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 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ⁴  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ⁵ 

Isaiah 28:17

28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,

fairness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, ⁶ 

the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

Isaiah 32:14

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded ⁷  city is abandoned.

Hill ⁸  and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited. ⁹ 

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 34:13

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ¹¹  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ¹² 

Isaiah 54:14

54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ¹³ 

You will not experience oppression; ¹⁴ 

indeed, you will not be afraid.

You will not be terrified, ¹⁵ 

for nothing frightening ¹⁶  will come near you.

Isaiah 56:1

The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter

56:1 This is what the Lord says,

“Promote ¹⁷  justice! Do what is right!

For I am ready to deliver you;

I am ready to vindicate you openly. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 59:4

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ¹⁹ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ²⁰  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ²¹ 

and give birth to sin.

Isaiah 62:3

62:3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,

a royal turban in the hand of your God.

[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.

[10:2]  ⁴ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[28:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.

[32:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).

[32:14]  ¹¹ tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.

[32:14]  ¹² 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.

[32:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”

[34:13]  ¹³ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)

[54:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.

[54:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.

[54:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.

[54:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.

[56:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”

[56:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”

[59:4]  ²² tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ²³ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”