Isaiah 30
1“Woe to the rebellious children,” this is Yahweh's declaration. 1 “They make plans, but not from me; they make alliances with other nations, 1 but they were not directed by my Spirit, so they add sin to sin. 1
2They set out to go down into Egypt, but have not asked for my direction. 1 They seek protection from Pharaoh and take refuge in the shadow of Egypt. 1
3Therefore Pharaoh's protection will be your shame, 1 and the refuge in Egypt's shade, your humiliation, 1
4although their princes are at Zoan, and their messengers have come to Hanes. 1
5They will all be ashamed because of a people who cannot help them, 1 who are neither help nor aid, but a shame, and even a disgrace.”
6A declaration about the beasts of the Negev: 1 Through the land of trouble and danger, of the lioness and the lion, 1 the viper and fiery flying serpent, 1 they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, 1 and their treasures on the camels' humps, 1 to a people who cannot help them. 1
7For Egypt's help is worthless; 1 therefore I have called her Rahab, who sits still. 1
8Now go, write it in their presence on a tablet, and inscribe it on a scroll, 1 that it may be preserved for the time to come as a testimony. 1
9For these are a rebellious people, lying children, 1 children who will not hear the instruction of Yahweh. 1
10They say to the seers, “Do not see;” 1 and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy the truth to us; 1 speak flattering words to us, prophesy illusions.
11Turn aside from the way, stray off the path; 1 cause the Holy One of Israel to cease speaking before our face.” 1
12Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, 1 “Because you reject this word 1 and trust in oppression and deceit and lean on it, 1
13so this sin will be to you 1 like a broken part ready to fall, like a bulge in a high wall 1 whose fall will happen suddenly, in an instant.” 1
14He will break it as a potter's vessel is broken; he will not spare it, 1 so that there will not be found among its pieces a shard 1 with which to scrape fire from the hearth, or to scoop up water out of the cistern. 1
15For this is what the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel says, 1 “In returning and resting you will be saved; in quietness and in trust will be your strength. 1 But you were not willing. 1
16You said, 'No, 1 for we will flee on horses,' so you will flee; 1 and, 'We will ride upon swift horses,' so those who pursue you will be swift. 1
17One thousand will flee at the threat of one; 1 at the threat of five you will flee 1 until your remnant will be like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, or like a flag on a hill.” 1
18Yet Yahweh is waiting to be gracious to you, therefore he is ready to show you mercy. 1 For Yahweh is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. 1
19For a people will live in Zion, in Jerusalem, and you will weep no more. 1 He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he hears it, he will answer you. 1
20Though Yahweh gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, 1 even so, your teacher will not hide himself anymore, but you will see your teacher with your own eyes. 1
21Your ears will hear a word behind you saying, 1 “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 1
22You will desecrate your carved figures overlaid with silver and your gold cast figures. 1 You will throw them away like a menstrual rag. You will say to them, “Get out of here.” 1
23He will give the rain for your seed when you sow the ground, 1 and bread with abundance from the ground, and the crops will be abundant. 1 In that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures. 1
24The oxen and the donkeys, who plow the ground, will eat seasoned feed 1 that has been winnowed with a shovel and a fork. 1
25On every high mountain and on every high hill, there will be flowing brooks and streams of waters, 1 in the day of the great slaughter when the towers fall. 1
26The 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 sunlight of seven days. 1 Yahweh will bind up the breaking of his people and heal the bruises of his wounding them. 1
27Look, the name of Yahweh comes from a distant place, burning with his anger and in dense smoke. 1 His lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire. 1
28His breath is like an overflowing torrent that reaches up to the middle of the neck, 1 to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction. His breath is a bridle in the jaws of the peoples to cause them to wander away. 1
29You will have a song as in the night when a holy feast is observed, 1 and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to the mountain of Yahweh, to the Rock of Israel. 1
30Yahweh will make the splendor of his voice heard and show the motion of his arm 1 in storming anger and flames of fire, with windstorm, rainstorm, and hailstones. 1
31For at the voice of Yahweh, Assyria will be shattered; he will strike them with a staff. 1
32Every stroke of the appointed rod that Yahweh will lay on them 1 will be accompanied with the music of tambourines and harps as he battles and fights with them. 1
33For a place of burning was prepared long ago. Indeed, it is prepared for the king, and God has made it deep and wide. 1 The pile is ready with a fire and much wood. 1 The breath of Yahweh, like a stream of brimstone, will set it on fire.