Isaiah · Catholic Public Domain Version
Isaiah 29 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city against which David fought: year has been added to year, the solemnities have unfolded.
1 Woe to Ariel! Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts come around;
2 And I will surround Ariel with siege works, and it will be in sorrow and mourning, and it will be like Ariel to me.
2 then I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation. She shall be to me as an altar hearth.
3 And I will surround you like a sphere all around you, and I will raise up a rampart against you, and I will set up fortifications to blockade you.
3 I will encamp against you all around you, and will lay siege against you with posted troops. I will raise siege works against you.
4 You will be brought low. You will speak from the ground, and your eloquence will be heard from the dirt. And, from the ground, your voice will be like that of the python, and your eloquence will mumble from the dirt.
4 You will be brought down, and will speak out of the ground. Your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech will whisper out of the dust.
5 And the multitude of those who fan you will be like fine dust. And the multitude of those who have prevailed against you will be like embers fading away.
5 But the multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like chaff that blows away. Yes, it will be in an instant, suddenly.
6 And this will happen suddenly and swiftly. It will be visited from the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquakes, and with the great noise of a whirlwind and a storm, and with a flame of devouring fire.
6 She will be visited by Yahweh of Armies with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise, with whirlwind and storm, and with the flame of a devouring fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations that have struggled against Ariel will be like the dream of a vision by night, along with all who have battled, and besieged, and prevailed against it.
7 The multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 And it will be like one who is hungry and dreams of eating, but, when he has been awakened, his soul is empty. And it will be like one who is thirsty and dreams of drinking, but, after he has been awakened, he still languishes in thirst, and his soul is empty. So shall the multitude of all the nations be, who have struggled against Mount Zion.
8 It will be like when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he eats; but he awakes, and his hunger isn’t satisfied; or like when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he drinks; but he awakes, and behold, he is faint, and he is still thirsty. The multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion will be like that.
9 Be stupefied and in wonder! Shake and quiver! Be inebriated, but not from wine! Stagger, but not from drunkenness!
9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the Lord has mixed for you a spirit of deep sleep. He will close your eyes. He will cover your prophets and leaders, who see visions.
10 For Yahweh has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and he has covered your heads, the seers.
11 And the vision of all will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they have given it to someone who knows how to read, they will say, “Read this,” but he will respond, “I cannot; for it has been sealed.”
11 All vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is educated, saying, “Read this, please;” and he says, “I can’t, for it is sealed;”
12 But if the book is given to someone who does not know how to read, and it is said to him, “Read,” then he will respond, “I do not know how to read.”
12 and the book is delivered to one who is not educated, saying, “Read this, please;” and he says, “I can’t read.”
13 And the Lord said: Since this people have drawn near to me only with their mouth, and their lips glorify me while their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is based on the commandments and doctrines of men,
13 The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;
14 for this reason, behold, I will proceed to accomplish a wonder for this people, a great and mystifying miracle. For wisdom will perish from their wise, and the understanding of their prudent will be concealed.
14 therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden.”
15 Woe to you who use the depths of the heart, so that you may hide your intentions from the Lord. Their works are done in darkness, and so they say: “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
15 Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
16 This intention of yours is perverse. It is as if the clay were to plan against the potter, or as if the work were to say to its maker: “You did not make me.” Or it is as if what has been formed were to say to the one who formed it, “You do not understand.”
16 You turn things upside down! Should the potter be thought to be like clay, that the thing made should say about him who made it, “He didn’t make me;” or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
17 In not more than a little while and a brief time, Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and a fruitful field will be considered to be a forest.
17 Isn’t it yet a very little while, and Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be regarded as a forest?
18 And in that day, the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind will see.
18 In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 And the meek will increase their rejoicing in the Lord, and the poor among men will exult in the Holy One of Israel.
19 The humble also will increase their joy in Yahweh, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the one who was prevailing has failed, the one who was mocking has been consumed, and all those who were standing guard over iniquity have been cut down.
20 For the ruthless is brought to nothing, and the scoffer ceases, and all those who are alert to do evil are cut off—
21 For they caused men to sin by a word, and they supplanted him who argued against them at the gates, and they turned away from justice in vain.
21 who cause a person to be indicted by a word, and lay a snare for one who reproves in the gate, and who deprive the innocent of justice with false testimony.
22 Because of this, thus says the Lord, he who has redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob: From now on, Jacob will not be confounded; from now on his countenance will not blush with shame.
22 Therefore Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall no longer be ashamed, neither shall his face grow pale.
