Chapter Twenty-Nine

1–12. The fate awaiting Jerusalem. 13–24. The secret counsel of people and God’s secret decision.

Isa 29:1-12. A sorrowful future awaits Jerusalem – it will be subjected to all the horrors of siege. Yet the city will not be taken by its enemies; these enemies will quickly vanish. But the inhabitants of Jerusalem listen indifferently to these words of the prophet about the fate awaiting them: in their spiritual blindness, they are unable even to understand the words of the prophet.

Isaiah 29:1. Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; let them slay sacrifices. Isaiah 29:2. But I will besiege Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation; and it shall be to me like Ariel. Here is contained the theme of the prophet’s discourse. “Ariel,” that is, the city of God, or Jerusalem, though it is Ariel – that is, the lion of God – will be subjected to great suffering, yet it will still be preserved as Ariel, that is, as the hearth of God. Thus here we encounter the same word in three meanings: first, the prophet uses the name Ariel in the sense of “city of God” (in Hebrew ar = city and el = God, the particle i being connecting), second (in the 2nd verse in the first half), the name Ariel means “the lion of God,” that is, a mighty city, which will be placed in an extremely difficult position; third (the last word of the 2nd verse), Ariel denotes “the hearth or altar of God.” And the meaning of the last expression of the 2nd verse is that, despite all misfortunes, Jerusalem will still retain its leading position among the cities of Judah, as the true altar of God. “Add year to year.” These words must contain a definite indication of the time remaining before the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, because otherwise they would be completely useless as a threat; the inhabitants of Jerusalem could suppose that they would not see enemies for a long time yet! It is more correct to translate this passage thus: “To the passing year you can add only one more complete year – only one more yearly cycle of festivals you will celebrate (before the siege).” 33

Isaiah 29:3. I will encamp against you all around you and will besiege you with a garrison and will raise siegeworks against you. Isaiah 29:4. And you shall be brought low, you shall speak from the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust; and your voice shall be like the voice of a medium, and your speech shall whisper from the dust. Jerusalem will be so besieged by enemies that its inhabitants will scarcely be able to speak! They will only emit some whisper, like a person pressed to the ground, or as, according to the understanding of the Hebrews, the dead summoned by sorcerers spoke (cf. Isa 8:19).

Isaiah 29:5. But the multitude of your strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones like chaff that passes away; and in an instant, in a moment, it shall be. Isaiah 29:6. You will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. Isaiah 29:7. And like a dream, a vision of the night, will be the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, and all who fight against him and his stronghold and distress him. Isaiah 29:8. And as when a hungry man dreams that he is eating, but he awakes, and his hunger is not satisfied; or as when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but he awakes, and behold, he is faint, and his thirst is not quenched; so shall it be with the multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. But the enemies of Judah will not triumph for long: they will quickly, in an instant, be swept away from the walls of the city like fine dust or chaff carried by the wind – the Lord will visit you. The prophet addresses Jerusalem with a promise of gracious visitation or salvation by God (cf. Isa 24:22), which will consist in the Lord pouring out His wrath upon the enemies of Jerusalem. 34 In verse 7, “Ariel” probably denotes the holy city, as “the hearth or altar of God.” The picture of the disappointment of the Assyrians, who considered Jerusalem already theirs, is drawn by the prophet in an extraordinarily vivid manner... First he says that the very attack of the Assyrians on Jerusalem will leave in the Jews the impression of a terrible dream (verse 7), and then he points out that the multitude of peoples who were part of the Assyrian army will sadly see that all their hopes of enriching themselves with the treasures of Jerusalem have proven vain.

