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Isaiah 30
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 30
Easy-to-Read Version
Israel Should Trust in God, Not Egypt
30 The Lord said, “Look at these children. They don’t obey me. They make plans, but they don’t ask me to help them. They make agreements with other nations, but my Spirit does not want those agreements. These people are adding more and more sins to the ones they have already done. 2 They are going down to Egypt for help, but they did not ask me if that was the right thing to do. They hope they will be saved by the Pharaoh. They want Egypt to protect them.
3 “But I tell you, hiding in Egypt will not help you. Pharaoh will not be able to protect you. 4 Your leaders have gone to Zoan, and your representatives have gone to Hanes.[a] 5 But they will be disappointed. They are depending on a nation that cannot help them. Egypt is useless—it will not help. Egypt will bring nothing but shame and embarrassment.”
God’s Message to Judah
6 This is a message[b] about the Negev animals[c]:
There is a dangerous place full of lions, adders,[d] deadly snakes,[e] and useless people. And there are people who load their wealth onto donkeys and their treasures on the backs of camels. They carry them to a people who cannot help. 7 That useless nation is Egypt. Egypt’s help is worth nothing, so I call Egypt the “Do-Nothing Dragon.”[f]
8 Now write this on a sign so that all people can see it, and write this in a book. Write these things for a future time. This will be far, far in the future:[g]
9 These people are like children who refuse to obey. They lie and refuse to listen to the Lord’s teachings. 10 They tell the prophets, “Don’t see dreams[h] about things we should do. Don’t tell us the truth. Say nice things to us and make us feel good. See only good things for us. 11 Stop seeing things that will really happen. Get out of our way. Stop telling us about the Holy One of Israel.”
Judah’s Help Comes Only From God
12 The Holy One of Israel says, “You people have refused to accept this message from me. You depend on fighting and lies to help you. 13 You are guilty of these things. So you are like a tall wall with cracks in it. That wall will fall and break into small pieces. 14 You will be like a large clay jar that breaks into many small, useless pieces. You cannot use them to get a hot coal from the fire or to get water from a pool in the ground.”
15 The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says, “If you come back to me you will be saved. Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong.”
But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” That is true—you will need fast horses, but only to run away because your enemy will be faster than your horses. 17 One enemy soldier will make threats, and a thousand of your men will run away. And when five of them make threats, all of you will run away. The only thing that will be left of your army will be a flagpole on a hill.
God Will Help His People
18 So the Lord is waiting to show his mercy to you. He wants to rise and comfort you. The Lord is the God who does the right thing, so he will bless everyone who waits for his help.
19 You people who live in Jerusalem on Mount Zion will not continue crying. The Lord will hear your crying, and he will comfort you. When he hears you, he will help you.
20 The Lord might give you sorrow and pain like the bread and water you eat every day. But God is your teacher, and he will not continue to hide from you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21 If you wander from the right path, either to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice behind you saying, “You should go this way. Here is the right way.”
22 Then you will take your idols covered with gold and silver and make them unfit to be used again. You will throw them away like filthy rags[i] and say, “Go away!”
23 At that time the Lord will send you rain. You will plant seeds, and the ground will grow food for you. You will have a very large harvest. You will have plenty of food in the fields for your animals. There will be large fields for your sheep. 24 Your cattle and donkeys will have all the food they need. There will be much food. You will have to use shovels and pitchforks to spread all the food[j] for your animals to eat. 25 Every mountain and hill will have streams filled with water. These things will happen after many people are killed and the enemy’s towers are pulled down.
26 At that time the light from the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light from the sun will be seven times brighter than it is now. One day of sunlight will be like a whole week’s worth. This will happen when the Lord bandages his broken people and heals the hurts from their beatings.
27 Look! The Lord is coming from far away. His anger is like a fire with thick clouds of smoke. His mouth is filled with anger, and his tongue is like a burning fire. 28 His breath is like a great river that rises until it reaches the throat. He will judge the nations as if putting them through a strainer that separates the ones fit for destruction. He will put a bit in their mouths to lead them to the place they don’t want to go.
29 You will sing happy songs, like the nights when you begin a festival. You will be very happy walking to the Lord’s mountain and listening to the flute on the way to worship the Rock of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause all people to hear his great voice and to see his powerful arm come down in anger. That arm will be like a great fire that burns everything. His power will be like a great storm with much rain and hail. 31 Assyria will be frightened by the Lord’s voice and the stick that will beat him. 32 And as the Lord beats Assyria, his people will keep the rhythm with their drums and harps.
