Read Isaiah 29 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
29:1-8 {p} YHVH will punish Ariel with the multitude of nations who fight against Mt Zion
29:9-12 {s} YHVH has sealed the vision so that the prophecy cannot be opened or read
29:13-14 {s} YHVH will do a marvelous wonder among His people who worship Him with lip service
29:15-21 {p} The deaf + blind + humble shall hear + see + rejoice/ the terrible one brought to nothing
29:22-24 {s} The house of Jacob shall hallow the Holy One of Israel/ those who erred shall understand
The Strong theme:
29:9-21 {s+s+p} YHVH will work a wonder among the blind and deaf of His people; they will see and hear, and rejoice
For the terrible one is brought to nothing, and the scorner ceases, and all those who watch for iniquity are cut off—21 who make a man an offender for a word, and for him who reproves in the gate, lay a snare; and turn aside for nothing, the righteous. Isa 29:20-21
The Hebrew describes an oppressive and powerful tyrant who is brought to an end – he ceases to exist. The tyrant isn’t even necessarily a man; it could be an oppressive regime, or an oppressive idea which everyone must affirm or be ruined.
Those who watch for iniquity are all the ways eyes are on society to ensure compliance with the tyrannical, whether it be public cameras, or that outraged neighbor who is shocked your opinion is outside the accepted parameter.
They make speech a crime, and thoughts a punishable offense. For the one who stands up and reproves them in the open square, they lay traps. For the righteous who show up the emptiness of their foolishness – literally, that their cherished ideology is void of substance or sense – they turn them aside. They turn the righteous aside through whatever means they can; they do not turn aside their reproof, for they cannot.
This is the era that we have been living in, and its days are numbered.
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