Isaiah 28-29
Wisdom was sealed,
not because it was hidden—
but because it was unwanted.
ISAIAH:
Woe to the showy crown of the drunkards of Eʹphra·im
And the fading blossom of its glorious beauty,
Which is on the head of the fertile valley of those overcome with wine!
Look! Jehovah has someone strong and mighty.
Like a thundering hailstorm, a destructive windstorm,
Like a thunderstorm of powerful floodwaters,
He will forcefully hurl it down to the earth.
The showy crowns of the drunkards of Eʹphra·im
Will be trampled underfoot.
And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is on the head of the fertile valley,
Will become like the early fig before summer.
When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand.
In that day Jehovah of armies will become a glorious crown and a beautiful garland to those left of his people.
And he will become a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment
And a source of mightiness to those who repel the attack at the gate.
And these also go astray because of wine;
Their alcoholic beverages make them stagger.
Priest and prophet go astray because of alcohol;
The wine confuses them,
And they stagger from their alcohol;
Their vision makes them go astray,
And they stumble in judgment.
For their tables are full of filthy vomit
—There is no place without it.
To whom will one impart knowledge,
And to whom will one explain the message?
To those who have just been weaned from milk,
Those just taken away from the breasts?
For it is “command after command, command after command,
Line by line, line by line,
A little here, a little there.”
So by means of those with stammering speech and a foreign language, he will speak to this people.
He once told them: “This is the resting-place.
Let the weary one rest; this is the place of refreshment,”
But they refused to listen.
So to them the word of Jehovah will be:
“Command after command, command after command,
Line by line, line by line,
A little here, a little there,”
So that when they walk,
They will stumble and fall backward
And be broken and ensnared and caught.
So hear the word of Jehovah, you boasters,
You rulers of this people in Jerusalem:
RULERS (QUOTED):
“We have made a covenant with Death,
And with the Grave we have made an agreement.
When the raging flash flood passes through,
It will not reach us,
For we have made a lie our refuge
And we have hidden ourselves in falsehood.”
JEHOVAH:
Here I am laying as a foundation in Zion a tested stone,
The precious cornerstone of a sure foundation.
No one exercising faith will panic.
And I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the leveling tool.
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will flood out the hiding place.
Your covenant with Death will be dissolved,
And your agreement with the Grave will not stand.
When the raging flash flood passes through,
You will be crushed by it.
As often as it passes through,
It will sweep you away;
For it will pass through morning after morning,
During the day and during the night.
Only terror will make them understand what was heard.
For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the woven sheet is too narrow to wrap up in.
For Jehovah will rise up as at Mount Pe·raʹzim;
He will rouse himself as in the valley near Gibʹe·on,
That he may do his deed—his strange deed—
And that he may carry out his work—his unusual work.
Now do not scoff,
So that your bonds may not be further tightened,
For I have heard from the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of armies,
That an extermination has been determined for all the land.
Give ear and listen to my voice;
Pay attention and listen to what I say.
NARRATOR:
Does the plower keep plowing all day before he sows seed?
Does he continually break up and harrow his ground?
When he has smoothed out its surface,
Does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin,
And does he not plant wheat, millet, and barley in their places
And spelt around the edges?
For He teaches him the right way;
His God instructs him.
For black cumin is not crushed with a threshing sledge,
And a wagon wheel is not driven over cumin.
Rather, black cumin is beaten out with a rod,
And cumin with a staff.
Does a person crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it incessantly;
And when he drives the roller of his wagon over it with his horses,
He does not crush it.
This also comes from Jehovah of armies,
Whose counsel is wonderful
And whose achievements are great.
ISAIAH 29
ISAIAH:
“Woe to Arʹi·el, Arʹi·el, the city where David encamped!
Continue year after year;
Let the cycle of festivals continue.
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.
I will encamp on all sides against you,
And I will besiege you with a palisade
And raise up siegeworks against you.
You will be brought low;
From the ground you will speak,
And what you say will be muffled by dust.
Your voice will come from the ground
Like the voice of a spirit medium,
And your words will chirp from the dust.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Be stunned and amazed;
Blind yourselves and be blinded.
They are drunk, but not with wine;
They are staggering, but not from alcohol.
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.
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.”
And when they give the book to someone who cannot read, saying: “Read this, please,”
He will say: “I cannot read at all.”
JEHOVAH:
“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.
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.”
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?”
How you twist things!
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”?
In just a short time, Lebʹa·non will be turned into an orchard,
And the orchard will be regarded as a forest.
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.
The meek will rejoice greatly in Jehovah,
And the poor among men will be joyful in the Holy One of Israel.
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,
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.
So this is what Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob:
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed,
And no more will his face grow pale.
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.
Those who are wayward in spirit will acquire understanding,
And those who complain will accept instruction.”
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