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 30:8

30:8 Now go, write it ⁴  down on a tablet in their presence, ⁵ 

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness. ⁶ 

Isaiah 37:20

37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” ⁷ 

[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.

[30:8]  ⁴ tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.

[30:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.

[30:8]  ⁶ sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.

[37:20]  ⁷ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”