Isaiah
29 “Woe to Arʹi·el,* Arʹi·el, the city where David encamped!+
Continue year after year;
Let the cycle of festivals+ continue.
2 But I will bring distress on Arʹi·el,+
And there will be mourning and lamentation,+
And she will become to me like an altar hearth of God.+
3 I will encamp on all sides against you,
And I will besiege you with a palisade
And raise up siegeworks against you.+
Your voice will come from the ground+
Like the voice of a spirit medium,
And your words will chirp from the dust.
5 The crowd of your enemies* will be like fine powder,+
The crowd of the tyrants just like the blowing chaff.+
And it will happen in an instant, suddenly.+
6 Jehovah of armies will give you his attention
With thunder and earthquake and a great noise,
With storm wind and tempest and the flames of a consuming fire.”+
7 Then the crowd of all the nations waging war against Arʹi·el+
—All those waging war against her,
The siege towers against her,
And those bringing distress on her—
Will become like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 Yes, it will be just as when someone hungry dreams that he is eating,
But he wakes up hungry,*
And as when someone thirsty dreams that he is drinking,
But he wakes up tired and thirsty.*
So it will happen with the crowd of all the nations
That wage war against Mount Zion.+
They are drunk, but not with wine;
They are staggering, but not from alcohol.
10 For Jehovah has poured a spirit of deep sleep on you;+
He has closed your eyes, the prophets,+
And he has covered your heads, the visionaries.+
11 Every vision becomes for you like the words of a sealed book.+ When they give it to someone who can read, saying: “Read this out loud, please,” he will say: “I cannot, for it is sealed up.” 12 And when they give the book to someone who cannot read, saying: “Read this, please,” he will say: “I cannot read at all.”
13 Jehovah says: “This people approach me with their mouth
And they honor me with their lips,+
But their heart is far removed from me;
And their fear of me is based on commands of men that they have been taught.+
14 Therefore, I am the One who will again do wonderful things with this people,+
With wonder upon wonder;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the understanding of their discreet men will be hidden.”+
15 Woe to those who go to great lengths to conceal their plans* from Jehovah.+
Their deeds are done in a dark place,
While they say: “Who sees us?
Who knows about us?”+
Should the potter be regarded the same as the clay?+
Should what is made say about its maker:
“He did not make me”?+
And does what is formed say about its former:
“He shows no understanding”?+
17 In just a short time, Lebʹa·non will be turned into an orchard,+
And the orchard will be regarded as a forest.+
18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the book,
And out of the gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.+
19 The meek will rejoice greatly in Jehovah,
And the poor among men will be joyful in the Holy One of Israel.+
20 For the tyrant will be no more,
The boaster will come to his finish,
And all those keeping alert to do harm will be destroyed,+
21 Those who with a false word make others guilty,
Who lay traps for the defender* in the city gate,+
And who with empty arguments deny justice to the righteous one.+
22 So this is what Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham,+ says to the house of Jacob:
23 For when he sees his children,
Who are the work of my hands, in his midst,+
They will sanctify my name;
Yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.+
24 Those who are wayward in spirit will acquire understanding,
And those who complain will accept instruction.”