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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]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  2. Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
  3. Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
  4. Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
  5. Isaiah 29:13 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  6. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
  7. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
  8. 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.
  9. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

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:

“These people(C) come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,(D)
    but their hearts are far from me.(E)
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[a](F)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules