29 “Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the town where David encamped! Add year upon year, YOU people; let the festivals run the round. 2 And I have to make things tight for Ariel, and there must come to be mourning and lamentation, and she must become to me as the altar hearth of God. 3 And I must encamp on all sides against you, and I must lay siege to you with a palisade and raise up against you siegeworks. 4 And you must become low so that you will speak from the very earth, and as from the dust your saying will sound low. And like a spirit medium your voice must become even from the earth, and from the dust your own saying will chirp. 5 And the crowd of those strange to you must become just like fine powder, and the crowd of the tyrants just like the chaff that is passing away. And it must occur in an instant, suddenly. 6 From Jehovah of armies you will have attention with thunder and with quaking and with a great sound, storm wind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.”

7 And it must occur just as in a dream, in a vision of the night, regarding the crowd of all the nations that are waging war against Ariel, even all those waging war against her, and the siege towers against her and those making things tight for her. 8 Yes, it must occur just as when someone hungry dreams and here he is eating, and he actually awakes and his soul is empty; and just as when someone thirsty dreams and here he is drinking, and he actually awakes and here he is tired and his soul is dried out; thus it will occur with the crowd of all the nations that are waging war against Mount Zion.

9 Linger, YOU men, and be amazed; blind yourselves, and be blinded. They have become intoxicated, but not with wine; they have moved unsteadily, but not because of intoxicating liquor.

10 For upon YOU men Jehovah has poured a spirit of deep sleep; and he closes YOUR eyes, the prophets, and he has covered even YOUR heads, the visionaries. 11 And for YOU men the vision of everything becomes like the words of the book that has been sealed up, which they give to someone knowing the writing, saying: “Read this out loud, please,” and he has to say: “I am unable, for it is sealed up”; 12 and the book must be given to someone that does not know writing, [somebody] saying: “Read this out loud, please,” and he has to say: “I do not know writing at all.”

13 And Jehovah says: “For the reason that this people have come near with their mouth, and they have glorified me merely with their lips, and they have removed their heart itself far away from me, and their fear toward me becomes men’s commandment that is being taught, 14 therefore here I am, the One that will act wonderfully again with this people, in a wonderful manner and with something wonderful; and the wisdom of their wise men must perish, and the very understanding of their discreet men will conceal itself.”

15 Woe to those who are going very deep in concealing counsel from Jehovah himself, and whose deeds have occurred in a dark place, while they say: “Who is seeing us, and who is knowing of us?” 16 The perversity of YOU men! Should the potter himself be accounted just like the clay? For should the thing made say respecting its maker: “He did not make me”? And does the very thing formed actually say respecting its former: “He showed no understanding”?

17 Is it not yet but a very little time and Lebanon must be turned into an orchard and the orchard itself will be accounted just as a forest? 18 And in that day the deaf ones will certainly hear the words of the book, and out of the gloom and out of the darkness even the eyes of the blind ones will see. 19 And the meek ones will certainly increase their rejoicing in Jehovah himself, and even the poor ones of mankind will be joyful in the Holy One of Israel himself, 20 because the tyrant must reach his end, and the bragger must come to his finish, and all those keeping alert to do harm must be cut off, 21 those bringing a man into sin by [his] word, and those who lay bait even for the one reproving in the gate, and those who push aside the righteous one with empty arguments.

22 Therefore this is what Jehovah has said to the house of Jacob, he that redeemed Abraham: “Jacob will not now be ashamed, nor will his own face now grow pale; 23 for when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they will sanctify my name, and they will certainly sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and the God of Israel they will regard with awe. 24 And those who are erring in [their] spirit will actually get to know understanding, and even those who are grumbling will learn instruction.”

30 “Woe to the stubborn sons,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “[those disposed] to carry out counsel, but not that from me; and to pour out a libation, but not with my spirit, in order to add sin to sin; 2 those who are setting out to go down to Egypt and who have not inquired of my own mouth, to take shelter in the stronghold of Pharaoh and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! 3 And the stronghold of Pharaoh must become even for YOU men a reason for shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt a cause for humiliation. 4 For his princes have come to be in Zoan itself, and his own envoys reach even Hanes. 5 Every one will certainly become ashamed of a people that bring no benefit to one, that are of no help and bring no benefit, but are a reason for shame and also a cause for reproach.”

6 The pronouncement against the beasts of the south: Through the land of distress and hard conditions, of the lion and the leopard growling, of the viper and the flying fiery snake, on the shoulders of full-grown asses they carry their resources, and on the humps of camels their supplies. In behalf of the people they will prove of no benefit. 7 And the Egyptians are mere vanity, and they will help simply for nothing. Therefore I have called this one: “Rahab—they are for sitting still.”

8 “Now come, write it upon a tablet with them, and inscribe it even in a book, that it may serve for a future day, for a witness to time indefinite. 9 For it is a rebellious people, untruthful sons, sons who have been unwilling to hear the law of Jehovah; 10 who have said to the ones seeing, ‘YOU must not see,’ and to the ones having visions, ‘YOU must not envision for us any straightforward things. Speak to us smooth things; envision deceptive things. 11 Turn aside from the way; deviate from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease just on account of us.’”

