Isaiah 30:27-33
Christian Standard Bible
Annihilation of the Assyrians
27 Look! The name of the Lord is coming from far away,
his anger burning and heavy with smoke.[a]
His lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent(A)
that rises to the neck.(B)
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.(C)
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.(D)
30 And the Lord will make the splendor of his voice heard
and reveal his arm(E) 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[b] 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(F)
for the king for a long time.
Its funeral pyre is deep and wide,
with plenty of fire and wood.
The breath of the Lord,(G) like a torrent of burning sulfur,
kindles it.
Isaiah 30:27-33
New English Translation
27 Look, the name[a] of the Lord comes from a distant place
in raging anger and awesome splendor.[b]
He speaks angrily,
and his word is like destructive fire.[c]
28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river[d]
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff;[e]
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction.[f]
29 You will sing
as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.
You will be happy like one who plays a flute
as he goes to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock who shelters Israel.[g]
30 The Lord will give a mighty shout[h]
and intervene in power,[i]
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire,[j]
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria;[k]
he will beat them with a club.
32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel[l]
with which the Lord will beat them[m]
will be accompanied by music from the[n] tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons.[o]
33 For[p] the burial place is already prepared;[q]
it has been made deep and wide for the king.[r]
The firewood is piled high on it.[s]
The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,
will ignite it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:27 sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests—he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.
- Isaiah 30:27 tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (massaʾah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masaʾ, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.
- Isaiah 30:27 tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).
- Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.
- Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shaveʾ, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.
- Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to a horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.
- Isaiah 30:29 tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).
- Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
- Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
- Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
- Isaiah 30:31 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
- Isaiah 30:32 tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).
- Isaiah 30:32 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
- Isaiah 30:32 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
- Isaiah 30:32 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvemilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.
- Isaiah 30:33 tn Or “indeed.”
- Isaiah 30:33 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tofteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final he (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).
- Isaiah 30:33 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final he (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tofteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”
- Isaiah 30:33 tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood, one makes abundant.”sn Apparently this alludes to some type of funeral rite.
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