Isaiah 29 : 1 (ERVEN)
God says, "Look at Ariel, the city where David camped. Keep on having your festivals, year after year.
Isaiah 29 : 2 (ERVEN)
But I will punish Ariel. The city will be filled with sadness and crying, but it will always be my Ariel.
Isaiah 29 : 3 (ERVEN)
"I will put armies all around you, Ariel. I will raise war towers against you.
Isaiah 29 : 4 (ERVEN)
You will be pulled to the ground. Your voice will rise from the ground like the voice of a ghost. Your words come like a whisper from the dirt."
Isaiah 29 : 5 (ERVEN)
There will be so many foreigners that they will be like dust. Cruel people will be like the chaff blowing in the wind. Then suddenly,
Isaiah 29 : 6 (ERVEN)
the Lord All-Powerful will punish you with earthquakes, thunder, and loud noises. There will be storms, strong winds, and a burning, destructive fire.
Isaiah 29 : 7 (ERVEN)
Many nations will fight against Ariel. It will be a nightmare. Armies will surround Ariel and punish her.
Isaiah 29 : 8 (ERVEN)
But it will also be like a dream to those armies. They will not get what they want. It will be like a hungry man dreaming about food. When the man wakes up, he is still hungry. It will be like a thirsty man dreaming about water. When the man wakes up, he is still thirsty. The same thing is true about all the nations fighting against Zion. Those nations will not get what they want.
Isaiah 29 : 9 (ERVEN)
Be surprised and amazed! You will become drunk, but not from wine. Look and be amazed! You will stumble and fall, but not from beer.
Isaiah 29 : 10 (ERVEN)
The Lord will make you sleepy. He will close your eyes. (The prophets are your eyes.) He will cover your heads. (The prophets are your heads.)
Isaiah 29 : 11 (ERVEN)
To you my words are like the words in a book that is closed and sealed. You can give the book to someone who can read and tell that person to read it. But that person will say, "I cannot read the book. It is closed and I cannot open it."
Isaiah 29 : 12 (ERVEN)
Or you can give the book to someone who cannot read and tell that person to read it. That person will say, "I cannot read the book because I don't know how to read."
Isaiah 29 : 13 (ERVEN)
The Lord says, "These people come to honor me with words from their mouths, but I am not really important to them. The worship they give me is nothing but human rules they have memorized.
Isaiah 29 : 14 (ERVEN)
So I will continue to amaze them by doing powerful and amazing things. Their wise men will lose their wisdom. Even the most intelligent among them will not be able to understand."
Isaiah 29 : 15 (ERVEN)
Look at them! They try to hide things from the Lord. They think he will not understand. They do their evil things in darkness. They tell themselves: "No one can see us. No one will know who we are."
Isaiah 29 : 16 (ERVEN)
You turn things upside down. You think the clay is equal to the potter. You think that something that is made can tell the one who made it, "You did not make me!" This is like a pot telling its maker, "You don't understand."
Isaiah 29 : 17 (ERVEN)
This is the truth: After a very short time, Lebanon will become rich farmland, and the farmland will be like thick forests.
Isaiah 29 : 18 (ERVEN)
The deaf will hear the words in the book. The blind will see through the darkness and fog.
Isaiah 29 : 19 (ERVEN)
The Lord will make poor people happy. The poorest people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 29 : 20 (ERVEN)
This will happen when the people who are mean and cruel have come to an end. It will happen when those who enjoy doing bad things are gone.
Isaiah 29 : 21 (ERVEN)
(They lie about good people. They try to trap people in court. They try to destroy innocent people.)
Isaiah 29 : 22 (ERVEN)
So the Lord speaks to Jacob's family. (This is the Lord who made Abraham free.) He says, "Now the people of Jacob will not be embarrassed and ashamed.
Isaiah 29 : 23 (ERVEN)
They will look around at all the children they have�children that I myself made, and they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob. They will respect the God of Israel.
Isaiah 29 : 24 (ERVEN)
Many of these people did not understand, so they did what was wrong. They complained, but now they will learn their lesson."
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