Isaiah 29:11-13
New English Translation
11 To you this entire prophetic revelation[a] is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read[b] and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” 12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read[c] and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.”[d]
13 The Lord[e] says,
“These people say they are loyal to me;[f]
they say wonderful things about me,[g]
but they are not really loyal to me.[h]
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual.[i]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
- Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
- Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
- Isaiah 29:13 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
- Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
- Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
- Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
Isaiah 29:11-13
New International Version
11 For you this whole vision(A) is nothing but words sealed(B) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
13 The Lord says:
Footnotes
- Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules
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