Isaiah 1:29

1:29 Indeed, they ¹  will be ashamed of the sacred trees

you ²  find so desirable;

you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards ³ 

where you choose to worship.

Isaiah 33:9

33:9 The land ⁴  dries up ⁵  and withers away;

the forest of Lebanon shrivels up ⁶  and decays.

Sharon ⁷  is like the desert; ⁸ 

Bashan and Carmel ⁹  are parched. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 24:23

24:23 The full moon will be covered up, ¹¹ 

the bright sun ¹²  will be darkened; ¹³ 

for the Lord who commands armies will rule ¹⁴ 

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ¹⁵ 

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 54:4

54:4 Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame!

Don’t be intimidated, ¹⁷  for you will not be humiliated!

You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;

you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment. ¹⁸ 

[1:29]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text (and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) has the third person here, though a few Hebrew mss (and Targums) read the second person, which is certainly more consistent with the following context. The third person form is the more difficult reading and probably original. This disagreement in person has caused some to emend the first verb (3rd plural) to a 2nd plural form (followed by most English translations). The BHS textual apparatus suggests that the 2nd plural form be read even though there is only sparse textual evidence. LXX, Syriac, and the Vulgate change all the 2nd person verbs in 1:29-31 to 3rd person verbs. It is likely that the change to a 2nd person form represents an attempt at syntactical harmonization (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 10). The abrupt change from 3rd person to 2nd person may have been intentional for rhetorical impact (GKC 462 §144.p). The rapid change from exclamation (they did!) to reproach (you desired!) might be regarded as a rhetorical figure focusing attention on the addressees and their conditions (de Waard, 10; E. König, Stilistik, Rhetorik, Poetik, 239). This use of the 3rd person could also be understood as an impersonal third person: “one will be ashamed” (de Waard, 10). In v. 29 the prophet continues his description of the sinners (v. 28), but then suddenly makes a transition to direct address (switching from 3^rd to 2^nd person) in the middle of his sentence.

[1:29]  ² tn The second person pronouns in vv. 29-30 are masculine plural, indicating that the rebellious sinners (v. 28) are addressed.

[1:29]  ³ tn Or “gardens” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “groves.”

[33:9]  ⁴ tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”

[33:9]  ⁵ tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.

[33:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.

[33:9]  ⁷ sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.

[33:9]  ⁸ tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.

[33:9]  ⁹ sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.

[33:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”

[24:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “will be ashamed.”

[24:23]  ⁸ tn Or “glow of the sun.”

[24:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).

[24:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”

[24:23]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:23]  ¹² tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”

[54:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “embarrassed”; NASB “humiliated…disgraced.”

[54:4]  ¹¹ tn Another option is to translate, “the disgrace of our widowhood” (so NRSV). However, the following context (vv. 6-7) refers to Zion’s husband, the Lord, abandoning her, not dying. This suggests that an אַלְמָנָה (’almanah) was a woman who had lost her husband, whether by death or abandonment.