Wycliffe WYC
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 Woe! [to] Ariel, Ariel, the city which David overcame; year is added to year, solemnities be passed (the feasts have come and gone).
1
Jerusalem, how terrible it will be for you! Ariel, you are the city where David settled. The years will come and go. Keep on celebrating your regular feasts.
2 And I shall compass Ariel, and it shall be sorrowful and mourning; and Jerusalem shall be to me as Ariel. (And I shall surround Ariel, and it shall be sorrowful and mourning; and Jerusalem shall be like Ariel to me.)
2
The LORD says, "Ariel, I will surround you. Jerusalem, I will get ready to attack you. Your people will sob. They will sing songs of sadness. I will make you like the front of an altar that is covered with blood.
3 And I shall compass as a round spear, either trundle, in thy compass, and I shall cast [an heap] (of) earth against thee, and I shall set strongholds, either engines, into thy besieging. (And I shall surround thee with my army, and I shall throw a heap of earth against thee, and I shall set up strongholds, or engines, to besiege thee.)
3
I will be like an army that is camped against you on all sides. I will surround you with towers in order to attack you. I will build my ramps all around you and set up my ladders.
4 Thou shalt be made low, thou shalt speak (out) of [the] earth, and thy speech shall be heard from the earth; and thy voice shall be as the voice of a dead man raised (up) by conjuring, and thy speech shall oft grutch of the earth (and thy words shall grumble, or groan, out of the earth).
4
You will be brought down to the grave. You will speak from deep down inside the ground. Your words will be barely heard out of the dust. Your voice will sound like the voice of a ghost coming from under the ground. Your words will sound like a whisper out of the dust."
5 And the multitude of them that winnowed thee, shall be (made) as thin dust; and the multitude of them that had the mastery against thee, shall be (made) as [a] dead spark passing (away). And it shall be (that) suddenly,
5
Jerusalem, all of your enemies will become like fine dust. Their terrifying armies will become like straw that the wind blows away. All of a sudden, in an instant,
6 anon it shall be visited of the Lord of hosts, in thunder, and in moving of the earth, and in great voice of whirlwind, and of tempest, and of flame of fire devouring. (at once thou shalt be punished by the Lord of hosts, with thunder, and with earth-shaking, and with the great noise of a whirlwind, and of a tempest, and with a flame of devouring fire.)
6
the LORD who rules over all will come. He will come with thunder, earthquakes and a lot of noise. He'll bring windstorms and rainstorms with him. He'll send a blazing fire that will burn everything up.
7 And the multitude of all folks that fought against Ariel shall be as the dream of a night's vision; and all men that fought, and besieged (it), and had the mastery against it. (And the multitude of all the nations that fought against Ariel, that is, of all those who fought against it, and besieged it, and had the mastery over it, shall vanish like the dream of a night's vision.)
7
Armies from all of the nations will fight against Ariel. They will attack it and its fort. They'll surround it completely. But suddenly those armies will disappear like a dream. They will vanish like a vision in the night.
8 And as an hungry man dreameth, and eateth, but when he is awaked, his soul is void; and as a thirsty man dreameth, and drinketh, and after that he is awaked, he is weary, and thirsteth yet, and his soul is void; so shall be the multitude of all folks, that fought against the hill of Zion. (And like when a hungry man dreameth, and eateth in it, but when he awakeneth, his body is still empty; or like when a thirsty man dreameth, and drinketh in it, but after that he awakeneth, he is still weary, and still thirsteth, and his body is empty; so shall be the multitude of all the nations, that fought against Mount Zion.)
8
They will be like a hungry person who dreams he is eating. But when he wakes up, he's still hungry. They will be like a thirsty person who dreams he is drinking. But when he wakes up, he is weak. His thirst hasn't been satisfied. In the same way, the armies from all of the nations that fight against Mount Zion will disappear.
9 Be ye astonied, and wonder; wake ye, and doubt ye; be ye drunk, and not of wine; be ye moved, and not with drunkenness. (Be ye astonished, and wonder; wake ye, and doubt ye; be ye drunk, but not with wine; be ye moved, but not with drunkenness.)
9
People of Jerusalem, be shocked and amazed. Make yourselves blind so you can't see anything. Get drunk, but not from wine. Be unsteady on your feet, but not because of beer.
10 For the Lord hath meddled to you the spirit of sleep; he shall close your eyes, and [he] shall cover your prophets, and princes that see visions. (For the Lord hath mixed for you the spirit of sleep; he shall close your eyes, that is, your prophets, and he shall cover your heads, that is, your leaders, who see visions.)
10
The LORD has made you fall into a deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets. He has covered the heads of your seers so they can't see.
11 And the vision of all prophets shall be to you as the words of a book asealed; which when they shall give to him that knoweth letters, they shall say, Read thou this book; and he shall answer, I may not, for it is asealed. (And the vision of all the prophets shall be to you like the words of a sealed book; which when they shall give to him who knoweth how to read, they shall say, Read thou this book; and he shall answer, I cannot, for it is sealed.)
