Isaiah 29 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

Woe to Jerusalem

The Blindness of Israel

Isa 29:1“Woe to Ariel,[fn] to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.

Isa 29:2Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.

Isa 29:3I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you.

Isa 29:4

Isa 29:4You shall be brought down,
You shall speak out of the ground;
Your speech shall be low, out of the dust;
Your voice shall be like a medium’s, out of the ground;
And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

Isa 29:5

Isa 29:5“Moreover the multitude of your foes
Shall be like fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible ones
Like chaff that passes away;
Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly.

Isa 29:6

Isa 29:6You will be punished by the LORD of hosts
With thunder and earthquake and great noise,
With storm and tempest
And the flame of devouring fire.

Isa 29:7

Isa 29:7The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel,
Even all who fight against her and her fortress,
And distress her,
Shall be as a dream of a night vision.

Isa 29:8

Isa 29:8It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look—he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look—he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves:
So the multitude of all the nations shall be,
Who fight against Mount Zion.”

The Blindness of Disobedience

Isa 29:9

Isa 29:9Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
They are drunk, but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.

Isa 29:10

Isa 29:10For the LORD has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.

Isa 29:11

Isa 29:11The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

Isa 29:12

Isa 29:12Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”

Isa 29:13

Isa 29:13Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

Isa 29:14

Isa 29:14Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

Isa 29:15

Isa 29:15Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD,
And their works are in the dark;
They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

Isa 29:16

Isa 29:16Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?

Future Recovery of Wisdom

Isa 29:17

Isa 29:17Is it not yet a very little while
Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?

Isa 29:18

Isa 29:18In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.

Isa 29:19

Isa 29:19The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD,
And the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.

Isa 29:20

Isa 29:20For the terrible one is brought to nothing,
The scornful one is consumed,
And all who watch for iniquity are cut off—

Isa 29:21

Isa 29:21Who make a man an offender by a word,
And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just by empty words.

Isa 29:22

Isa 29:22Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;

Isa 29:23

Isa 29:23But when he sees his children,
The work of My hands, in his midst,
They will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And fear the God of Israel.

Isa 29:24

Isa 29:24These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(29:1)

That is, Jerusalem

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.