23 Instead, when he sees his children, they will be the work of my hands in his midst, sanctifying my name, and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will preach the God of Israel.
23 But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the middle of him, they will sanctify my name. Yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those who had gone astray in spirit will know understanding, and those who had murmured will learn the law.
24 They also who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will receive instruction.”
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Amos 4:4–5; 2 Samuel 5:9; Micah 6:6–7; Hosea 5:6; Ezekiel 43:15–16
- 2 Isaiah 5:25–30; Revelation 19:17–18; Zephaniah 1:7–8; Ezekiel 39:17; Isaiah 34:6
- 3 Luke 19:43–44; Ezekiel 21:22; 2 Kings 24:11–12; 2 Kings 18:17; Matthew 22:7
- 4 Isaiah 8:19; Psalm 44:25; Isaiah 3:8; Isaiah 51:23; Isaiah 2:11–21
- 5 1 Thessalonians 5:3; Isaiah 37:36; Isaiah 30:13; Isaiah 31:3; Isaiah 17:13–14
- 6 Mark 13:8; Matthew 24:7; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 16:18; 1 Samuel 2:10
- 7 Job 20:8; Zechariah 12:9; Micah 4:11–12; Psalm 73:20; Zechariah 14:12–15
- 8 Isaiah 44:12; Psalm 73:20; Isaiah 10:7–16; 2 Chronicles 32:21
- 9 Isaiah 51:21–22; Revelation 17:6; Isaiah 19:14; Isaiah 33:13–14; Isaiah 49:26
- 10 Romans 11:8; Isaiah 44:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12; Isaiah 6:9–10; Acts 28:26–27
- 11 Matthew 13:11; Daniel 12:4; Isaiah 8:16; Daniel 12:9; Matthew 11:25
- 12 John 7:15–16; Isaiah 29:18; Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 28:12–13; Jeremiah 5:4
- 13 Jeremiah 12:2; Ezekiel 33:31–33; Mark 7:2–13; Matthew 15:2–9; Jeremiah 3:10
- 14 Habakkuk 1:5; 1 Corinthians 1:19–24; Isaiah 28:21; Jeremiah 49:7; John 9:39–41
- 15 Ezekiel 8:12; Isaiah 47:10; Isaiah 30:1; Psalm 94:7–9; Zephaniah 1:12
- 16 Romans 9:19–21; Isaiah 64:8; Isaiah 45:9–11; Psalm 94:8–9; Jeremiah 18:1–10
- 17 Isaiah 32:15; Matthew 19:30; Hebrews 10:37; Ezekiel 20:46–47; Psalm 84:6
- 18 Matthew 11:5; Isaiah 35:5; Proverbs 20:12; Ephesians 1:17–19; Psalm 119:18
- 19 James 2:5; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 11:29; Matthew 5:5; Psalm 25:9
- 20 Micah 2:1; Isaiah 28:14–22; Luke 16:14; Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 59:4
- 21 Amos 5:10–12; James 5:6; Acts 3:14; Jeremiah 26:2–8; Luke 11:53–54
- 22 Isaiah 45:17; Jeremiah 30:10; Isaiah 51:2; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Joel 2:27
- 23 Isaiah 19:25; Ephesians 2:10; Isaiah 45:11; Isaiah 8:13; Isaiah 5:16
- 24 Isaiah 28:7; Hebrews 5:2; Luke 15:17–19; Revelation 20:2–3; 1 Timothy 1:13–15
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
For [the Scripture] saith in a certain place, "This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." And again: "They bless with their mouth, but curse with their heart." And again it saith, "They loved Him with their mouth, and lied to Him with their tongue; but their heart was not right with Him, neither …
As also Isaiah says: "This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me: howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching the doctrines and the commandments of men." He does not call the law given by Moses commandments of men, but the traditions of the elders themselves which they had invented, and in upholding which …
But He fulfills what the holy prophets truly predicted regarding Him: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nought the prudence of the prudent." For He does not destroy and bring to nought His own gift in them, but what they arrogate to themselves, and do not hold of Him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Have ye not heard the prophet, saying (or rather God by the prophet), "This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me?" Therefore, lest this be our case too, wipe thou out the letters, or rather the impressions, which the devil hath engraven in thy soul; and bring me a heart set free from worldly …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." And "like as Christ was raised up from the dead by (dia) the glory of God the Father." ^ Isaiah, moreover, says, "Woe unto them that make deep counsel and not through the Lord;" and many proofs of the use of this phrase in the case of the Spirit …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)