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 8:2

8:2 Then I will summon ⁴  as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

Isaiah 22:23

22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; ⁵  he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. ⁶ 

Isaiah 33:16

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ⁷ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ⁸ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

[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.

[8:2]  ⁴ tn The form in the text is a cohortative with prefixed vav (ו), suggesting that the Lord is announcing what he will do. Some prefer to change the verb to an imperative, “and summon as witnesses,” a reading that finds support from the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a. Another option is to point the prefixed conjunction as a vav consecutive and translate, “So I summoned as witnesses.” In this case Isaiah is recalling his response to the Lord’s commission. In any case, the reference to witnesses suggests that the name and the child who bears it will function as signs.

[22:23]  ⁷ sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.

[22:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”

[33:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

[33:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”