5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 1
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 2
24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, 3
the master as well as the servant, 4
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 5
the seller as well as the buyer, 6
the borrower as well as the lender, 7
the creditor as well as the debtor. 8
24:3 The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment. 9
24:10 The ruined town 10 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 11
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 12
the gate is reduced to rubble. 13
25:2 Indeed, 14 you have made the city 15 into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners 16 is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
27:10 For the fortified city 17 is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves 18 graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare. 19
27:2 When that time comes, 20
sing about a delightful vineyard! 21
25:9 At that time they will say, 22
“Look, here 23 is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here 24 is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem 25 surrounded 26 by armies, then know that its 27 desolation 28 has come near.
1 tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
2 tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”
3 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
4 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
5 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
6 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
7 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
8 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
9 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
10 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
11 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
12 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
13 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
14 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
15 tn The Hebrew text has “you have made from the city.” The prefixed mem (מ) on עִיר (’ir, “city”) was probably originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:456, n. 3.
16 tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”).
17 sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.
18 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
19 tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.
20 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
21 tn Heb “vineyard of delight,” or “vineyard of beauty.” Many medieval
22 tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
23 tn Heb “this [one].”
24 tn Heb “this [one].”
25 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
26 sn See Luke 19:41-44. This passage refers to the events associated with the fall of Jerusalem, when the city is surrounded by armies.
27 tn Grk “her,” referring to the city of Jerusalem (the name “Jerusalem” in Greek is a feminine noun).
28 sn The phrase its desolation is a reference to the fall of the city, which is the only antecedent present in Luke’s account. The parallels to this in Matt 24:15 and Mark 13:14 refer to the temple’s desolation, though Matthew’s allusion is clearer. They focus on the parallel events of the end, not on the short term realization in
29 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
30 tn Grk “by the mouth of the sword” (an idiom for the edge of a sword).
31 sn Here is the predicted judgment against the nation until the time of Gentile rule has passed: Its people will be led away as captives.
32 tn Grk “And Jerusalem.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
33 sn Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled implies a time when Israel again has a central role in God’s plan.