Isaiah 30

¹ Woe to the rebel ious children -- declares Yahweh -- who make plans which do not come from me andmake al iances not inspired by me, and so add sin to sin!

² They are leaving for Egypt, without consulting me, to take refuge in Pharaoh's protection, to shelter inEgypt's shadow.

³ Pharaoh's protection will be your shame, the shelter of Egypt's shadow your confounding.

⁴ For his princes have gone to Zoan and his messengers have reached Hanes.

⁵ Everyone has been disappointed by a people who cannot help, who bring neither aid nor profit, onlydisappointment and confusion.

⁶ Proclamation about the beasts of the Negeb: Into the land of distress and of anguish, of lioness androaring lion, of viper and flying dragon, they bear their riches on donkeys' backs, their treasures on camels'humps, to a nation that cannot help:

⁷ Egypt, whose help is vain and futile; and so I cal her 'Rahab -the-collapsed'.

⁸ Now go, inscribe this on a tablet, write it on a scrol , so that it may serve for time to come for ever andfor ever.

⁹ This is a rebellious people, they are lying children, children who will not listen to Yahweh's Law.

¹⁰ To the seers they say, 'See nothing!' To the prophets, 'Do not prophesy the truth to us; tel us flatteringthings; have illusory visions;

¹¹ turn aside from the way, leave the path, rid us of the Holy One of Israel.'

¹² So the Holy One of Israel says this, 'Since you have rejected this word and put your trust in fraud anddisloyalty and rely on these,

¹³ for you this guilt will prove to be a breach opening up, a bulge at the top of a wal which suddenly andal at once comes crashing down.

¹⁴ He wil shatter it like an earthenware pot, ruthlessly knocking it to pieces, so that of the fragments notone shard can be found with which to take up fire from the hearth or scoop water from the storage-wel .'

¹⁵ For Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, says this, 'Your salvation lay in conversion and tranquil ity,your strength in serenity and trust and you would have none of it.

¹⁶ "No," you said, "we shall flee on horses." And so flee you wil ! And again, "We shal ride on swift ones." And so your pursuers will be swift!

¹⁷ A thousand wil quake at the threat of one and when five threaten you will flee, until what is left of youwil be like a flagstaff on a mountain top, like a signal on a hil .'

¹⁸ But Yahweh is waiting to be gracious to you, the Exalted One, to take pity on you, for Yahweh is aGod of fair judgement; blessed are al who hope in him.

¹⁹ Yes, people of Zion living in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He wil be gracious to you when yourcry for help rings out; as soon as he hears it, he will answer you.

²⁰ When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacherwil hide no longer, and you wil see your teacher with your own eyes.

²¹ Your ears wil hear these words behind you, 'This is the way, keep to it,' whether you turn to right orleft.

²² You wil hold unclean the silverplating of your idols and the goldplating of your images. You wil throwthem away like the pol uted things they are, shouting after them, 'Good riddance!'

²³ He wil send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground provides wil berich and nourishing. That day, your cattle will graze in wide pastures.

²⁴ Oxen and donkeys that work the land will eat for fodder wild sorrel, spread by the shovel-load andfork-load.

²⁵ On every lofty mountain, on every high hil there wil be streams and water-courses, on the day of thegreat slaughter when the strongholds fal .

²⁶ Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter -- like the light ofseven days in one -- on the day Yahweh dresses his people's wound and heals the scars of the blows they havereceived.

²⁷ See, the name of Yahweh comes from afar, blazing his anger, heavy his threat. His lips are brimmingover with fury, his tongue is like a devouring fire.

²⁸ His breath is like a river in spate coming up to the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve ofdestruction, to harness the peoples in a bridle, that wil lead them astray.

²⁹ Your song wil be like that on a festal night, and there wil be joy in your hearts as when to the soundof the flute people make a pilgrimage to the mountain of Yahweh, the Rock of Israel.

³⁰ Yahweh will make his majestic voice ring out, he wil show the weight of his arm in the heat of hisanger, with a devouring fire, with thunderbolt, downpour and hailstones.

³¹ Yes, at Yahweh's voice Assyria wil be terrified, he wil strike him with his rod;

³² each time he goes by, wil fal the punishing rod that Yahweh wil lay on him, to the sound oftambourines and harps, in the battles which he wil wage against him with uplifted hand.

³³ Yes, Topheth has been ready for a long time now, that too is ready for the king, deep and wide hispyre, fire and wood in plenty. Yahweh's breath, like a stream of brimstone, wil set fire to it.