33 Topheth[k] has been made ready for a long time. It is ready for the king.[l] It was made very deep and wide. There is a very big pile of wood and fire there, and the Lord’s breath will come like a stream of burning sulfur to start the fire.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:4 Zoan, Hanes Cities in Egypt.
- Isaiah 30:6 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 30:6 Negev animals Or “Creatures of the South,” a phrase that can refer to Egypt.
- Isaiah 30:6 adders Very poisonous snakes.
- Isaiah 30:6 deadly snakes Literally, “flying snakes.”
- Isaiah 30:7 Do-Nothing Dragon Or “Resting Rahab,” the great sea monster. Some ancient stories tell about Rahab fighting with God.
- Isaiah 30:8 Write … future Or “Write this for the future as a witness forever.”
- Isaiah 30:10 dreams Or “visions.” Special kinds of dreams God used to speak to his prophets.
- Isaiah 30:22 You … rags Or “You will throw those gods away like menstrual clothes.”
- Isaiah 30:24 food This was special food that had been allowed to ferment. This made the meat of the animal tender and good.
- Isaiah 30:33 Topheth Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom. In this valley people killed their children to honor the false god, “Molech.”
- Isaiah 30:33 king This is like the name of the false god, “Molech.”
Isaiah 30
New International Version
Isaiah 30
New International Version
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
30 “Woe(A) to the obstinate children,”(B)
declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance,(C) but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt(D)
without consulting(E) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(F)
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(G)
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade(H) will bring you disgrace.(I)
4 Though they have officials in Zoan(J)
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people(K) useless(L) to them,
who bring neither help(M) nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.(N)”
6 A prophecy(O) concerning the animals of the Negev:(P)
Through a land of hardship and distress,(Q)
of lions(R) and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,(S)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(T) backs,
their treasures(U) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(V)
Therefore I call her
Rahab(W) the Do-Nothing.
8 Go now, write it on a tablet(X) for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,(Y)
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.(Z)
9 For these are rebellious(AA) people, deceitful(AB) children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(AC)
10 They say to the seers,(AD)
“See no more visions(AE)!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(AF)
prophesy illusions.(AG)
11 Leave this way,(AH)
get off this path,
and stop confronting(AI) us
with the Holy One(AJ) of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One(AK) of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,(AL)
relied on oppression(AM)
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,(AN) cracked and bulging,
that collapses(AO) suddenly,(AP) in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,(AQ)
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereign(AR) Lord, the Holy One(AS) of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest(AT) is your salvation,
in quietness and trust(AU) is your strength,
but you would have none of it.(AV)
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee(AW) on horses.’(AX)
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five(AY)
you will all flee(AZ) away,
till you are left(BA)
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner(BB) on a hill.”
18 Yet the Lord longs(BC) to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.(BD)
For the Lord is a God of justice.(BE)
Blessed are all who wait for him!(BF)
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.(BG) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!(BH) As soon as he hears, he will answer(BI) you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread(BJ) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers(BK) will be hidden(BL) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice(BM) behind you, saying, “This is the way;(BN) walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols(BO) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;(BP) you will throw them away like a menstrual(BQ) cloth and say to them, “Away with you!(BR)”
23 He will also send you rain(BS) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich(BT) and plentiful.(BU) In that day(BV) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.(BW) 24 The oxen(BX) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder(BY) and mash, spread out with fork(BZ) and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter,(CA) when the towers(CB) fall, streams of water will flow(CC) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun,(CD) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals(CE) the wounds he inflicted.
27 See, the Name(CF) of the Lord comes from afar,
with burning anger(CG) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,(CH)
and his tongue is a consuming fire.(CI)
28 His breath(CJ) is like a rushing torrent,(CK)
rising up to the neck.(CL)
He shakes the nations in the sieve(CM) of destruction;
he places in the jaws of the peoples
a bit(CN) that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;(CO)
your hearts will rejoice(CP)
as when people playing pipes(CQ) go up
to the mountain(CR) of the Lord,
to the Rock(CS) of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice(CT)
and will make them see his arm(CU) coming down
with raging anger(CV) and consuming fire,(CW)
with cloudburst, thunderstorm(CX) and hail.(CY)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;(CZ)
with his rod he will strike(DA) them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
with his punishing club(DB)
will be to the music of timbrels(DC) and harps,
as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.(DD)
33 Topheth(DE) has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath(DF) of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulfur,(DG)
sets it ablaze.(DH)
Isaiah 30
King James Version
Isaiah 30
King James Version
30 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.
30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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