Isaiah 29:1-12

Doom, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David set camp! Let the years add up, let the festivals run their cycles, But I’m not letting up on Jerusalem. The moaning and groaning will continue. Jerusalem to me is an Ariel. Like David, I’ll set up camp against you. I’ll set siege, build towers, bring in siege engines, build siege ramps. Driven into the ground, you’ll speak, you’ll mumble words from the dirt— Your voice from the ground, like the muttering of a ghost. Your speech will whisper from the dust. But it will be your enemies who are beaten to dust, the mob of tyrants who will be blown away like chaff. Because, surprise, as if out of nowhere, a visit from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, With thunderclaps, earthquakes, and earsplitting noise, backed up by hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning strikes, And the mob of enemies at war with Ariel, all who trouble and hassle and torment her, will turn out to be a bad dream, a nightmare. Like a hungry man dreaming he’s eating steak and wakes up hungry as ever, Like a thirsty woman dreaming she’s drinking iced tea and wakes up thirsty as ever, So that mob of nations at war against Mount Zion will wake up and find they haven’t shot an arrow, haven’t killed a single soul. Drug yourselves so you feel nothing. Blind yourselves so you see nothing. Get drunk, but not on wine. Black out, but not from whiskey. For GOD has rocked you into a deep, deep sleep, put the discerning prophets to sleep, put the farsighted seers to sleep. What you’ve been shown here is somewhat like a letter in a sealed envelope. If you give it to someone who can read and tell her, “Read this,” she’ll say, “I can’t. The envelope is sealed.” And if you give it to someone who can’t read and tell him, “Read this,” he’ll say, “I can’t read.” * * *