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11 To you this entire prophetic revelation[a] is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read[b] and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” 12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read[c] and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.”[d]

13 The Lord[e] says,
“These people say they are loyal to me;[f]
they say wonderful things about me,[g]
but they are not really loyal to me.[h]
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual.[i]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  2. Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
  3. Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
  4. Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
  5. Isaiah 29:13 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  6. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
  7. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
  8. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
  9. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”