Isaiah 29:9. Be amazed and astounded; they have blinded themselves, and they themselves are blind; they are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink; Isaiah 29:10. for the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, you prophets, and covered your heads, you seers. Isaiah 29:11. And every vision is to you like the words of a sealed book, which men give to one who can read, saying, “Read this”; and he says, “I cannot, because it is sealed. Isaiah 29:12. Or when the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this”; and he says, “I cannot read. Here the prophet depicts the impression that his words should have made on the unreceptive Jewish people. The Jews rely not on God’s help, but on Egypt’s help. Therefore, they are not gladdened but only confused by his discourse. They are like blind people who became such not without divine permission, and they relate to Isaiah’s prophecy as people who must understand the contents of a sealed scroll, or as an illiterate person to whom something is offered to read. “Be amazed and astounded,” that is, you may marvel at my words as much as you wish, find them strange, but in any case I am obliged to speak them to you and you will hear no other words! “They have blinded” – more correctly, in accord with the preceding words, this expression should be rendered in the imperative mood, namely thus: “blind yourselves and remain in your blindness!” “They are drunk.” The prophet could not characterize the schemes of Judean politicians otherwise than by calling them the deeds of completely drunk people. “The Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep.” The hardening and stubbornness of the Jews, who refused to listen to Isaiah, the prophet here depicts as divine punishment for their previous conduct, for their disbelief in former revelations. “Prophets..., seers.” Here Isaiah probably has in mind people who, on the basis of the special prophetic ability which they attributed to themselves, came forward as interpreters of the rather difficult sayings of Isaiah or another true prophet, and perhaps enjoyed some authority among the Jews in doing so. But these prophets and seers often erred in their interpretations – they did not understand the true meaning of Isaiah’s words. The people probably turned to them for explanations, for instance, regarding the prophecy about Ariel, but they turned out to be unequal to their calling!

Isaiah 29:13. And the Lord said: Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men; Isaiah 29:14. therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid. Unwilling to listen to the prophet of God, the Judean politicians and the rest of the Jews nevertheless still outwardly continued to consider themselves worshippers of the Lord. The prophet now exposes the falseness of such worship and at the same time announces that the Lord will put their own wisdom to shame, of which they were proud. He Himself, by His almighty power, will strike down the proud Assyrians and exalt Judah. And afterwards the Lord will continually by His grace exalt the humiliated, while oppressors and deceivers will be destroyed. Because of this, the descendants of Jacob, in the distant future, will in everything bow before the Most High. The Jews evidently wished to live in any case their own way in their life and especially in their politics, although outwardly they maintained a connection with the temple of the Most High through external worship. The punishment for this will be that the Lord will continue (I will again do) as He did before, to confound their cunning schemes. He will deal with the Jewish people marvelously and wonderfully, that is, in a way completely unexpected by them, sending them both punishment and salvation. It is very probable that here is contained a prediction of the liberation of Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege under King Hezekiah.

Isaiah 29:15. Woe to those who hide their plans deep from the Lord, whose deeds are done in darkness, and who say, “Who sees us? Who will know us? Isaiah 29:16. You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall a made thing say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Like Ahaz (Isa 7:1), Hezekiah also sought to conduct policy independently, not following the directives of the prophet Isaiah, and in doing so he concealed his plans from him. He did not wish to come forward directly and openly as an opponent of the prophet, since he respected the prophet as God’s messenger. But in this very way he showed his lack of understanding of the great importance of prophetic ministry. He thought to deceive the prophet – as if by his wisdom he surpassed him! In reality, he and his politicians could be compared to clay, while the true potter was God’s prophet. In pointing to the absurdity of the political schemes of King Hezekiah’s ministers, who thought it possible to disobey God, the prophet compares them to a pot which refuses to recognize in its maker the cause of its existence, and to a work of art which does not want to acknowledge the skill of its creator.

Isaiah 29:17. Is it not yet a little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? Isaiah 29:18. And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. Isaiah 29:19. And the meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:20. for the oppressor will be no more, and the scoffer will cease, and all who are alert to do evil will be cut off, Isaiah 29:21. those who by a word make a man an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. The Lord Himself will reform His people, now so unreceptive to divine revelation. The prophet depicts this future change under symbolic images of transformation occurring in nature and in the life of men. At the same time, the Judean politicians proud of their wisdom will perish. It is evident, however, that the prophet’s vision turns here from the near future to times most distant – to the days of messianic salvation. “Shall Lebanon be turned into a fruitful field.” The Lord can make even the impassable Lebanon forests into a simple, well-cleared field, and conversely – a field into a forest. Lebanon here mainly means the wild power and might of the Assyrian king, while the field means the Jewish state. “The deaf.” The prophet probably speaks here of the spiritually deaf Jews, upon whom God poured out a spirit of deep sleep (verses 11–12). With the manifestation of God’s grace among the people, all their obstinacy will end – they will cease to be deaf and blind to the revelations of God. At the same time they will find happiness for themselves, will be freed from all need, and will rejoice in communion with their Lord. The content of these verses (18, 19) is reproduced in the well-known answer of Christ to the disciples of John the Baptist (Matt 11:5; Luke 7:22) and consequently this passage has a messianic sense as well, pointing to the transformations which the Gospel grace will accomplish in the life of all humanity. “The oppressor and the scoffer” – this first of all is the king of Assyria (cf. Isa 36 and following), and then in general any enemy of the Church of God. “All who are alert to do evil” – these are their own, domestic, oppressors of the Jewish people. “He who reproves in the gate.” According to Jewish custom, judges tried cases at the city gates, in squares situated near these gates, so that there would always be witnesses of how the case was tried.

