Isaiah 29:2

2 then will I distress Ari'el, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be to me as Ari'el.

Isaiah 29:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 29:2

Yet I will distress Ariel
Or "straiten" it, by causing it to be besieged; and this he would do, notwithstanding their yearly sacrifices, and their observance of their solemn feasts, and other ceremonies of the law, in which they placed their confidence, and neglected weightier matters: and there shall be heaviness and sorrow;
on account of the siege; by reason of the devastations of the enemy without, made on all the cities and towns in Judea round about; and because of the famine and bloodshed in the city: and it shall be unto me as Ariel;
the whole city shall be as the altar; as that was covered with the blood and carcasses of slain beasts, so this with the blood and carcasses of men; and so the Targum,

``and I will distress the city where the altar is, and it shall be desolate and empty; and it shall be surrounded before me with the blood of the slain, as the altar is surrounded with the blood of the holy sacrifices on a solemn feast day all around;''

so Jarchi and Kimchi.

Isaiah 29:2 In-Context

1 Ho Ari'el, Ari'el, the city where David encamped! add you year to year; let the feasts come round:

2 then will I distress Ari'el, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be to me as Ari'el.

3 I will encamp against you round about, and will lay siege against you with posted troops, and I will raise siege works against you.

4 You shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust; and your voice shall be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

5 But the multitude of your foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the awesome ones as chaff that passes away: yes, it shall be in an instant suddenly.