Isaiah 59:17

59:17 He wears his desire for justice ¹  like body armor, ² 

and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. ³ 

He puts on the garments of vengeance ⁴ 

and wears zeal like a robe.

Isaiah 59:1

Injustice Brings Alienation from God

59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak ⁵  to deliver you;

his ear is not too deaf to hear you. ⁶ 

Isaiah 5:8

Disaster is Coming

5:8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ⁷ 

those who also accumulate landed property ⁸ 

until there is no land left, ⁹ 

and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ¹⁰ 

Revelation 9:9

9:9 They had breastplates ¹¹  like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle.

Revelation 9:17

9:17 Now ¹²  this is what the horses and their riders ¹³  looked like in my ¹⁴  vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, ¹⁵  dark blue, ¹⁶  and sulfurous ¹⁷  yellow in color. ¹⁸  The ¹⁹  heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur ²⁰  came out of their mouths.

¹ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”

² tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”

³ tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”

⁴ tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”

⁵ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁶ tn Heb “or his ear too heavy [i.e., “dull”] to hear.”

⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death.

⁸ tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”

⁹ tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.”

¹¹ tn Or perhaps, “scales like iron breastplates” (RSV, NRSV) although the Greek term θώραξ (qwrax) would have to shift its meaning within the clause, and elsewhere in biblical usage (e.g., Eph 6:14; 1 Thess 5:8) it normally means “breastplate.” See also L&N 8.38.

¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the horses and riders, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.

¹³ tn Grk “and those seated on them.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “the vision”; the Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

¹⁵ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

¹⁶ tn On this term BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑακίνθινος states, “hyacinth-colored, i.e. dark blue (dark red?) w. πύρινος Rv 9:17.”

¹⁷ tn On this term BDAG 446 s.v. θειώδης states, “sulphurous Rv 9:17.”

¹⁸ sn The colors of the riders’ breastplates parallel the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur in v. 18.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁰ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”