Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:20
Context1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured 1 by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. 2
Isaiah 3:11
Context3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!
For they will get exactly what they deserve. 3
Isaiah 5:18
Context5:18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, 4
who pull sin as with cart ropes. 5
Isaiah 5:21-22
Context5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, 6
those who think they possess understanding. 7
5:22 Those who are champions 8 at drinking wine are as good as dead, 9
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.
Isaiah 10:1
Context10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, 10
those who are always instituting unfair regulations, 11
Isaiah 10:5
Context10:5 Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, 12
a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 13
Isaiah 13:19
Context13:19 Babylon, the most admired 14 of kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, 15
will be destroyed by God
just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. 16
Isaiah 29:1
Context29:1 Ariel is as good as dead 17 –
Ariel, the town David besieged! 18
Keep observing your annual rituals,
celebrate your festivals on schedule. 19
Isaiah 51:14
Context51:14 The one who suffers 20 will soon be released;
he will not die in prison, 21
he will not go hungry. 22
Isaiah 60:12
Context60:12 Indeed, 23 nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish;
such nations will be totally destroyed. 24
Isaiah 64:11
Context64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, 25
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed. 26
[1:20] 1 sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.
[1:20] 2 tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).
[3:11] 3 tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”
[5:18] 5 sn See the note at v. 8.
[5:18] 6 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Woe to those who pull evil with the ropes of emptiness, and, as [with] ropes of a cart, sin.” Though several textual details are unclear, the basic idea is apparent. The sinners are so attached to their sinful ways (compared here to a heavy load) that they strain to drag them along behind them. If שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness”) is retained, it makes a further comment on their lifestyle, denouncing it as one that is devoid of what is right and destined to lead to nothing but destruction. Because “emptiness” does not form a very tight parallel with “cart” in the next line, some emend שָׁוְא to שֶׂה (she, “sheep”) and עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) to עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”): “Those who pull evil along with a sheep halter are as good as dead who pull sin with a calf rope” (following the lead of the LXX and improving the internal parallelism of the verse). In this case, the verse pictures the sinners pulling sin along behind them as one pulls an animal with a halter. For a discussion of this view, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:163, n. 1. Nevertheless, this emendation is unnecessary. The above translation emphasizes the folly of the Israelites who hold on to their sin (and its punishment) even while they hope for divine intervention.
[5:21] 7 tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.
[5:21] 8 tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”
[5:22] 9 tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors.
[5:22] 10 tn Heb “Woe [to]….” See the note at v. 8.
[10:1] 11 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[10:1] 12 tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.
[10:5] 13 tn Heb “Woe [to] Assyria, the club of my anger.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[10:5] 14 tn Heb “a cudgel is he, in their hand is my anger.” It seems likely that the final mem (ם) on בְיָדָם (bÿyadam) is not a pronominal suffix (“in their hand”), but an enclitic mem. If so, one can translate literally, “a cudgel is he in the hand of my anger.”
[13:19] 15 tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).
[13:19] 16 tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”
[13:19] 17 tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.
[29:1] 17 tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8).
[29:1] 18 tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
[29:1] 19 tn Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.
[51:14] 19 tn Heb “who is stooped over” (under a burden).
[51:14] 20 tn Heb “the pit” (so KJV); ASV, NAB “die and go down into the pit”; NASB, NIV “dungeon”; NCV “prison.”
[51:14] 21 tn Heb “he will not lack his bread.”
[60:12] 21 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); TEV “But.”
[60:12] 22 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
