29
Jerusalem Is Warned
1 Woe, O
1Ariel,
1Ariel the city
where David
once Acamped!
Add year to year,
2Bobserve
your feasts on schedule.
2 I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be
a city of lamenting and
Amourning;
And she will be like an Ariel to me.
3 I will
Acamp against you
1encircling
you, And I will set siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4 Then you will
Abe brought low;
From the earth you will speak,
And from the dust where you are prostrate
Your words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a
1spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 But the multitude of your
1enemies will become like fine
Adust,
And the multitude of the
Bruthless ones like the chaff which
2blows away;
And it will happen
Cinstantly, suddenly.
6 From the Loʀᴅ of hosts you will be
Apunished with
Bthunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7 And the
Amultitude of all the nations who wage war against
1Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a
Bvision of the night.
8 It will be as when a hungry man dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his
1hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his
1thirst is not quenched.
AThus the multitude of all the nations will be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They
Bbecome drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the Loʀᴅ has poured over you a spirit of deep
Asleep,
He has
Bshut your eyes, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, the seers.
11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed
1Abook, which when they give it to the one who
2is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
12 Then the
1book will be given to the one who
2is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I
3cannot read.”
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because
Athis people draw near with their
1words
And honor Me with their
2lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their
3reverence for Me
4consists of
5tradition learned
by rote, 14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal
Amarvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And
Bthe wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”
15 Woe to those who deeply
Ahide their
1plans from the Loʀᴅ,
And whose
Bdeeds are
done in a dark place,
And they say, “
CWho sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered
1as equal with the clay,
That
Awhat is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
Blessing after Discipline
17 Is it not yet just a little while
1Before Lebanon will be turned into a
Afertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day the
Adeaf will hear
Bwords of a book,
And out of
their gloom and darkness the
Ceyes of the blind will see.
19 The
Aafflicted also will increase their gladness in the Loʀᴅ,
And the
Bneedy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the
Aruthless will come to an end and the
Bscorner will be finished,
Indeed
Call who
1are intent on doing evil will be cut off;
21 Who
1cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And
Aensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,
And
2Bdefraud the one in the right with
3meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore thus says the Loʀᴅ, who redeemed
AAbraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob
Bshall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;
23 But when
1he sees his
Achildren, the
Bwork of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will
Csanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 “Those who
Aerr in
1mind will
Bknow
2the truth,
And those who
3criticize will
4Caccept instruction.