New King James Version

English Standard Version

Woe to Jerusalem

“Woe to [a]Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.

The Siege of Jerusalem

Ah, Ariel, Ariel,
the city where David encamped!
Add year to year;
let the feasts run their round.

2

Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.

2

Yet I will distress Ariel,
and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
and she shall be to me like an Ariel.a

3

I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you.

3

And I will encamp against you all around,
and will besiege you with towers
and I will raise siegeworks against you.

4

You shall be brought down,
You shall speak out of the ground;
Your speech shall be low, out of the dust;
Your voice shall be like a medium’s, out of the ground;
And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

4

And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,
and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;
your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,
and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

5

“Moreover the multitude of your foes
Shall be like fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible ones
Like chaff that passes away;
Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly.

5

But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust,
and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.
And in an instant, suddenly,

6

You will be punished by the Lord of hosts
With thunder and earthquake and great noise,
With storm and tempest
And the flame of devouring fire.

6

you will be visited by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,
with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.

7

The multitude of all the nations who fight against [b]Ariel,
Even all who fight against her and her fortress,
And distress her,
Shall be as a dream of a night vision.

7

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,
shall be like a dream, a vision of the night.

8

It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look — he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look — he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves:
So the multitude of all the nations shall be,
Who fight against Mount Zion.”

8

As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating,
and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,
or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking,
and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that fight against Mount Zion.

9

The Blindness of Disobedience

Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
They are drunk, but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.

9

Astonish yourselvesb and be astonished;
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk,c but not with wine;
stagger,d but not with strong drink!

10

For the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.

10

For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).

11

The whole vision has become to you like the words of a [c]book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

11

And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

12

Then the book is delivered to one who [d]is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I am not literate.”

12

And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

13

Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

13

And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

14

Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

14

therefore, behold, I will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

15

Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

15

Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

16

Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?

16

You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?

17

Future Recovery of Wisdom

Is it not yet a very little while
Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?

17

Is it not yet a very little while
until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

18

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

18

In that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.

19

The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.

19

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

20

For the [e]terrible one is brought to nothing,
The scornful one is consumed,
And all who watch for iniquity are cut off —

20

For the ruthless shall come to nothing
and the scoffer cease,
and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,

21

Who make a man an offender by a word,
And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just by empty words.

21

who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.

22

Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;

22

Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.

23

But when he sees his children,
The work of My hands, in his midst,
They will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And fear the God of Israel.

23

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

24

These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”

24

And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

Parallel

New King James Version

English Standard Version

Isaiah 29

Isaiah 29