trasbordando, que chega até ao pescoço, para peneirar as nações com peneira de vaidade; e um freio de fazer errar estará nas queixadas dos povos. 29 Um cântico haverá entre vós, como na noite em que se celebra uma festa santa; e alegria de coração, como a daquela que sai tocando pífano, para vir ao monte do Senhor, à Rocha de Israel. 30 E o Senhor fará ouvir a glória da sua voz e fará ver o abaixamento do seu braço, com indignação de ira, e a labareda do seu fogo consumidor, e raios, e dilúvio, e pedra de saraiva. 31 Porque, com a voz do Senhor, será desfeita em pedaços a Assíria, que feriu com a vara. 32 E, a cada pancada do bordão do juízo que o Senhor der, haverá tamboris e harpas; e, com combates de agitação, combaterá contra eles. 33 Porque uma fogueira está preparada desde ontem, sim, está preparada para o rei; ele a fez profunda e larga; a sua pilha é fogo e tem muita lenha; o assopro do Senhor como torrente de enxofre a acenderá.

Ai da Nação Obstinada!

30 “Ai dos filhos obstinados”,
    declara o Senhor,
“que executam planos que não são meus,
    fazem acordo sem minha aprovação,
para ajuntar pecado sobre pecado,
que descem ao Egito sem consultar-me,
    para buscar proteção no poder do faraó,
e refúgio na sombra do Egito.
Mas a proteção do faraó
    lhes trará vergonha,
e a sombra do Egito
    lhes causará humilhação.
Embora seus líderes tenham ido a Zoã
    e seus enviados tenham chegado a Hanes,
todos se envergonharão
    por causa de um povo que lhes é inútil,
que não traz ajuda nem vantagem,
    mas apenas vergonha e zombaria.”

Advertência contra os animais do Neguebe:

Atravessando uma terra hostil e severa,
de leões e leoas, de víboras
    e serpentes velozes,
os enviados transportam suas riquezas
    no lombo de jumentos,
seus tesouros, nas corcovas de camelos,
para aquela nação inútil,
o Egito, cujo socorro é totalmente inútil.
Por isso eu o chamo Monstro[a] inofensivo.

Agora vá, escreva isso
    numa tábua para eles,
registre-o num livro,
para que nos dias vindouros
    seja um testemunho eterno.
Esse povo é rebelde;
    são filhos mentirosos,
filhos que não querem saber
    da instrução do Senhor.
10 Eles dizem aos videntes:
    “Não tenham mais visões!”
e aos profetas:
    “Não nos revelem o que é certo!
Falem-nos coisas agradáveis,
    profetizem ilusões.
11 Deixem esse caminho,
    abandonem essa vereda,
e parem de confrontar-nos
    com o Santo de Israel!”

12 Por isso diz o Santo de Israel:

“Como vocês rejeitaram esta mensagem,
    apelaram para a opressão
    e confiaram nos perversos,
13 este pecado será para vocês
    como um muro alto,
    rachado e torto,
que de repente desaba, inesperadamente.
14 Ele o fará em pedaços
    como um vaso de barro,
tão esmigalhado
    que entre os seus pedaços
    não se achará um caco
    que sirva para pegar brasas de uma lareira
    ou para tirar água da cisterna”.

15 Diz o Soberano, o Senhor, o Santo de Israel:

“No arrependimento e no descanso
    está a salvação de vocês,
na quietude e na confiança
    está o seu vigor,
mas vocês não quiseram.
16 Vocês disseram:
    ‘Não, nós vamos fugir a cavalo’.
E fugirão!
    Vocês disseram:
‘Cavalgaremos cavalos velozes’.
    Velozes serão os seus perseguidores!
17 Mil fugirão diante da ameaça de um;
diante da ameaça de cinco
    todos vocês fugirão,
até que vocês sejam deixados
    como um mastro no alto de um monte,
como uma bandeira numa colina”.

18 Contudo, o Senhor espera o momento
    de ser bondoso com vocês;
ele ainda se levantará
    para mostrar-lhes compaixão.
Pois o Senhor é Deus de justiça.
Como são felizes todos
os que nele esperam!

19 Ó povo de Sião, que mora em Jerusalém, você não vai chorar mais. Como ele será bondoso quando você clamar por socorro! Assim que ele ouvir, lhe responderá. 20 Embora o Senhor lhe dê o pão da adversidade e a água da aflição, o seu mestre não se esconderá mais; com seus próprios olhos você o verá. 21 Quer você se volte para a direita quer para a esquerda, uma voz atrás de você lhe dirá: “Este é o caminho; siga-o”. 22 Então você tratará como impuras as suas imagens revestidas de prata e os seus ídolos recobertos de ouro; você os jogará fora como um trapo imundo e lhes dirá: “Fora!”

23 Ele também lhe mandará chuva para a semente que você semear, e a terra dará alimento rico e farto. Naquele dia o seu gado pastará em grandes prados. 24 Os bois e os jumentos que lavram o solo comerão forragem e sal espalhados com forcado e pá. 25 No dia do grande massacre, quando caírem as torres, regatos de água fluirão sobre todo monte elevado e sobre toda colina altaneira. 26 A luz da lua brilhará como o sol, e a luz do sol será sete vezes mais brilhante, como a luz de sete dias completos, quando o Senhor cuidar das contusões do seu povo e curar as feridas que lhe causou.

27 Vejam! De longe vem
    o Nome do Senhor,
com sua ira em chamas,
    e densas nuvens de fumaça;
seus lábios estão cheios de ira,
    e sua língua é fogo consumidor.
28 Seu sopro é como
    uma torrente impetuosa
    que sobe até o pescoço.
Ele faz sacudir as nações
    na peneira da destruição;
ele coloca na boca dos povos
    um freio que os desencaminha.
29 E vocês cantarão
    como em noite de festa sagrada;
seus corações se regozijarão
    como quando se vai, ao som da flauta,
ao monte do Senhor, à Rocha de Israel.
30 O Senhor fará que os homens
    ouçam sua voz majestosa
e os levará a ver seu braço descendo
    com ira impetuosa e fogo consumidor,
com aguaceiro, tempestades de raios
    e saraiva.
31 A voz do Senhor despedaçará a Assíria;
    com seu cetro a ferirá.
32 Cada pancada que com a vara
    o Senhor desferir para a castigar
será dada ao som de tamborins e harpas,
enquanto a estiver combatendo
    com os golpes do seu braço.
33 Tofete está pronta já faz tempo;
    foi preparada para o rei.
Sua fogueira é funda e larga,
    com muita lenha e muito fogo;
o sopro do Senhor,
    como uma torrente de enxofre ardente,
    a incendeia.

Footnotes

  1. 30.7 Hebraico: Raabe.