Isaiah 30

Modern

Literal

The Worthless Treaty with Egypt

¹“Woe to the rebellious children,”

declares the LORD,

“to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine,

who form an alliance, but against My will,

heaping up sin upon sin.

¹“Woe to the rebellious” sons, says YHWH, “Making counsels not from Me and weaving webs not of My Spirit, for the purpose of adding sin upon sin—

²They set out to go down to Egypt

without asking My advice,

to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection

and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.

²those going down to Egypt (and they have not asked My mouth) to take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!

³But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame,

and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.

³And the strength of Pharaoh will be unto you for shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt for disgrace.

⁴For though their princes are at Zoan

and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

⁴For his princes are in Zoan, and his messengers have reached Hanes;

⁵everyone will be put to shame

because of a people useless to them.

They bring neither help nor benefit,

but only shame and disgrace.”

⁵they all come to shame over a people of no profit to them, not for help and not for gain, but for shame and even for scorn.”

⁶This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev:

Through a land of hardship and distress,

of lioness and lion,

of viper and flying serpent,

they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys

and their treasures on the humps of camels,

to a people of no profit to them.

⁶The burden of the beasts of the Negev: In a land of distress and anguish, from which came lioness and lion, the flying viper and serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulder of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them,

⁷Egypt’s help is futile and empty;

therefore I have called her

Rahab Who Sits Still.^a

⁷and to Egypt in emptiness and uselessness for helping; therefore I have called to her, Rahab-hem-shebeth.

⁸Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence

and inscribe it on a scroll;

it will be for the days to come,

a witness forever and ever.

⁸Now go write it on a tablet before them and inscribe it on a scroll, that it may be for a day to come for a witness even to forever;

⁹These are rebellious people, deceitful children,

children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.

⁹for it is a rebellious people, sons of deceit, sons not willing to hear the instruction of YHWH,

¹⁰They say to the seers,

“Stop seeing visions!”

and to the prophets,

“Do not prophesy to us the truth!

Speak to us pleasant words;

prophesy illusions.

¹⁰who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth; speak to us smooth things; prophesy illusions.

¹¹Get out of the way; turn off the road.

Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”

¹¹Turn aside from the way, bend away from the path, make cease before our faces the Holy One of Israel.”

¹²Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

“Because you have rejected this message,

trusting in oppression and relying on deceit,

¹²Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you reject this word, and you trust in oppression and corruption and lean on it,

¹³this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail,

a bulge in a high wall,

whose collapse will come suddenly—

in an instant!

¹³so will be to you this iniquity like a breach ready to fall, bulging in a high wall, whose breach suddenly comes in an instant.

¹⁴It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar,

shattered so that no fragment can be found.

Not a shard will be found in the dust

large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth

or to skim the water from a cistern.”

¹⁴And He will break it like the breaking of the vessel of a potter shattered with no pity; and there will not be found among its fragments a shard to scrape fire from the hearth or to draw water from the cistern.”

¹⁵For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said:

“By repentance and rest

you would be saved;

your strength would lie in quiet confidence—

but you were not willing.”

¹⁵For thus says the Lord YHWH, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you will be saved; in quietness and in confidence will be your strength.” And you were not willing,”

¹⁶“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.”

Therefore you will flee!

“We will ride swift horses,”

but your pursuers will be faster.

¹⁶and you said, “No,” for we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee—“For we will ride on swift ones.” (upon thus, those pursuing you will be swift.)

¹⁷A thousand will flee at the threat of one;

at the threat of five you will all flee,

until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop,

like a banner on a hill.

¹⁷One thousand from the face of the threat of one, from the face of the threat of five you will flee, until only you are left behind like a pole on the top of the mountain and like a banner on the hill!

God Will Be Gracious

¹⁸Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

therefore He rises to show you compassion,

for the LORD is a just God.

Blessed are all who wait for Him.

¹⁸And YHWH waits to show you favor, and therefore He rises up to show you mercy. For YHWH is a God of justice; blessed are all those waiting for Him.

¹⁹O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.

¹⁹Indeed, O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, surely you will weep no more. Surely He will show you favor at the voice of your crying; at His hearing it, He will answer you.

²⁰The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.

²⁰The Lord gives to you the bread of distress and the water of oppression, and your teachers will not be hidden in a corner anymore, and your eyes will be seeing your teachers.

²¹And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

²¹And Your ears will hear a word from behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

²²So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”

²²And you will defile the overlaid idols of your silver, and the plating of the molten images of your gold; you will throw them away like menstrual cloths—“Filth!”” You will say to it.

²³Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.

²³And He will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and the bread of the produce of the ground, and it will be fat and rich. In that day your cattle will feed in broad pastures,

²⁴The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.

²⁴and the oxen and the donkeys working the ground will eat seasoned fodder that has been winnowed with the shovel and the pitchfork.

²⁵And from every high mountain and every raised hill, streams of water will flow in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.

²⁵And there will be on every high mountain and on every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of great slaughter at the falling of the towers.

²⁶The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.

²⁶And 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—on the day that YHWH binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds of His scourging.

²⁷Behold, the Name of the LORD comes from afar,

with burning anger and dense smoke.

His lips are full of fury,

and His tongue is like a consuming fire.

²⁷Behold, the name of YHWH is coming from afar! With His nose burning and denseness of smoke, His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue is like a devouring fire.

²⁸His breath is like a rushing torrent

that rises to the neck.

He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction;

He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.

²⁸And His breath is like an overflowing torrent; it reaches up to the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of futility, and a bridle leading them astray is upon the jaws of the peoples.

²⁹You will sing

as 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.

²⁹There will be for you a song, as in the night of a holy feast, and gladness of heart, as when one walks with a flute to go into the mountain of YHWH, to the Rock of Israel.

³⁰And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard

and His mighty arm to be revealed,

striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire,

and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.

³⁰And YHWH will make heard the splendor of His voice, and He will make seen the sweeping down of His arm, in the rage of His nose and a flame of devouring fire, with storm and tempest and stone of hail.

³¹For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD;

He will strike them with His scepter.

³¹For at the voice of YHWH Assyria will be shattered; with the rod He will strike.

³²And with every stroke of the rod of punishment^a

that the LORD brings down on them,

the tambourines and lyres will sound

as He battles with weapons brandished.

³²With every passing of the rod of punishment that YHWH brings down on him, then it will come to pass that with tambourines and with harps, as in battle of shaking He will fight against them.

³³For Topheth has long been prepared;

it has been made ready for the king.

Its funeral pyre is deep and wide,

with plenty of fire and wood.

The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur,

sets it ablaze.

³³For Topheth was arranged long ago—even for the king it was prepared. He has made it deep and large, the pile of fire and much wood. The breath of YHWH like a torrent of brimstone will set fire to it!