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.”
Ang Mensahe tungkol sa Jerusalem
1Sinabi ng Panginoon, “Nakakaawa ang Jerusalem,29:1 Jerusalem: sa literal, Ariel. ang lungsod na tinitirhan ni David! Sige, ipagdiwang ng lungsod na ito ang kanyang mga pista bawat taon. 2Pero lulusubin ko ito, at mag-iiyakan at mananaghoy ang kanyang mga mamamayan. Para sa akin, ang buong lungsod ay magiging parang altar na puno ng dugo.29:2 altar na puno ng dugo: sa Hebreo, Ariel. 3Kukubkubin ko ang lungsod ng Jerusalem. Paliligiran ko ito ng toreng panalakay at patatambakan ng lupa sa gilid ng mga pader para maakyat ito. 4Mawawasak ito at magiging parang multo na tumatawag mula sa ilalim ng lupa na ang tinig ay nakakapangilabot. 5Pero darating ang araw na ang marami niyang kaaway ay magiging parang alikabok o ipa na tatangayin ng hangin. Bigla itong mangyayari sa kanila. 6Ang Jerusalem ay aalalahanin ko, at ako, ang Panginoong Makapangyarihan, ay darating na may kulog, lindol, ingay, buhawi, bagyo, at nagliliyab na apoy. 7-8Mawawalang parang panaginip ang maraming bansang sumasalakay sa Jerusalem29:7-8 Jerusalem: sa Hebreo, Bundok ng Zion. at gumigiba ng mga pader nito. Ang katulad nilaʼy taong nananaginip na kumakain, pero nang magising ay gutom pa rin; o katulad ng taong nananaginip na umiinom, pero nang magising uhaw pa rin.”
9Kayong mga taga-Juda, magpakatanga kayo at magpakabulag. Maglasing kayo at magpasuray-suray, pero hindi dahil sa alak. 10Sapagkat pinatulog kayo ng Panginoon nang mahimbing. Tinakpan niya ang inyong mga ulo at mga mata na walang iba kundi ang inyong mga propeta.
11Para sa inyo, ang lahat ng ipinahayag na ito sa inyo ay parang aklat na nakasara. Kapag ipinabasa mo sa taong marunong bumasa, sasabihin niya, “Hindi ko iyan mabasa dahil nakasara.” 12At kapag ipinabasa mo sa hindi marunong bumasa, sasabihin niya, “Hindi ako marunong bumasa.”
13Sinabi ng Panginoon, “Ang mga taong itoʼy nagpupuri at nagpaparangal sa akin sa pamamagitan ng kanilang mga bibig, pero ang puso nilaʼy malayo sa akin. At ang pagsamba nila sa akin ay ayon lamang sa tuntunin ng tao. 14Kaya muli akong gagawa ng sunud-sunod na kababalaghan sa mga taong ito. At mawawala ang karunungan ng marurunong at ang pang-unawa ng nakakaunawa.”
15Nakakaawa kayong mga nagtatago ng inyong mga plano sa Panginoon. Ginagawa ninyo ang inyong mga gawain sa dilim at sinasabi ninyo, “Walang makakakita o makakaalam ng ginagawa natin.” 16Baluktot ang pag-iisip ninyo. Itinuturing ninyong parang palayok ang gumagawa ng palayok.29:16 Itinuturing … palayok: Ang ibig sabihin, itinuturing nila na parang nilalang ang Dios na lumalang. Masasabi ba ng palayok sa gumawa sa kanya, “Hindi naman ikaw ang gumawa sa akin”? Masasabi ba ng palayok sa humugis sa kanya, “Wala kang nalalaman”?
17Hindi magtatagal, ang kagubatan ng Lebanon ay magiging matabang lupain, at ang matabang lupain ay magiging kagubatan. 18Sa araw na iyon, ang bingi ay makakarinig ng binabasang aklat. At ang bulag, na walang nakikita kundi kadiliman ay makakakita na. 19Muling sasaya ang mga mapagpakumbaba at mga dukha dahil sa Panginoon, ang Banal na Dios ng Israel. 20Sapagkat mawawala ang mga malulupit at ang mga nangungutya. At mamamatay ang lahat ng mahilig sa pagkakasala, 21pati na ang lahat ng naninira ng kapwa, ang mga nagsisinungaling para mapaniwala nila ang mga hukom, at ang mga pekeng saksi para hindi mabigyan ng katarungan ang mga walang kasalanan.
22Kaya ang Panginoon, ang Dios na nagligtas kay Abraham ay nagsabi tungkol sa lahi ni Jacob, “Mula ngayon, wala na silang dapat ikahiya o ikatakot man. 23Sapagkat kapag nakita nila ang mga ginawa ko sa kanila, igagalang nila ako, ang Banal na Dios ni Jacob. At magkakaroon sila ng takot sa akin, ang Dios ng Israel. 24Ang mga hindi nakakaunawa ng katotohanan ay makakaunawa na, at ang mga nagrereklamo kapag tinuturuan ay matutuwa na.”
