The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem
1Jerusalem, how terrible it will be for you!
Ariel, you are the city where David made his home.
The years will come and go.
Keep on celebrating your regular feasts.
2The Lord says, “Ariel, I will surround you.
Jerusalem, I will get ready to attack you.
Your people will mourn.
They will sing songs of sadness.
I will make you like the front of an altar
covered with blood.
3I will be like an army 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.
4You 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.”
5Jerusalem, all 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,
6the 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 up everything.
7Armies from all 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.
8It will be as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
but wakes up still hungry.
It will be as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
but wakes up weak and still thirsty.
In the same way, the armies from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion will disappear.
9People 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.
10The 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.
11For 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, “Please read this for us.” Then they’ll answer, “I can’t. It’s sealed up.” 12Or suppose you give the scroll to someone who can’t read. And suppose you say, “Please read this for us.” Then they’ll answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
13The 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 that they have been taught.
14So 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.”
15How terrible it will be for people who try hard
to hide their plans from the Lord!
They do their work in darkness.
They think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
16They 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”?
17In a very short time, Lebanon will be turned into rich farm lands.
The rich farm lands will seem like a forest.
18At 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.
19Those 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.
20Those 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.
21Without any proof, they claim that a person is guilty.
In court they try to trap
the one who speaks up for others.
By using dishonest witnesses they keep people who aren’t guilty
from being treated fairly.
22Long 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.
23You 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.
24I will give understanding to you
who find yourselves going astray.
You who are always speaking against others
will accept what I teach you.”
Jerusalems skæbne
1Ve dig, Ariel,29,1 Ordet „ariel” bruges her om Jerusalem, men henviser også til en form for alter, jf. Ez. 43,15-16. byen, som David belejrede og indtog. År efter år bringer du dine ofre. Fortsæt du blot med dine højtider, 2men en dag kommer dommen over dig, og da vil du græde og sørge. Da bliver du virkelig Ariel, for du bliver som et alter, oversprøjtet med blod. 3Jeg omringer dig og belejrer dig, som David gjorde, jeg omgiver dig med volde og angrebsramper. 4Fra det dybe taler du da, mumler fortvivlet i støvet. Din stemme kommer fra graven, svag som en dødnings røst.
5Men dine fjender skal knuses til støv, tyrannerne spredes som avner for vinden. 6Pludselig kommer Herren, den Almægtige, over dem med torden, jordskælv, storm og ild. 7Da skal alle de folk, som fører krig mod Jerusalem og kæmper imod Ariel, selv opleve et mareridt. 8Som den sultne drømmer om mad, men stadig er sulten, når han vågner, og som den tørstige drømmer om vand, men vågner lige tørstig, sådan skal det gå alle dine fjender.
9I er blevet tåber, I er blevet blinde! I er omtågede, men ikke på grund af vin. I raver fortumlede omkring, men ikke på grund af øl. 10Herren har gjort jer åndeligt sløve. Profeterne og seerne, som skulle være jeres åndelige øjne, ser intet. 11For jer er et profetisk budskab som ordene i en lukket bog. Giver man bogen til en, der kan læse, og siger: „Vær venlig at læse!” siger han bare: „Det kan jeg ikke. Bogen er jo lukket med segl!” 12Og giver man den til en, som ikke kan læse, og siger: „Vær venlig at læse!” siger han: „Jeg har ikke lært at læse!”
13Derfor siger Herren: „Når mit folk kommer til mig, ærer de mig kun for et syns skyld. Deres hjerte er fjernt fra mig. Det er forgæves, de dyrker mig, når deres lære blot er menneskebud. 14Derfor vil jeg fortsat overraske dem ved min handlemåde. De vises visdom skal sættes til side, de kloges klogskab skal gøres til intet.”
15Ve dem, der tror, de kan skjule sig for Gud, dem, som tror, de kan føre ham bag lyset. De gør deres gerninger i mørket og beroliger sig selv: „Der er ingen, der ser os. Ingen lægger mærke til noget.” 16Hvor dum har man lov at være! Har pottemageren ikke større magt end leret? Siger lerkrukken måske til pottemageren: „Det er ikke dig, som har formet mig! Det har du slet ikke forstand på!”?
17Det varer ikke længe, før Libanon igen bliver en frugthave, og træerne igen står tæt som i en skov.29,17 Teksten er uklar, men billedtalen peger hen på en genoprettelse. 18Da skal de døve høre, hvad der læses fra bogen, og de blinde skal befries fra det mørke, de befinder sig i. 19De ydmyge skal glæde sig over, hvad Herren gør, og de afmægtige skal juble over Israels hellige Gud. 20Tyranner skal forsvinde, de stolte skal styrtes, lovovertrædere skal lade livet. 21Gud vil gøre det af med dem, der anklager de uskyldige og sætter fælder for dommeren i retten, så de får dem dømt uden grund.
22Derfor siger Herren, Abrahams beskytter, til Israels folk: Mit folk skal ikke længere blegne af skræk, deres hoveder skal ikke længere bøjes i skam. 23Når de ser deres mange børn og mine velsignelser, skal de til fulde forstå, at jeg er deres hellige Gud, og da skal de få ærefrygt for mig. 24Da vil de, som er åndeligt på vildspor, lære sandheden at kende, og de, som gør oprør mod Herren, vil tage imod belæring.
