Isaiah 30
EasyEnglish Bible
Do not trust in Egypt's power
30 The Lord says, ‘It will be very bad for you, my children who have turned against me. You have decided what to do, but you did not ask me about it. You have made an agreement with Egypt, but without my Spirit's help. In that way, you continue to do more and more sins.
2 Your leaders travel to Egypt to ask for Pharaoh's help to keep them safe. But they did not ask me what I think about it. They think that Egypt has the power to protect them. 3 But Pharaoh's help will only make you ashamed. If you trust in Egypt's power, that will bring you down low.
4 Judah's officers have arrived in Zoan, and some of them have gone to Hanes.[a] 5 But the people of Egypt will not be able to help you. So everyone in Judah will become ashamed. If you trust in Egypt, they will give you shame instead of help.’
6 Here is a message about the animals that travel in the Negev desert: It is a place where there is trouble and danger. There are dangerous lions there, both male and female. There are different kinds of dangerous snakes. People are carrying their valuable things on the backs of donkeys and camels. They are taking their riches as gifts to a nation that cannot help them! 7 Help from Egypt is useless! So I call Egypt ‘Rahab who does nothing.’[b]
8 Go and write this message down for them to see. Yes, write it in a book so that it will always be there to read. In the future, it will always show what is true.
9 These people have turned against the Lord. They are his children but they love to tell lies. They do not want to obey his law. 10 They say to the seers, ‘Do not see any more visions!’ They say to the prophets, ‘Do not tell us messages about what is right! Tell us nice things, even if they are not true. 11 Leave this path. Get out of our way! Stop telling us about the Holy God of Israel.’
12 Because of that, this is what the Holy God of Israel says:
‘You have not accepted my message. Instead, you like to be cruel and to deceive people. You believe that it will help you.
13 So your sin will cause you to fall down. You will be like a high wall that has a weak place. It is not safe and it will bend and fall down. Very suddenly it will fall with a great bang!
14 That wall will break into pieces, like the pieces of a pot. It will be completely broken so that it is all useless. There will be no piece that is big enough to carry coal from a fire, or water from a well.’
15 The Almighty Lord, Israel's Holy God says this:
‘Turn back to me and wait for me to help you. Be quiet and trust in me. Then you will be safe and you will be strong again.’
But you do not want to trust in God. 16 Instead, you say, ‘No! We will run away on horses and we will escape.’ Yes, you will run away! You say, ‘Our horses will run very fast!’ But your enemies who chase you will also be very fast!
17 When one soldier from your enemy chases after you, one thousand of your men will run away from him! Five of them will chase away your whole army! Only a few of you will remain, like a stick with a flag on the top of a hill.
God will take care of his people
18 So the Lord is waiting for the right time to be kind to you. He is ready to show his great love for you. The Lord God does what is right and fair. Everyone who waits for him to come and help them is a happy person!
19 People will live in Zion again. You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any longer. When you call to the Lord for help, he will be kind to you. When he hears you, he will answer you.
20 The Lord God has given trouble to you, like bread that you must eat. He has given pain to you, as water that you must drink. But he will no longer hide himself from you. He will be with you, to teach you and to be your guide. 21 You will hear his voice behind you. When you turn off the path, to the right or to the left, it will say, ‘This is the right way. Walk in it.’ 22 Then you will destroy your idols and your images of false gods. You used silver or gold to make them beautiful. But now you will throw them away like a piece of dirty cloth. You will tell them, ‘Go away!’
23 The Lord will send rain for the seeds that you have planted. The ground will give you plenty of good food. At that time, your cows will have lots of grass to eat in wide fields. 24 The bulls and the donkeys that work on your farms will eat the best food. They will eat the same grain that people eat. 25 Streams of water will pour down from every tall mountain and every high hill. That will happen at the time when your enemies are destroyed. Their strong towers will fall down. 26 At that time, the moon will shine as bright as the sun. Light from the sun will be seven times brighter. It will be like the light of seven days at the same time! At that time, the Lord will make the wounds of his people better. He has hurt them, but now he will make them better.
27 Look! The Lord is coming with his great power from a place that is far away. He is very angry. Thick clouds of smoke are all round him. He speaks angry words that destroy like fire. 28 His breath is like a flood of water that pours out over his enemies. The water reaches as high as their necks. He shakes the nations in a sieve to destroy the bad parts. He leads them away from their bad ways, like a man who leads a horse with a rope.
