The Meaning of Isaiah 29:1 Explained

Isaiah 29:1

KJV: Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

YLT: Woe to Ariel, Ariel, The city of the encampment of David! Add year to year, let festivals go round.

Darby: Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city of David's encampment! Add ye year to year; let the feasts come round.

ASV: Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! add ye year to year; let the feasts come round:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Woe  to Ariel,  to Ariel,  the city  [where] David  dwelt!  add  ye year  to year;  let them kill  sacrifices. 

What does Isaiah 29:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Isaiah addressed this oracle to Ariel (lit. altar hearth, cf. Ezekiel 43:15-16). Another meaning, "lion of God" (cf. Isaiah 31:4; Genesis 49:9; 2 Samuel 23:20; 1 Kings 10:19-20; 1 Chronicles 11:22), was probably not intended here since Isaiah described Ariel as the place were Israel"s religious festivals took place. Clearly Ariel refers to Jerusalem, the city where David set up his headquarters (cf. 2 Samuel 5:9), and Mount Zion ( Isaiah 29:8), the site of Judah"s worship.
"Jerusalem prides itself as being God"s altar-hearth, the very heart of the only cult [1] that pleases him. But, in fact, God is not pleased at all." [2]
The city also boasted of its heritage in David, but the present residents did not share David"s heart for God (cf. Isaiah 29:13). The prophet directed the city to continue to observe its annual religious feasts regularly. This seems to be a sarcastic call to continue offering the sacrifices, which the people thought assured their blessing by God, even though they were doing so as an empty ritual (cf. Isaiah 29:13). These meaningless acts of worship would not avert judgment to come ( Isaiah 29:2; cf. Hosea 8:11-14; Amos 4:4-5).
"The true poignancy of the "woe" here lies in the fact that the God who had enabled David to take it would now besiege this city himself, through its enemies ( Isaiah 29:5), and cause its destruction by fire just as if the whole city had become an extension of the [3] altar hearth within its temple." [4]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 29

1  God's heavy judgment upon Jerusalem
7  The insatiableness of her enemies
9  The senselessness
13  And deep hypocrisy of the people
17  A promise of sanctification to the godly

What do the individual words in Isaiah 29:1 mean?

Woe to Ariel to Ariel the city [where] dwelt David Add year to year feasts let come around
ה֚וֹי אֲרִיאֵ֣ל אֲרִיאֵ֔ל קִרְיַ֖ת ! חָנָ֣ה דָוִ֑ד סְפ֥וּ שָׁנָ֛ה עַל־ שָׁנָ֖ה חַגִּ֥ים יִנְקֹֽפוּ

ה֚וֹי  Woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֹוי  
Sense: ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!.
אֲרִיאֵ֣ל  to  Ariel 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרִיאֵל 
Sense: a name applied to Jerusalem.
אֲרִיאֵ֔ל  to  Ariel 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרִיאֵל 
Sense: a name applied to Jerusalem.
קִרְיַ֖ת  the  city 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קִרְיָה 
Sense: city, town.
! חָנָ֣ה  [where]  dwelt 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָנָה  
Sense: to decline, incline, encamp, bend down, lay siege against.
דָוִ֑ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
סְפ֥וּ  Add 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: סָפָה  
Sense: to sweep or snatch away, catch up, destroy, consume.
שָׁנָ֛ה  year 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
שָׁנָ֖ה  year 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
חַגִּ֥ים  feasts 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַג  
Sense: festival, feast, festival-gathering, pilgrim-feast.
יִנְקֹֽפוּ  let  come  around 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָקַף 
Sense: to strike, strike off.