11
For you, this whole vision is like words that are sealed up in a scroll. Suppose you give it to someone who can read. And suppose you say to him, "Please read this for us." Then he'll answer, "I can't. It's sealed up."
12 And the book shall be given to him that knoweth not letters, and it shall be said to him, Read thou; and he shall answer, I know no letters. (And the book shall be given to him who cannot read, and it shall be said to him, Read thou; and he shall answer, I do not know how to read.)
12
Or suppose you give the scroll to someone who can't read. And suppose you say, "Please read this for us." Then he'll answer, "I don't know how to read."
13 And (then) the Lord said, For that (that) this people nigheth with their mouth, and glorifieth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; and they dreaded me for the commandment and (the) teachings of men,
13
The Lord says, "These people worship me only with their words. They honor me by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me. Their worship doesn't mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.
14 therefore lo! I shall add, that I make [great] wondering to this people, in a great miracle and wonderful (and so lo! I shall add, that I make a great wonder before this people, yea, a great and wonderful miracle); for why wisdom shall perish from (the) wise men thereof, and the understanding of prudent men thereof shall be hid.
14
So once more I will shock these people with many wonderful acts. I will destroy the wisdom of those who think they are so wise. I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart."
15 Woe to you that be deep of heart, that ye hide (your) counsel from the Lord (Woe to you who go deep into your hearts, in order to hide your plans from the Lord); the works of which be in darknesses, and they say, Who seeth us, and who knoweth us?
15
How terrible it will be for people who do everything they can to hide their plans from the LORD! They do their work in darkness. They think, "Who sees us? Who will know?"
16 This thought of you is wayward, as if clay think against a potter, and the work say to his maker, Thou madest not me; and a thing made, say to his maker, Thou understandest not. (This thought of yours is wayward, like if a piece of clay think against a potter, and the work say to its maker, Thou madest me not, and a made thing say to its maker, Thou understandest not how to do this.)
16
They turn everything upside down. How silly they are to think that potters are like the clay they work with! Can what is made say to the one who made it, "You didn't make me"? Can the pot say to the potter, "You don't know anything"?
17 Whether not yet in a little time and short, the Lebanon shall be turned into Carmel, and Carmel shall be areckoned into the forest? (Whether not yet in a brief, or a short, time, Lebanon shall be turned into a plentiful land, and the plentiful land shall be reckoned as a forest?)
17
In a very short time, Lebanon will be turned into rich farm lands. The rich farm lands will seem like a forest.
18 And in that day deaf men shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of blind men shall see from darknesses and misty (And on that day, the deaf shall hear the words read from a book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of their darkness and mist;)
18
At that time those who can't hear will hear what is read from the scroll. Those who are blind will come out of gloom and darkness. They will be able to see.
19 and mild men shall increase gladness in the Lord, and poor men shall make full out joy in the Holy of Israel. (and the meek, or the humble, shall increase their happiness in the Lord, and the poor shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.)
19
Those who aren't proud will once again find their joy in the Lord. And those who are in need will find their joy in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For he that had the mastery, failed, and the scorner is ended, and all they be cut down that waked on wickedness; (For he who had the mastery, hath failed, and the mocker is ended, and all those who watch for wickedness shall be cut down;)
20
Those who don't show any pity will vanish. Those who make fun of others will disappear. All those who look for ways to do what is evil will be cut off.
21 which made men to do sin in word, and deceived a reprover in the gate, and bowed away in vain from a just man. (who made people to do sin in word, and deceived a rebuker at the gate, and bowed away justice from the upright, for an empty and a futile thing.)
21
Without any proof, they claim that a man is guilty. In court they try to trap the one who speaks up for others. By using dishonest witnesses they keep those who aren't guilty from being treated fairly.
22 For this thing the Lord, that again-bought Abraham, saith these things to the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not be confounded now, neither now his cheer shall be ashamed; (For this thing the Lord who bought back, or ransomed, Abraham, saith these things to the house of Jacob, Jacob shall no longer be ashamed, nor shall his face now become pale;)
22
Long ago the LORD saved Abraham from trouble. Now he says to Jacob's people, "You will not be ashamed anymore. Your faces will no longer grow pale with fear.
23 but when he shall see his sons, the works of mine hands, hallowing my name in the midst of him. And they shall hallow the Holy of Jacob, and they shall preach [the] God of Israel; (but when he seeth his sons and daughters, the work of my hands, in his midst, they shall hallow my name, yea, they shall hallow the Holy One of Jacob, and they shall have reverence for the God of Israel;)
23
You will see your children living among you. I myself will give you those children. Then you will honor my name. You will recognize how holy I am. I am the Holy One of Jacob. You will have great respect for me. I am the God of Israel.
24 and they that err in spirit, shall know understanding, and idle men, either grutchers, shall learn the law. (and they who err in spirit, shall gain understanding, and those who be idle, or the grumblers, shall learn the Law.)
24
I will give understanding to you who find yourselves going down the wrong path. You who are always speaking against others will accept what I teach you."
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.