[1] Ho! Ariel, Ariel, the town against which David made war; put year to
year, let the feasts come round: [2] And I will send trouble on Ariel, and
there will be weeping and cries of grief; and she will be to me as Ariel.
[3] And I will make war on you like David, and you will be shut in by
earthworks, and I will make towers round you. [4] And you will be made low,
and your voice will come out of the earth, and your words will be low out
of the dust; and your voice will come out of the earth like that of a
spirit, making bird-like noises out of the dust. [5] And the army of your
attackers will be like small dust, and all the cruel ones like dry stems
gone before the wind; suddenly it will come about. [6] The Lord of armies
will come in with thunder and earth-shaking and great noise, with rushing
wind and storm, and the flame of burning fire. [7] And all the nations
making war on Ariel, and all those who are fighting against her and
shutting her in with their towers, will be like a dream, like a vision of
the night. [8] And it will be like a man desiring food, and dreaming that
he is feasting; but when he is awake there is nothing in his mouth: or like
a man in need of water, dreaming that he is drinking; but when he is awake
he is feeble and his soul is full of desire: so will all the nations be
which make war on Mount Zion. [9] Be surprised and full of wonder; let your
eyes be covered and be blind: be overcome, but not with wine; go with
uncertain steps, but not because of strong drink. [10] For the Lord has
sent on you a spirit of deep sleep; and by him your eyes, the prophets, are
shut, and your heads, the seers, are covered. [11] And the vision of all
this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men
give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is
in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut: [12] And
they give it to one without learning, saying, Make clear to us what is in
the book: and he says, I have no knowledge of writing. [13] And the Lord
said, because this people come near to me with their mouths, and give
honour to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and their
fear of me is false, a rule given them by the teaching of men; [14] For
this cause I will again do a strange thing among this people, a thing to be
wondered at: and the wisdom of their wise men will come to nothing, and the
sense of their guides will no longer be seen. [15] Cursed are those who go
deep to keep their designs secret from the Lord, and whose works are in the
dark, and who say, Who sees us? and who has knowledge of our acts? [16] You
are turning things upside down! Is the wet earth the same to you as the one
who is forming it? will the thing made say of him who made it, He made me
not: or the thing formed say of him who gave it form, He has no knowledge?
[17] In a very short time Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the
fertile field will seem like a wood. [18] And in that day those whose ears
are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the
blind will see through the mist and the dark. [19] And the poor will have
their joy in the Lord increased, and those in need will be glad in the Holy
One of Israel. [20] For the cruel one has come to nothing; and those who
make sport of the Lord are gone; and those who are watching to do evil are
cut off: [21] Who give help to a man in a wrong cause, and who put a net
for the feet of him who gives decisions in the public place, taking away a
man's right without cause. [22] For this reason the Lord, the saviour of
Abraham, says about the family of Jacob, Jacob will not now be put to
shame, or his face be clouded with fear. [23] But when they, the children
of Jacob, see the work of my hands among them, they will give honour to my
name; yes, they will give honour to the Holy One of Jacob, and go in fear
of the God of Israel. [24] Those whose hearts were turned away from him
will get knowledge, and those who made an outcry against him will give
attention to his teaching.
