Aug 7 - Isaiah 29-32
Isaiah
1Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city against which David fought: year has been added to year, the solemnities have unfolded2And I will surround Ariel with siege works, and it will be in sorrow and mourning, and it will be like Ariel to me3And I will surround you like a sphere all around you, and I will raise up a rampart against you, and I will set up fortifications to blockade you4You will be brought low. You will speak from the ground, and your eloquence will be heard from the dirt. And, from the ground, your voice will be like that of the python, and your eloquence will mumble from the dirt5And the multitude of those who fan you will be like fine dust. And the multitude of those who have prevailed against you will be like embers fading away6And this will happen suddenly and swiftly. It will be visited from the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquakes, and with the great noise of a whirlwind and a storm, and with a flame of devouring fire7And the multitude of all the nations that have struggled against Ariel will be like the dream of a vision by night, along with all who have battled, and besieged, and prevailed against it8And it will be like one who is hungry and dreams of eating, but, when he has been awakened, his soul is empty. And it will be like one who is thirsty and dreams of drinking, but, after he has been awakened, he still languishes in thirst, and his soul is empty. So shall the multitude of all the nations be, who have struggled against Mount Zion9Be stupefied and in wonder! Shake and quiver! Be inebriated, but not from wine! Stagger, but not from drunkenness10For the Lord has mixed for you a spirit of deep sleep. He will close your eyes. He will cover your prophets and leaders, who see visions11And the vision of all will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they have given it to someone who knows how to read, they will say, "Read this," but he will respond, "I cannot; for it has been sealed.12But if the book is given to someone who does not know how to read, and it is said to him, "Read," then he will respond, "I do not know how to read.13And the Lord said: Since this people have drawn near to me only with their mouth, and their lips glorify me while their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is based on the commandments and doctrines of men14for this reason, behold, I will proceed to accomplish a wonder for this people, a great and mystifying miracle. For wisdom will perish from their wise, and the understanding of their prudent will be concealed15Woe to you who use the depths of the heart, so that you may hide your intentions from the Lord. Their works are done in darkness, and so they say: "Who sees us?" and "Who knows us?16This intention of yours is perverse. It is as if the clay were to plan against the potter, or as if the work were to say to its maker: "You did not make me." Or it is as if what has been formed were to say to the one who formed it, "You do not understand.17In not more than a little while and a brief time, Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and a fruitful field will be considered to be a forest18And in that day, the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind will see19And the meek will increase their rejoicing in the Lord, and the poor among men will exult in the Holy One of Israel20For the one who was prevailing has failed, the one who was mocking has been consumed, and all those who were standing guard over iniquity have been cut down21For they caused men to sin by a word, and they supplanted him who argued against them at the gates, and they turned away from justice in vain22Because of this, thus says the Lord, he who has redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob: From now on, Jacob will not be confounded; from now on his countenance will not blush with shame23Instead, when he sees his children, they will be the work of my hands in his midst, sanctifying my name, and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will preach the God of Israel24And those who had gone astray in spirit will know understanding, and those who had murmured will learn the law
1"Woe to the sons of apostasy!" says the Lord. For you would take advice, but not from me. And you would begin to weave, but not by my spirit. Thus do you add sin upon sin2You are walking so as to descend into Egypt, and you have not sought answers from my mouth, instead hoping for assistance from the strength of Pharaoh and placing trust in the shadow of Egypt3And so, the strength of Pharaoh will be your confusion, and trust in the shadow of Egypt will be your disgrace4For your leaders were at Tanis, and your messengers have traveled even as far as Hanes5They have all been confounded because of a people who were not able to offer profit to them, who were not of assistance, nor of other usefulness, except to offer confusion and reproach6The burden of the beasts in the south. In a land of tribulation and anguish, from which go forth the lioness and the lion, the viper and the flying king snake, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of beasts of burden, and their valuables upon the humps of camels, to a people who are not able to offer profit to them7For Egypt will offer assistance, but without purpose or success. Therefore, concerning this, I cried out: "It is only arrogance! Remain calm.8Now, therefore, enter and write for them upon a tablet, and note it diligently in a book, and this shall be a testimony in the last days, and even unto eternity9For they are a people who provoke to wrath, and they are lying sons, sons unwilling to listen to the law of God10They say to the seers, "Do not see," and to those who behold: "Do not behold for us the things that are right. Speak to us of pleasing things. See errors for us11Take me from the way. Avert me from the path. Let the Holy One of Israel cease from before our face.12Because of this, thus says the Holy One of Israel: Since you have rejected this word, and you have hoped in calumny and rebellion, and since you have depended upon these things13for this reason, this iniquity will be to you like a breach that has fallen, and like a gap in a high wall. For its destruction will happen suddenly, when it is not expected14And it will be crushed, just as the earthen vessel of a potter is destroyed by a sharp blow. And not even a fragment of its earthenware will be found, which might carry a little fire from the hearth, or which might draw a little water from a hollow15For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: If you return and are quiet, you shall be saved. Your strength will be found in silence and in hope. But you are not willing16And you have said: "Never! Instead, we will flee by horseback." For this reason, you will be put to flight. And you have said, "We will climb upon swift ones." For this reason, those who pursue you will be even swifter17A thousand men will flee in terror from the face of one, and you will flee in terror from the face of five, until