Isaiah 29:22. Therefore 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. Isaiah 29:23. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Isaiah 29:24. And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction. In conclusion, the prophet announces salvation from God to the best elements of the Israelite people. This chosen remnant will sanctify the name of God and will possess true wisdom. “Who redeemed Abraham,” that is, delivered him from the influences of pagan, though kindred, surroundings (Josh 24:2), having brought him out from Mesopotamia. “Jacob shall not now be ashamed,” that is, will receive all that was promised to him by God (cf. Isa 19:9; Isa 20:5; Isa 37:27). “Nor shall his face now grow pale.” Among peoples with a bronze complexion, confusion and shame were indicated not by a flush, but precisely by paleness. “When he sees his children, the work of my hands” – more correctly translated: “when his (Israel’s) children (descendants) see my deed, which I will accomplish among them.” “Those who err in spirit” – these are not only Jews, but also gentiles (Eph 4:18). In general, this prophecy concerning the turning of people to God continues to be fulfilled even now (Rom. 11; John 9:5). Chapter 29 forms a complete poem on the humiliation and exaltation of Ariel, or Jerusalem. The authenticity of this chapter raises no serious objections. The stanzas of the poem according to Condamin are divided as follows: 1st stanza – verses 1–4 – (3, 2, 2) 2nd stanza – verses 5–8 – (3, 2, 2) 3rd stanza – verses 9–10 – (2, 2) (Verses 11–14 are written in prose, and verses 15–16 Condamin attributes to the beginning of chapter 30, due to similarity in thought and construction with verses 1–2 of chapter 30). 1st stanza – verses 17–21 – (1, 2, 2) 2nd stanza – verses 22–24 – (1, 2, 2) * * * In the Slavonic translation from the LXX it is said of the siege of Jerusalem by David. “Woe to the city Ariel, against which David made war. Gather grain from year to year, for you gather it together with Moab. But I will afflict Ariel, and its strength and wealth will be mine: And I will besiege you as David did and place a garrison around you.” – The theme of punishment is fully consonant with the theme of the siege of Jerusalem by David – “David was thirty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned forty years... And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land. But they said to David, ‘You cannot come in here, for the blind and the lame will drive you away’ – meaning, ‘David cannot enter here.’ But David took the stronghold of Zion; that is the city of David.” (2 Sam 5:4-7 and following). There is no reason to think that the wordplay “Ariel-Ariel-Ariel” adds anything to the prophecy. At the same time, the arrogance of the besieged is fully consonant with the impiety of the Jews of that time and their contempt for God’s law (David – figuratively – the Lord). Ariel – a figurative name for the city-capital, the city-sanctuary, the city-lion. Editor’s note. In the Slavonic translation of the LXX in verse 7, Ariel and Jerusalem are designated as different cities. “And it will be as a dream that one sees in a dream at night, the wealth of all the nations who make war against Ariel, and all who make war against Jerusalem, and all who assemble against it and trouble it.” One should apparently consider that the word Ariel was used by the Hebrews not as a name – a proper noun – but as a designation-characteristic. There are many instances when translators perceived descriptive word combinations as proper names (for example: Jehovah – the Eternal One, Elohim – Creator of the Universe, Adonai – Righteous Judge. And vice versa – Jehovah-Jireh – “the Lord will provide.” In this case it would be more correct to use the phrase “Jehovah-Jireh” as a proper noun – a local topographical designation. Editor’s note.