Isaiah 1:5-6

1:5 ¹ Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel? ² 

Your head has a massive wound, ³ 

your whole body is weak. ⁴ 

1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,

there is no spot that is unharmed. ⁵ 

There are only bruises, cuts,

and open wounds.

They have not been cleansed ⁶  or bandaged,

nor have they been treated ⁷  with olive oil. ⁸ 

[1:5]  ¹ sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”

[1:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “pressed out.”

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”

[1:6]  ⁸ sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.