you who have been left behind are like the mast of a ship at the top of a mountain, or like a sign on a hill18Therefore, the Lord waits, so that he may take pity on you. And therefore, he will be exalted for sparing you. For the Lord is the God of judgment. Blessed are all those who wait for him19For the people of Zion will live in Jerusalem. Bitterly, you will not weep. Mercifully, he will take pity on you. At the voice of your outcry, as soon as he hears, he will respond to you20And the Lord will give you thick bread and accessible water. And he will not cause your teacher to fly away from you anymore. And your eyes will behold your instructor21And your ears will listen to the word of one admonishing you behind your back: "This is the way! Walk in it! And do not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left.22And you will defile the plates of your silver graven images and the vestment of your gold molten idols. And you will throw these things away like the uncleanness of a menstruating woman. You will say to it, "Go away!23And wherever you sow seed upon the earth, rain will be given to the seed. And bread from the grain of the earth will be very plentiful and full. In that day, the lamb will pasture in the spacious land of your possession24And your bulls, and the colts of the donkeys that work the ground, will eat a mix of grains like that winnowed on the threshing floor25And there will be, on every lofty mountain, and on every elevated hill, rivers of running water, in the day of the slaughter of many, when the tower will fall26And the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord will bind the wound of his people, and when he will heal the stroke of their scourge27Behold, the name of the Lord arrives from far away. His fury is burning and heavy to bear. His lips have been filled with indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire28His Spirit is like a torrent, inundating, even as high as the middle of the neck, in order to reduce the nations to nothing, along with the bridle of error that was in the jaws of the people29There will be a song for you, as in the night of a sanctified solemnity, and a joy of heart, as when one travels with music to arrive at the mountain of the Lord, to the Strong One of Israel30And the Lord will cause the glory of his voice to be heard, and, with a threatening fury and a devouring flame of fire, he will reveal the terror of his arm. He will crush with the whirlwind and with hailstones31For at the voice of the Lord, Assur will dread being struck with the staff32And when the passage of the staff has been begun, the Lord will cause it to rest upon him, with timbrels and harps. And with special battles, he will fight against them33For a burning place, deep and wide, has been prepared from yesterday, prepared by the King. Its nourishment is fire and much wood. The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, kindles it
1Woe to those who descend into Egypt for assistance, hoping in horses, and putting their trust in four-horse chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are exceedingly strong. And they have not believed in the Holy One of Israel, and they have not sought the Lord2Therefore, being wise, he has permitted harm, and he has not removed his words, and he will rise up against the house of the wicked and against those who assist the workers of iniquity3Egypt is man, and not God. And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. And so, the Lord will reach down his hand, and the helper will fall, and the one who was being helped will fall, and they will all be consumed together4For the Lord says this to me: In the same way that a lion roars, and a young lion is over his prey, and though a multitude of shepherds may meet him, he will not dread their voice, nor be afraid of their number, so will the Lord of hosts descend in order to battle upon mount Zion and upon its hill5Like birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem, protecting and freeing, passing over and saving6Be converted to the same depth that you have drawn away, O sons of Israel7For in that day, a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for you unto sin8And Assur will fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of man will devour him. And he will not flee from the face of the sword, and his young men will be subject to a penalty9And his strength will pass away in terror, and his princes will flee in fear. The Lord has said it. His fire is in Zion, and his furnace is at Jerusalem
1Behold, the king will reign in justice, and the princes will rule in judgment2And a man will be like someone hidden from the wind, who conceals himself from a storm, or like rivers of waters in a time of thirst, or like the shadow of a rock that juts out in a desert land3The eyes of those who see will not be obscured, and the ears of those who hear will listen closely4And the heart of the foolish will understand knowledge, and the tongue of those with impaired speech will speak quickly and plainly5He who is foolish will no longer be called leader, nor will the deceitful be called greater6For a foolish man speaks foolishness and his heart works iniquity in order to accomplish deception. And he speaks to the Lord deceitfully, so as to empty the soul of the hungry and to take away drink from the thirsty7The tools of the deceitful are very wicked. For they have concocted plans to destroy the meek by lying words, though the poor speak judgment8Yet truly, the prince will plan things that are worthy of a prince, and he will stand above the rulers9You opulent women, rise up and listen to my voice! O confident daughters, play close attention to my eloquence10For after a year and some days, you who are confident will be disturbed. For the vintage has been completed; the gathering will no longer occur11Be stupefied, you opulent women! Be disturbed, O confident ones! Strip yourselves, and be confounded; gird yourselves at the waist12Mourn over your breasts, over the delightful country, over the fruitful vineyard13Thorn and brier will rise up, over the soil of my people. How much more over all the houses of gladness, over the city of exultation14For the house has been forsaken. The multitude of the city has been abandoned. A darkness and a covering have been placed over its dens, even unto eternity. It will be the gladness of wild donkeys and the pasture of flocks15until the Spirit is poured over us from on high. And the desert will be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be considered as a forest16And judgment will live in solitude, and justice will be seated in a fruitful place17And the work of justice will be peace. And the service of justice will be quiet and secure, forever18And my people will be seated in the beauty of peacefulness, and in the tabernacles of faithfulness, and in the opulence of restfulness19But hail will be in the descent of the forest, and the city will be brought exceedingly low20Blessed are you who sow over any waters, sending the feet of the ox and the donkey there