Chapter 30

1Oh, disloyal sons!—declares the LORD—Making plansAgainst My wishes,Weaving schemesAgainst My will,Thereby pilingGuilt on guilt—

2Who set out to go down to EgyptWithout asking Me,To seek refuge with Pharaoh,To seek shelter under the protection of Egypt.

3The refuge with Pharaoh shall result in your shame;The shelter under Egypt’s protection, in your chagrin.

4Though his officers are present in Zoan,aAnd his messengersb reach as far as Hanes,

5They all shall come to shameBecause of a people that does not avail them,That is of no help or avail,But [brings] only chagrin and disgrace.

6cThe “Beasts of the Negeb” Pronouncement.Through a land of distress and hardship,Of lion and roaringd king-beast,Of viper and flying seraph,eThey convey their wealth on the backs of asses,Their treasures on camels’ humps,To a people of no avail.

7For the help of EgyptShall be vain and empty.Truly, I call this,f“They are a threat that has ceased.”

8Now,Go, write it down on a tabletAnd inscribe it in a record,That it may be with them for future days,A witnessg forever.

9For it is a rebellious people,Faithless children,Children who refused to heedThe instruction of the LORD;

10Who said to the seers,“Do not see,”To the prophets, “Do not prophesy truth to us;Speak to us falsehoods,Prophesy delusions.

11Leave the way!Get off the path!Let us hear no moreAbout the Holy One of Israel!”

12Assuredly,Thus said the Holy One of Israel:Because you have rejected this word,And have put your trust and relianceIn that which is fraudulent and tortuous—

13Of a surety,This iniquity shall work on youLike a spreading breach that occurs in a lofty wall,Whose crash comes sudden and swift.

14It is smashed as one smashes an earthen jug,Ruthlessly shatteredSo that no shard is left in its breakageTo scoop coals from a brazier,Or ladle water from a puddle.

15For thus said my Lord GOD,The Holy One of Israel,“You shall triumph by stillness and quiet;Your victory shall come aboutThrough calm and confidence.”But you refused.

16“No,” you declared.“We shall flee on steeds”—Therefore you shall flee!“We shall ride on swift mounts”—Therefore your pursuers shall prove swift!

17One thousand before the shout of one—You shall flee at the shout of five;Till what is left of youIs like a mast on a hilltop,Like a pole upon a mountain.

18Truly, the LORD is waiting to show you grace,Truly, He will arise to pardon you.For the LORD is a God of justice;Happy are all who wait for Him.

19Indeed, O people in Zion, dwellers of Jerusalem, you shall not have cause to weep. He will grant you His favor at the sound of your cry; He will respond as soon as He hears it.

20My Lord will provide for you meager bread and scant water. Then your Guide will no more dbe ignored, but your eyes will watch your Guide;

21and, whenever you deviate to the right or to the left, your ears will heed the command from behind you: “This is the road; follow it!”

22And you will treat as unclean the silver overlay of your images and the golden plating of your idols. You will casth them away like a menstruous woman. “Out!” you will call to them.

23So rain shall be provided for the seed with which you sow the ground, and the bread that the ground brings forth shall be rich and fat. Your livestock, in that day, shall graze in broad pastures;

24as for the cattle and the asses that till the soil, they shall partake of salted fodder that has been winnowed with shovel and fan.

25And on every high mountain and on every lofty hill, there shall appear brooks and watercourses—on a day of heavy slaughter, when towers topple.

26And the light of the moon shall become like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall become sevenfold, like the light of the seven days, when the LORD binds up His people’s wounds and heals the injuries it has suffered.

27Behold the iLORD HimselfComes from afarIn blazing wrath,jWith a heavy burden—His lips full of fury,His tongue like devouring fire,

28And his breath like a raging torrentReaching halfway up the neck—To set a misguiding yokek upon nationsAnd a misleading bridle upon the jaws of peoples,

29For you, there shall be singingAs on a night when a festival is hallowed;There shall be rejoicing as when they marchWith flute, lwith timbrels, and with lyresTo the Rock of Israel on the Mount of the LORD.

30For the LORD will make His majestic voice heardAnd display the sweep of His armIn raging wrath,In a devouring blaze of fire,In tempest, and rainstorm, and hailstones.

31Truly, Assyria, who beats with the rod,Shall be cowed by the voice of the LORD;

32dAnd each time the appointed staff passes by,The LORD will bring down [His arm] upon himAnd will do battle with him as he waves it.

33The Tophethm has long been ready for him;He too is destined for Melechn—His firepit has been made both wide and deep,With plenty of fire and firewood,And with the breath of the LORDBurning in it like a stream of sulfur.