29 Then you, the Lord's people, will sing! It will be like the happy songs that you sing in the evening at your special feasts. You will be very happy. It will seem like you are making music as you go up to Mount Zion to worship the Lord there. He is the Rock where Israel can be safe.
30 Then the Lord will shout with royal authority. People will know that he has come with great power to punish his enemies. His anger will be like a fire that burns everything. He will come with a great storm of rain, thunder and hail that destroys everything.
31 When the Lord shouts, his command will destroy the Assyrian army. He will knock them down with his heavy stick. 32 He will punish them with a big stick. He will use his weapons to attack them. As he does that, there will be happy music from harps and tambourines!
33 The Lord has already prepared a place to burn the bodies of the dead people. It is ready for the king of Assyria! There is a place for him that is deep and wide. There is plenty of wood for the fire. The Lord's breath will be like a stream of hot sulphur. He will breathe out on the heap of wood and the fire will burn!
Footnotes
- 30:4 Zoan and Hanes are two places in Egypt.
- 30:7 Rahab was another name for Egypt. See Psalms 87:4. It was also the name for a monster that lived in the sea.
Isaiah 30
New English Translation
Egypt Will Prove Unreliable
30 “The rebellious[a] children are as good as dead,”[b] says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me,[c]
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit,[d]
and thereby compound their sin.[e]
2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will,[f]
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade.[g]
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,
and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.
4 Though his[h] officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes,[i]
5 all will be put to shame[j]
because of a nation that cannot help them,
who cannot give them aid or help,
but only shame and disgrace.”
6 This is an oracle[k] about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions,[l]
by snakes and darting adders,[m]
they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them.[n]
7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping.[o]
For this reason I call her
“Proud one[p] who is silenced.”[q]
8 Now go, write it[r] down on a tablet in their presence,[s]
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness.[t]
9 For these are rebellious people—
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law.[u]
10 They[v] say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right![w]
Tell us nice things;
relate deceptive messages.[x]
11 Turn aside from the way;
stray off the path.[y]
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.”[z]
12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message;[aa]
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick,[ab]
and rely on that kind of behavior.[ac]
13 So this sin will become your downfall.
You will be like a high wall
that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;
it crumbles suddenly, in a flash.[ad]
14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged.[ae]
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough[af]
to scoop a hot coal from a fire[ag]
or to skim off water from a cistern.”[ah]
15 For this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:
“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered;[ai]
if you calmly trusted in me, you would find strength,[aj]
but you are unwilling.
16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’
so you will indeed flee.
You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’
so your pursuers will be fast.
17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier;[ak]
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away,[al]
until the remaining few are as isolated[am]
as a flagpole on a mountaintop
or a signal flag on a hill.”
The Lord Will Not Abandon His People
18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you.[an]
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.[ao]
19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem you will weep no more.[ap]
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you.[aq]
20 The Lord[ar] will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink;[as]
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them.[at]
21 You[au] will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct[av] way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols[aw]
and your gold-plated images.[ax]
You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,
saying to them, “Get out!”
23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,
and the ground will produce crops in abundance.[ay]
At that time[az] your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing[ba]
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.[bb]
25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of[bc] great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.
26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare,
and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,
like the light of seven days,[bd]
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones[be]
and heals their severe wound.[bf]
27 Look, the name[bg] of the Lord comes from a distant place
in raging anger and awesome splendor.[bh]
He speaks angrily,
and his word is like destructive fire.[bi]
28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river[bj]
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff;[bk]
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction.[bl]
29 You will sing
as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.
You will be happy like one who plays a flute
as he goes to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock who shelters Israel.[bm]
30 The Lord will give a mighty shout[bn]
and intervene in power,[bo]
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire,[bp]
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria;[bq]
he will beat them with a club.
32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel[br]
with which the Lord will beat them[bs]
will be accompanied by music from the[bt] tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons.[bu]
33 For[bv] the burial place is already prepared;[bw]
it has been made deep and wide for the king.[bx]
The firewood is piled high on it.[by]
The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,
will ignite it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:1 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
- Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
- Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
- Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
- Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
- Isaiah 30:2 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
- Isaiah 30:2 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
- Isaiah 30:4 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
- Isaiah 30:4 sn Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta in the north; Hanes was located somewhere in southern region of lower Egypt, south of Memphis; the exact location is debated.
