80:12 Why did you break down its walls, 1
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? 2
5:5 Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, 3
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. 4
29:17 In just a very short time 7
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 8
32:13 Mourn 9 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 10
in the city filled with revelry. 11
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 12 city is abandoned.
Hill 13 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 14
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 15
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 16
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 17
‘The Lord who rules over all 20 says,
“Zion 21 will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem 22 will become a pile of rubble.
The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’ 23
3:12 Therefore, because of you, 24 Zion will be plowed up like 25 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 26 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 27
1 sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).
2 tn Heb “pluck it.”
3 tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”
4 tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).
5 tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
6 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”
7 tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
8 sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful, see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.
9 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
10 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
11 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
12 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
13 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
14 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
15 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
16 tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.
17 sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.
18 sn Micah from Moresheth was a contemporary of Isaiah (compare Mic 1:1 with Isa 1:1) from the country town of Moresheth in the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. The prophecy referred to is found in Mic 3:12. This is the only time in the OT where an OT prophet is quoted verbatim and identified.
19 sn Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729-715
20 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
21 sn Zion was first of all the citadel that David captured (2 Sam 5:6-10), then the city of David and the enclosed temple area, then the whole city of Jerusalem. It is often in poetic parallelism with Jerusalem as it is here (see, e.g., Ps 76:2; Amos 1:2).
22 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
23 sn There is irony involved in this statement. The text reads literally “high places of a forest/thicket.” The “high places” were the illicit places of worship that Jerusalem was supposed to replace. Because of their sin, Jerusalem would be like one of the pagan places of worship with no place left sacrosanct. It would even be overgrown with trees and bushes. So much for its inviolability!
24 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
25 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
26 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
27 tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”