Isaiah 30
World English Bible
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; 2 who set out to go down into Egypt without asking for my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. 4 For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors have come to Hanes. 5 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.”
6 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. 7 For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still. 8 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. 9 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.
Isaiah 30
EasyEnglish Bible
Do not trust in Egypt's power
30 The Lord says, ‘It will be very bad for you, my children who have turned against me. You have decided what to do, but you did not ask me about it. You have made an agreement with Egypt, but without my Spirit's help. In that way, you continue to do more and more sins.
2 Your leaders travel to Egypt to ask for Pharaoh's help to keep them safe. But they did not ask me what I think about it. They think that Egypt has the power to protect them. 3 But Pharaoh's help will only make you ashamed. If you trust in Egypt's power, that will bring you down low.
4 Judah's officers have arrived in Zoan, and some of them have gone to Hanes.[a] 5 But the people of Egypt will not be able to help you. So everyone in Judah will become ashamed. If you trust in Egypt, they will give you shame instead of help.’
6 Here is a message about the animals that travel in the Negev desert: It is a place where there is trouble and danger. There are dangerous lions there, both male and female. There are different kinds of dangerous snakes. People are carrying their valuable things on the backs of donkeys and camels. They are taking their riches as gifts to a nation that cannot help them! 7 Help from Egypt is useless! So I call Egypt ‘Rahab who does nothing.’[b]
8 Go and write this message down for them to see. Yes, write it in a book so that it will always be there to read. In the future, it will always show what is true.
9 These people have turned against the Lord. They are his children but they love to tell lies. They do not want to obey his law. 10 They say to the seers, ‘Do not see any more visions!’ They say to the prophets, ‘Do not tell us messages about what is right! Tell us nice things, even if they are not true. 11 Leave this path. Get out of our way! Stop telling us about the Holy God of Israel.’
12 Because of that, this is what the Holy God of Israel says:
‘You have not accepted my message. Instead, you like to be cruel and to deceive people. You believe that it will help you.
13 So your sin will cause you to fall down. You will be like a high wall that has a weak place. It is not safe and it will bend and fall down. Very suddenly it will fall with a great bang!
14 That wall will break into pieces, like the pieces of a pot. It will be completely broken so that it is all useless. There will be no piece that is big enough to carry coal from a fire, or water from a well.’
15 The Almighty Lord, Israel's Holy God says this:
‘Turn back to me and wait for me to help you. Be quiet and trust in me. Then you will be safe and you will be strong again.’
But you do not want to trust in God. 16 Instead, you say, ‘No! We will run away on horses and we will escape.’ Yes, you will run away! You say, ‘Our horses will run very fast!’ But your enemies who chase you will also be very fast!
17 When one soldier from your enemy chases after you, one thousand of your men will run away from him! Five of them will chase away your whole army! Only a few of you will remain, like a stick with a flag on the top of a hill.
God will take care of his people
18 So the Lord is waiting for the right time to be kind to you. He is ready to show his great love for you. The Lord God does what is right and fair. Everyone who waits for him to come and help them is a happy person!
19 People will live in Zion again. You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any longer. When you call to the Lord for help, he will be kind to you. When he hears you, he will answer you.
20 The Lord God has given trouble to you, like bread that you must eat. He has given pain to you, as water that you must drink. But he will no longer hide himself from you. He will be with you, to teach you and to be your guide. 21 You will hear his voice behind you. When you turn off the path, to the right or to the left, it will say, ‘This is the right way. Walk in it.’ 22 Then you will destroy your idols and your images of false gods. You used silver or gold to make them beautiful. But now you will throw them away like a piece of dirty cloth. You will tell them, ‘Go away!’
23 The Lord will send rain for the seeds that you have planted. The ground will give you plenty of good food. At that time, your cows will have lots of grass to eat in wide fields. 24 The bulls and the donkeys that work on your farms will eat the best food. They will eat the same grain that people eat. 25 Streams of water will pour down from every tall mountain and every high hill. That will happen at the time when your enemies are destroyed. Their strong towers will fall down. 26 At that time, the moon will shine as bright as the sun. Light from the sun will be seven times brighter. It will be like the light of seven days at the same time! At that time, the Lord will make the wounds of his people better. He has hurt them, but now he will make them better.
27 Look! The Lord is coming with his great power from a place that is far away. He is very angry. Thick clouds of smoke are all round him. He speaks angry words that destroy like fire. 28 His breath is like a flood of water that pours out over his enemies. The water reaches as high as their necks. He shakes the nations in a sieve to destroy the bad parts. He leads them away from their bad ways, like a man who leads a horse with a rope.
29 Then you, the Lord's people, will sing! It will be like the happy songs that you sing in the evening at your special feasts. You will be very happy. It will seem like you are making music as you go up to Mount Zion to worship the Lord there. He is the Rock where Israel can be safe.
30 Then the Lord will shout with royal authority. People will know that he has come with great power to punish his enemies. His anger will be like a fire that burns everything. He will come with a great storm of rain, thunder and hail that destroys everything.
31 When the Lord shouts, his command will destroy the Assyrian army. He will knock them down with his heavy stick. 32 He will punish them with a big stick. He will use his weapons to attack them. As he does that, there will be happy music from harps and tambourines!
33 The Lord has already prepared a place to burn the bodies of the dead people. It is ready for the king of Assyria! There is a place for him that is deep and wide. There is plenty of wood for the fire. The Lord's breath will be like a stream of hot sulphur. He will breathe out on the heap of wood and the fire will burn!
Footnotes
- 30:4 Zoan and Hanes are two places in Egypt.
- 30:7 Rahab was another name for Egypt. See Psalms 87:4. It was also the name for a monster that lived in the sea.
Isaiah 30
King James Version
30 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.
30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
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