- Isaiah 30:5 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
- Isaiah 30:6 tn See note at Isa 13:1.
- Isaiah 30:6 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
- Isaiah 30:6 tn Heb “flying burning ones.” See the note at 14:29.
- Isaiah 30:6 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
- Isaiah 30:7 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
- Isaiah 30:7 tn Heb “Rahab” (רַהַב, rahav), which also appears as a name for Egypt in Ps 87:4. The epithet is also used in the OT for a mythical sea monster symbolic of chaos. See the note at 51:9. A number of English versions use the name “Rahab” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) while others attempt some sort of translation (cf. CEV “a helpless monster”; TEV, NLT “the Harmless Dragon”).
- Isaiah 30:7 tn The MT reads “Rahab, they, sitting.” The translation above assumes an emendation of הֵם שָׁבֶת (hem shavet) to הַמָּשְׁבָּת (hammashbat), a Hophal participle with prefixed definite article, meaning “the one who is made to cease,” i.e., “destroyed,” or “silenced.” See HALOT 444-45 s.v. ישׁב.
- Isaiah 30:8 tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.
- Isaiah 30:8 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
- Isaiah 30:8 sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.
- Isaiah 30:9 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
- Isaiah 30:10 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 30:10 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
- Isaiah 30:10 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
- Isaiah 30:11 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
- Isaiah 30:11 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 30:12 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
- Isaiah 30:12 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
- Isaiah 30:12 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
- Isaiah 30:13 tn The verse reads literally, “So this sin will become for you like a breach ready to fall, bulging on a high wall, the breaking of which comes suddenly, in a flash.” Their sin produces guilt and will result in judgment. Like a wall that collapses their fall will be swift and sudden.
- Isaiah 30:14 tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”
- Isaiah 30:14 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Isaiah 30:14 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
- Isaiah 30:14 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
- Isaiah 30:15 tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).
- Isaiah 30:15 tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).
- Isaiah 30:17 tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (geʿarah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.
- Isaiah 30:17 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
- Isaiah 30:17 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
- Isaiah 30:18 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
- Isaiah 30:18 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
- Isaiah 30:19 tn Heb “For people in Zion will live; in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”
- Isaiah 30:19 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
- Isaiah 30:20 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Isaiah 30:20 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread—distress, and water—oppression.”
- Isaiah 30:20 tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden; your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.
- Isaiah 30:21 tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 30:21 tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Isaiah 30:22 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
- Isaiah 30:22 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
- Isaiah 30:23 tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed that you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”
- Isaiah 30:23 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
- Isaiah 30:24 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
- Isaiah 30:24 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
- Isaiah 30:25 tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).
- Isaiah 30:26 sn Light here symbolizes restoration of divine blessing and prosperity. The number “seven” is used symbolically to indicate intensity. The exact meaning of the phrase “the light of seven days” is uncertain; it probably means “seven times brighter” (see the parallel line).
- Isaiah 30:26 tn Heb “the fracture of his people” (so NASB). sn The Lord is here compared to a physician setting a broken bone in a bandage or cast.
- Isaiah 30:26 tn Heb “the injury of his wound.” The joining of synonyms emphasizes the severity of the wound. Another option is to translate, “the wound of his blow.” In this case the pronominal suffix might refer to the Lord, not the people, yielding the translation, “the wound which he inflicted.”
- Isaiah 30:27 sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests—he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.
- Isaiah 30:27 tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (massaʾah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masaʾ, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.
- Isaiah 30:27 tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).
- Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.
- Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shaveʾ, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.
- Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to a horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.
- Isaiah 30:29 tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).
- Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
- Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
- Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
- Isaiah 30:31 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
- Isaiah 30:32 tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).
- Isaiah 30:32 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
- Isaiah 30:32 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
- Isaiah 30:32 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvemilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.
- Isaiah 30:33 tn Or “indeed.”
- Isaiah 30:33 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tofteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final he (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).
- Isaiah 30:33 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final he (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tofteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”
- Isaiah 30:33 tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood, one makes abundant.”sn Apparently this alludes to some type of funeral rite.
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