Isaiah 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ¹ 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ²  I brought them up, ³ 

but ⁴  they have rebelled ⁵  against me!

Isaiah 36:5

36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. ⁶  In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?

Isaiah 45:23

45:23 I solemnly make this oath ⁷  –

what I say is true and reliable: ⁸ 

‘Surely every knee will bow to me,

every tongue will solemnly affirm; ⁹ 

Isaiah 57:13

57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols ¹⁰  help you!

The wind blows them all away, ¹¹ 

a breeze carries them away. ¹² 

But the one who looks to me for help ¹³  will inherit the land

and will have access to ¹⁴  my holy mountain.”

Isaiah 65:5

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

Isaiah 66:24

66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, ¹⁵  and the fire that consumes them will not die out. ¹⁶  All people will find the sight abhorrent.” ¹⁷ 

[1:2]  ¹ sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ² tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  ³ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ⁵ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[36:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.

[45:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”

[45:23]  ¹² tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”

[45:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”

[57:13]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.

[57:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”

[57:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”

[57:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”

[57:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.

[66:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”

[66:24]  ²² tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”

[66:24]  ²³ tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”