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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”

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)

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:

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!

Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.

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.

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.

For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.

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:

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.