12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel has said: “In view of YOUR rejecting of this word, and [since] YOU men trust in defrauding and in what is devious and YOU support yourselves on it, 13 therefore for YOU this error will become like a broken section about to fall down, a swelling out in a highly raised wall, the breakdown of which may come suddenly, in an instant. 14 And one will certainly break it as in the breaking of a large jar of the potters, crushed to pieces without one’s sparing [it], so that there cannot be found among its crushed pieces a fragment of earthenware with which to rake the fire from the fireplace or to skim water from a marshy place.”

15 For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By coming back and resting YOU people will be saved. YOUR mightiness will prove to be simply in keeping undisturbed and in trustfulness.” But YOU were not willing. 16 And YOU proceeded to say: “No, but on horses we shall flee!” That is why YOU will flee. “And on swift [horses] we shall ride!” That is why those pursuing YOU will show themselves swift. 17 A thousand will tremble on account of the rebuke of one; on account of the rebuke of five YOU will flee until YOU will have remained over like a mast on the top of a mountain and like a signal on a hill.

18 And therefore Jehovah will keep in expectation of showing YOU favor, and therefore he will rise up to show YOU mercy. For Jehovah is a God of judgment. Happy are all those keeping in expectation of him. 19 When the very people in Zion will dwell in Jerusalem, you will by no means weep. He will without fail show you favor at the sound of your outcry; as soon as he hears it he will actually answer you. 20 And Jehovah will certainly give YOU people bread in the form of distress and water in the form of oppression; yet your Grand Instructor will no longer hide himself, and your eyes must become [eyes] seeing your Grand Instructor. 21 And your own ears will hear a word behind you saying: “This is the way. Walk in it, YOU people,” in case YOU people should go to the right or in case YOU should go to the left.

22 And YOU people must defile the overlaying of your graven images of silver and the close-fitting covering of your molten statue of gold. You will scatter them. Like a menstruating woman, you will say to it: “Mere dirt!” 23 And he will certainly give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and as the produce of the ground bread, which must become fat and oily. Your livestock will graze in that day in a spacious pasture. 24 And the cattle and the full-grown asses cultivating the ground will eat fodder seasoned with sorrel, which was winnowed with the shovel and with the fork. 25 And upon every high mountain and upon every elevated hill there must come to be streams, water ditches, in the day of the big slaughter when the towers fall. 26 And the light of the full moon must become as the light of the glowing [sun]; and the very light of the glowing [sun] will become seven times as much, like the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah binds up the breakdown of his people and heals even the severe wound resulting from the stroke by him.

27 Look! The name of Jehovah is coming from far away, burning with his anger and with heavy clouds. As for his lips, they have become full of denunciation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire. 28 And his spirit is like a flooding torrent that reaches clear to the neck, to swing the nations to and fro with a sieve of worthlessness; and a bridle that causes one to wander about will be in the jaws of the peoples. 29 YOU people will come to have a song like that in the night that one sanctifies oneself for a festival, and rejoicing of heart like that of one walking with a flute to enter into the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.

30 And Jehovah will certainly make the dignity of his voice to be heard and will make the descending of his arm to be seen, in the raging of anger and the flame of a devouring fire [and] cloudburst and rainstorm and hailstones. 31 For because of the voice of Jehovah Assyria will be struck with terror; he will strike [it] even with a staff. 32 And every swing of his rod of chastisement that Jehovah will cause to settle down upon [Assyria] will certainly prove to be with tambourines and with harps; and with battles of brandishing he will actually fight against them. 33 For his Topheth is set in order from recent times; it is also prepared for the king himself. He has made its pile deep. Fire and wood are in abundance. The breath of Jehovah, like a torrent of sulphur, is burning against it.

31 Woe to those going down to Egypt for assistance, those who rely on mere horses, and who put their trust in war chariots, because they are numerous, and in steeds, because they are very mighty, but who have not looked to the Holy One of Israel and have not searched for Jehovah himself. 2 And he is also wise and will bring in what is calamitous, and he has not called back his own words; and he will certainly rise up against the house of evildoers and against the assistance of those practicing what is hurtful.

3 The Egyptians, though, are earthling men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. And Jehovah himself will stretch out his hand, and he that is offering help will have to stumble, and he that is being helped will have to fall, and at the same time they will all of them come to an end.

4 For this is what Jehovah has said to me: “Just as the lion growls, even the maned young lion, over its prey, when there is called out against it a full number of shepherds, [and] in spite of their voice he will not be terrified and in spite of their commotion he will not stoop; in the same way Jehovah of armies will come down to wage war over Mount Zion and over her hill. 5 Like birds flying, Jehovah of armies will in the same way defend Jerusalem. Defending [her], he will also certainly deliver [her]. Sparing [her], he must also cause [her] to escape.”

6 “Return, YOU people, to the One against whom the sons of Israel have gone deep in their revolt. 7 For in that day they will reject each one his worthless gods of silver and his valueless gods of gold, that YOUR hands have made for yourselves as a sin. 8 And the Assyrian must fall by the sword, not [that of] a man; and a sword, not [that of] earthling man, will devour him. And he must flee because of the sword, and his own young men will come to be for forced labor itself. 9 And his own crag will pass away out of sheer fright, and because of the signal his princes must be terrified,” is the utterance of Jehovah, whose light is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.