Isaiah 1:21

Purifying Judgment

1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city

has become a prostitute! ¹ 

She was once a center of ²  justice,

fairness resided in her,

but now only murderers. ³ 

Isaiah 1:26

1:26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,

wise advisers as in earlier days. ⁴ 

Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,

Faithful Town.’”

Isaiah 5:26

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ⁵ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ⁶  come quickly and swiftly.

Isaiah 8:6

8:6 “These people ⁷  have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah ⁸  and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. ⁹ 

Isaiah 14:32

14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? ¹⁰ 

Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;

the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

Isaiah 22:2

22:2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;

the town is filled with revelry. ¹¹ 

Your slain were not cut down by the sword;

they did not die in battle. ¹² 

Isaiah 22:9

22:9 You saw the many breaks

in the walls of the city of David; ¹³ 

you stored up water in the lower pool.

Isaiah 25:10

25:10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. ¹⁴ 

Moab will be trampled down where it stands, ¹⁵ 

as a heap of straw is trampled down in ¹⁶  a manure pile.

Isaiah 33:14

33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;

panic ¹⁷  grips the godless. ¹⁸ 

They say, ¹⁹  ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?

Who among us can coexist with unquenchable ²⁰  fire?’

Isaiah 37:8-9

37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. ²¹  37:9 The king ²²  heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia ²³  was marching out to fight him. ²⁴  He again sent ²⁵  messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them:

Isaiah 46:13

46:13 I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;

I am bringing my salvation near, ²⁶  it does not wait.

I will save Zion; ²⁷ 

I will adorn Israel with my splendor.” ²⁸ 

Isaiah 52:8

52:8 Listen, ²⁹  your watchmen shout;

in unison they shout for joy,

for they see with their very own eyes ³⁰ 

the Lord’s return to Zion.

Isaiah 60:2

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ³¹  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ³²  appears over you.

Isaiah 60:15

60:15 You were once abandoned

and despised, with no one passing through,

but I will make you ³³  a permanent source of pride

and joy to coming generations.

Isaiah 62:12

62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,

the Ones Protected ³⁴  by the Lord.”

You will be called, “Sought After,

City Not Abandoned.”

[1:21]  ¹ tn Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2;1; 4:1-2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.

[1:21]  ² tn Heb “filled with.”

[1:21]  ³ tn Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.

[1:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.

[5:26]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.

[5:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.

[8:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text begins with “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 6-7 are one long sentence, with v. 6 giving the reason for judgment and v. 7 formally announcing it.

[8:6]  ¹¹ sn The phrase “waters of Shiloah” probably refers to a stream that originated at the Gihon Spring and supplied the city of Jerusalem with water. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:225. In this context these waters stand in contrast to the flood waters of Assyria and symbolize God’s presence and blessings.

[8:6]  ¹² tn The precise meaning of v. 6 has been debated. The translation above assumes that “these people” are the residents of Judah and that מָשׂוֹשׂ (masos) is alternate form of מָסוֹס (masos, “despair, melt”; see HALOT 606 s.v. מסס). In this case vv. 7-8 in their entirety announce God’s disciplinary judgment on Judah. However, “these people” could refer to the Israelites and perhaps also the Syrians (cf v. 4). In this case מָשׂוֹשׂ probably means “joy.” One could translate, “and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah.” In this case v. 7a announces the judgment of Israel, with vv. 7b-8 then shifting the focus to the judgment of Judah.

[14:32]  ¹³ sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.

[22:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.

[22:2]  ¹⁷ sn Apparently they died from starvation during the siege that preceded the final conquest of the city. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:409.

[22:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”

[25:10]  ²² tn Heb “for the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain”; TEV “will protect Mount Zion”; NCV “will protect (rest on NLT) Jerusalem.”

[25:10]  ²³ tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”

[25:10]  ²⁴ tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”).

[33:14]  ²⁵ tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”

[33:14]  ²⁶ tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”

[33:14]  ²⁷ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[33:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”

[37:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:9]  ³² tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”

[37:9]  ³³ tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”

[37:9]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”

[46:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “my salvation.” The verb “I am bringing near” is understood by ellipsis (note the previous line).

[46:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I will place in Zion salvation”; NASB “I will grant salvation in Zion.”

[46:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “to Israel my splendor”; KJV, ASV “for Israel my glory.”

[52:8]  ³⁷ tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.

[52:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”

[60:2]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”

[60:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Instead of your being abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, I will make you.”

[62:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).