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Isaiah 29:2

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 29:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be unto me as Ariel.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be unto me as Ariel.
Isaiah 29:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 29

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! add ye year to year; let the feasts come round:
2then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be unto me as Ariel.
3And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with posted troops, and I will raise siege works against thee.
4And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
5But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be in an instant suddenly.
← Isaiah 29:1Isaiah 29:3 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Yet I will distress Ariel, &c.] Or “straiten” it, by causing it to be besieged; and this he would do, notwithstanding their yearly sacrifices, and their observance of their solemn feasts, and other ceremonies of the law, in which they placed their confidence, and neglected weightier matters: and there shall be heaviness and sorrow; on account of the siege; by reason of the devastations of the enemy without, made on all the cities and towns in Judea round about; and because of the famine and bloodshed in the city: and it shall be unto me as Ariel; the whole city shall be as the altar; as that was covered with the blood and carcasses of slain beasts, so this with the blood and carcasses of…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Yet--rather, "Then." heaviness . . . sorrow--rather, preserving the Hebrew paronomasia, "groaning" and "moaning." as Ariel--either, "the city shall be as a lion of God," that is, it shall emerge from its dangers unvanquished; or "it shall be as the altar of burnt offering," consuming with fire the besiegers (Isa 29:6; Isa 30:30; Isa 31:9; Lev 10:2); or best, as Isa 29:3 continues the threat, and the promise of deliverance does not come till Isa 29:4, "it shall be like a hearth of burning," that is, a scene of devastation by fire [G. V. SMITH]. The prophecy, probably, contemplates ultimately, besides the affliction and deliverance in Sennacherib's time, the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome,…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I will: Isa 5:25-30, Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 10:32, Isa 17:14, Isa 24:1-12, Isa 33:7-9, Isa 36:22, Isa 37:3; Jer 32:28-32, Jer 39:4, Jer 39:5 and it shall: Or, as Bp. Lowth renders, "and it shall be unto me as the hearth of the great altar;" that is, it shall be the seat of the fire of God, which shall issue from thence to consume his enemies. The hearth of the altar is expressly called ariel by Ezekiel, Eze 43:15; which is put, in the former part of the verse, for Jerusalem, the city in which the altar was. The subject of this and the four following chapters, says Bp. Lowth, is the invasion of Sennacherib; the great distress of the Jews while it continued; their sudden and unexpected…”
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