Discovery BoxIsaiah 30:8-13 
Context30:8 Now go, write it 1 down on a tablet in their presence, 2
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness. 3
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 4
30:10 They 5 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 6
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 7
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 8
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 9
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 10
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 11
and rely on that kind of behavior. 12
30:13 So this sin will become your downfall.
You will be like a high wall
that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;
it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. 13
1 tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.
2 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
3 sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.
4 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
5 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
7 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
8 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
9 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
10 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
11 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
12 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
13 tn The verse reads literally, “So this sin will become for you like a breach ready to fall, bulging on a high wall, the breaking of which comes suddenly, in a flash.” Their sin produces guilt and will result in judgment. Like a wall that collapses their fall will be swift and sudden.
