| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; Let feasts come around. | 1Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David camped! Continue year after year; let the festivals recur. |
| 2Yet I will distress Ariel; There shall be heaviness and sorrow, And it shall be to Me as Ariel. | 2I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to Me like an Ariel. |
| 3I will encamp against you all around, I will lay siege against you with a mound, And I will raise siegeworks against you. | 3I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you. |
| 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. | 4You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust. |
| 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. | 5Your many foes will be like fine dust, and many of the ruthless, like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, |
| 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. | 6you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire. |
| 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. | 7All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel-- all the attackers, the siege works against her, and those who oppress her-- will then be like a dream, a vision in the night. |
| 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.” | 8It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating, then wakes and is still hungry; and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking, then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water. So it will be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion. |
| 9Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. | 9Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer. |
| 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. | 10For the LORD has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep; He has shut your eyes--the prophets, and covered your heads--the seers. |
| 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.” | 11For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, "I can't read it, because it is sealed." |
| 12Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.” | 12And if the document is given to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it, he will say, "I can't read." |
| 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, | 13The Lord said: Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service-- yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote-- |
| 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.” | 14therefore I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will vanish, and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden. |
| 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?” | 15Woe to those who go to great lengths to hide their plans from the LORD. They do their works in darkness, and say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" |
| 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”? | 16You have turned things around, as if the potter were the same as the clay. How can what is made say about its maker," He didn't make me"? How can what is formed say about the one who formed it," He doesn't understand what he's doing"? |
| 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? | 17Isn't it true that in just a little while Lebanon will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest? |
| 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. | 18On that day the deaf will hear the words of a document, and out of a deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see. |
| 19The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. | 19The humble will have joy after joy in the LORD, and the poor people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. |
| 20For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off— | 20For the ruthless one will vanish, the scorner will disappear, and all those who lie in wait with evil intent will be killed-- |
| 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. | 21those who, with their speech, accuse a person of wrongdoing, who set a trap at the gate for the mediator, and without cause deprive the righteous of justice. |
| 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; | 22Therefore, the LORD who redeemed Abraham says this about the house of Jacob: Jacob will no longer be ashamed and his face will no longer be pale. |
| 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. | 23For when he sees his children, the work of My hands within his nation, they will honor My name, they will honor the Holy One of Jacob and stand in awe of the God of Israel. |
| 24These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, And those who complained will learn doctrine.” | 24Those who are confused will gain understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction. |
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