Old Testament · Prophets

Isaiah chapter 29

What a — , Ariel, the city where ! Add year to year, let the festivals come around again —then I will bring distress on Ariel. There will be mourning and grief, and she will become to me like a true ariel — an .I will against you on every side, I will close in on you with siege works, I will raise up assault ramps against you.You will be brought low — speaking from the ground, your words muffled in the dirt. Your voice will come from the earth like a , your speech will whisper up from the dust.But the horde of your enemies will become like fine dust, the mob of the like chaff that blows away. Then suddenly, in an instant — will her with thunder and earthquake and deafening noise, with storm and tempest and flames of devouring fire.And the horde of all the nations that wage war against Ariel — all who attack her and her fortress and press her hard — will become like a , a vision in the night.It will be like a hungry man who dreams he is eating, but wakes up with an empty stomach, or a thirsty man who dreams he is drinking, but wakes up faint and craving — that’s what the horde of all the nations waging war against will be like.Stop and be stunned! Blind yourselves and go blind! They are — but not from wine. They stagger — but not from beer.Because Yahweh has poured over you a spirit of . He has shut your eyes — the . He has covered your heads — the .The entire has become to you like the words of a . Hand it to someone who can read and say, “Read this,” and they answer, “I can’t — it’s sealed.”Or hand it to someone who can’t read and say, “Read this,” and they answer, “I don’t know how to read.”The said: “Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but their is far from me, and their reverence for me is just —““therefore, watch — I will do something with this people, astonishing upon astonishing. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the insight of their insightful will go into hiding.”What a for those who go to great depths to hide their plans from Yahweh, whose actions happen in the dark, who say, “Who sees us? Who knows about us?”How twisted your thinking is! Should the be regarded as the ? Should what is made say of its maker, “He didn’t make me”? Should what is shaped say of the one who shaped it, “He doesn’t understand anything”?Isn’t it true that in just a little while will be turned into a garden, and the garden will be considered a forest?On that day the deaf will hear the words of the , and out of darkness and gloom the eyes of the blind will see.The will find more and more joy in Yahweh, and the poorest of people will celebrate in .Because the ruthless will come to nothing, the will vanish, and all who stay up late scheming to do harm will be cut off —those who trap people with words, who set snares for the one who brings , who use empty arguments to deny the rights of the .Therefore Yahweh — who Abraham — says this to the : “Jacob will no longer be ashamed, his face will no longer go pale.”Because when he sees his children, the work of my hands, among them, they will treat my name as . They will set apart and of the God of Israel.“Those who will come to , and those who grumble will accept .”