Isaiah, 29

1. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city [where] David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

1. Woe to Ariel - Ariel, the city against which David encamped! After a year or two, after the feasts have made their full round,

2. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

2. I will lay siege on Ariel and there will be grief and mourning. To me she will be like an Ariel.

3. And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

3. I will send warriors against you; they will encircle you with outposts and raise siegeworks against you.

4. And thou shalt be brought down, [and] shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

4. Thrown down, you will speak from the ground: from the dust your words will come muffled, your voice will rise as a ghost's, your speech will be a whisper in the dust. But in a flash,

5. Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones [shall be] as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.

5. the horde of your enemies will be like dust, the horde of tyrants, flying chaff.

6. Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

6. For suddenly, Yahweh Sabaoth will come with thunder, earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and thunderstorm and flames of consuming fire.

7. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

7. The hordes of all nations that fight against Ariel, that attack and besiege her fortress, will vanish like a dream, like a vision in the night.

8. It shall even be as when an hungry [man] dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, [he is] faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

8. As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakens with an empty stomach, or when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakens with a parched throat, so will the horde of nations be that make war against Zion.

9. Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

9. Be irresolute, be stupefied, lose your sight and remain blind! Be drunk but not from wine, stagger but not from beer.

10. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

10. For Yahweh has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep; he has shut your eyes - the prophets; he has covered your heads - the seers.

11. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which [men] deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it [is] sealed:

11. The revelation of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed scroll. When someone gives it to another who knows how to read and says, "Read this," the other one answers, "I cannot; it is sealed."

12. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

12. When the scroll is given to one who doesn't know how to read," he answers, "I do not know."

13. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

13. Yahweh has said; "These people approach me in words; they honor me with lip-service, while their hearts stay afar. The worship they offer me is useless, these are no more than traditions and human rules.

14. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, [even] a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise [men] shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent [men] shall be hid.

14. Because of this I will surprise them once more; the wisdom of the wise will be useless and the understanding of their prudent men will be at a loss.

15. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

15. Woe to those who hide deep from Yahweh their plans, who work in the dark and say, "Who will know, and who will see us?"

16. Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

16. You turn things upside down, as though the potter were the clay, and of him it could say, "He did not make me; he knows nothing."

17. [Is] it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?

17. In a very short time, Lebanon will become a fruitful field and the fruitful field will be as a forest.

18. And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

18. On that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and out of the dark and obscurity the eyes of the blind will see.

19. The meek also shall increase [their] joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

19. The meek will find joy and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

20. For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

20. For the tyrant will be no more and the scoffers gone forever, and all who plan to do evil will be cut down -

21. That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

21. those who by a word make a man guilty, those who for a bribe can lay a snare and send home the just empty-handed.

22. Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.

22. Therefore Yahweh, Abraham's redeemer, speaks concerning the people of Jacob: No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will his face grow pale.

23. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

23. When he sees the work of my hands, his children again in his midst, they will sanctify my name, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and stand in awe of the God of Israel.

24. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

24. Those who err in spirit will understand; those who murmur will learn.