Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:22-23
Context10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as 1 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. 2 Destruction has been decreed; 3 just punishment 4 is about to engulf you. 5 10:23 The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land. 6
Isaiah 24:1-23
Context24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, 7
the master as well as the servant, 8
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 9
the seller as well as the buyer, 10
the borrower as well as the lender, 11
the creditor as well as the debtor. 12
24:3 The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment. 13
24:4 The earth 14 dries up 15 and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth 16 fade away.
24:5 The earth is defiled by 17 its inhabitants, 18
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation, 19
and broken the permanent treaty. 20
24:6 So a treaty curse 21 devours the earth;
its inhabitants pay for their guilt. 22
This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, 23
and are reduced to just a handful of people. 24
24:7 The new wine dries up,
the vines shrivel up,
all those who like to celebrate 25 groan.
24:8 The happy sound 26 of the tambourines stops,
the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,
the happy sound of the harp ceases.
24:9 They no longer sing and drink wine; 27
the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
24:10 The ruined town 28 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 29
24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 30
all joy turns to sorrow; 31
celebrations disappear from the earth. 32
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 33
the gate is reduced to rubble. 34
24:13 This is what will happen throughout 35 the earth,
among the nations.
It will be like when they beat an olive tree,
and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. 36
24:14 They 37 lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise 38 the majesty of the Lord in the west.
24:15 So in the east 39 extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol 40 the fame 41 of the Lord God of Israel.
24:16 From the ends of the earth we 42 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 43
But I 44 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 45
24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 46
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 47
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 48 are opened up 49
and the foundations of the earth shake.
24:19 The earth is broken in pieces,
the earth is ripped to shreds,
the earth shakes violently. 50
24:20 The earth will stagger around 51 like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. 52
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.
24:21 At that time 53 the Lord will punish 54
the heavenly forces in the heavens 55
and the earthly kings on the earth.
24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, 56
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time, 57 they will be punished. 58
24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 59
the bright sun 60 will be darkened; 61
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 62
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 63
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 64
Isaiah 32:12-14
Context32:12 Mourn over the field, 65
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 66 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 67
in the city filled with revelry. 68
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 69 city is abandoned.
Hill 70 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 71
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 72
Jeremiah 25:11
Context25:11 This whole area 73 will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’ 74
Daniel 9:26-27
Context9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,
an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. 75
As for the city and the sanctuary,
the people of the coming prince will destroy 76 them.
But his end will come speedily 77 like a flood. 78
Until the end of the war that has been decreed
there will be destruction.
9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. 79
But in the middle of that week
he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt.
On the wing 80 of abominations will come 81 one who destroys,
until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”
Luke 21:24
Context21:24 They 82 will fall by the edge 83 of the sword and be led away as captives 84 among all nations. Jerusalem 85 will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 86
[10:22] 2 sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).
[10:22] 3 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
[10:22] 4 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
[10:22] 5 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
[10:23] 6 tn Heb “Indeed (or perhaps “for”) destruction and what is decreed the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is about to accomplish in the middle of all the land.” The phrase כָלָא וְנֶחֱרָצָה (khala’ venekheratsah, “destruction and what is decreed”) is a hendiadys; the two terms express one idea, with the second qualifying the first.
[24:2] 7 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
[24:2] 8 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
[24:2] 9 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
[24:2] 10 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
[24:2] 11 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
[24:2] 12 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
[24:3] 13 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
[24:4] 14 tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (erets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37;12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).
[24:4] 15 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.
[24:4] 16 tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (mÿrom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (mÿrome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.
[24:5] 17 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
[24:5] 18 sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.
[24:5] 19 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
[24:5] 20 tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”
[24:6] 21 sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.
[24:6] 22 tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).
[24:6] 23 tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).
[24:6] 24 tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”
[24:7] 25 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.
[24:8] 26 tn Heb “the joy” (again later in this verse).
[24:9] 27 tn Heb “with a song they do not drink wine.”
[24:10] 28 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
[24:10] 29 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
[24:11] 30 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
[24:11] 31 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
[24:11] 32 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
[24:12] 33 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
[24:12] 34 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
[24:13] 35 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
[24:13] 36 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
[24:14] 37 sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.
[24:14] 38 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
[24:15] 39 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).
[24:15] 40 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
[24:15] 41 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
[24:16] 42 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
[24:16] 43 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
[24:16] 44 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
[24:16] 45 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”
[24:17] 46 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
[24:18] 47 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:18] 48 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
[24:18] 49 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
[24:19] 50 tn Once more repetition is used to draw attention to a statement. In the Hebrew text each lines ends with אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”). Each line also uses a Hitpolel verb form from a geminate root preceded by an emphatic infinitive absolute.
[24:20] 51 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
[24:20] 52 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[24:21] 53 tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:21] 54 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
[24:21] 55 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).
[24:22] 56 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
[24:22] 57 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
[24:22] 58 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”
[24:23] 59 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
[24:23] 60 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
[24:23] 61 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
[24:23] 62 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
[24:23] 63 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:23] 64 tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”
[32:12] 65 tc The Hebrew text has “over mourning breasts.” The reference to “breasts” would make sense in light of v. 11, which refers to the practice of women baring their breasts as a sign of sorrow (see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:585). However, one expects the preposition עַל (’al) to introduce the source or reason for mourning (see vv. 12b-13a) and the participle סֹפְדִים (sofedim, “mourning”) seems odd modifying “breasts.” The translation above assumes a twofold emendation: (1) שָׁדַיִם (shadayim, “breasts”) is emended to [ם]שָׂדַי (saday[m], “field,” a term that also appears in Isa 56:9). The final mem (ם) would be enclitic in this case, not a plural indicator. (The Hebrew noun שָׂדֶה (sadeh, “field”) forms its plural with an וֹת- [-ot] ending). (2) The plural participle סֹפְדִים is emended to סְפֹדָה (sÿfodah), a lengthened imperatival form, meaning “mourn.” For an overview of various suggestions that have been made for this difficult line, see Oswalt, 586, n. 12).
[32:13] 66 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 67 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
[32:13] 68 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 69 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 70 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] 71 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] 72 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[25:11] 73 tn Heb “All this land.”
[25:11] 74 sn It should be noted that the text says that the nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years, not that they will lie desolate for seventy years. Though several proposals have been made for dating this period, many ignore this fact. This most likely refers to the period beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat of Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish in 605
[9:26] 75 sn The expression have nothing is difficult. Presumably it refers to an absence of support or assistance for the anointed one at the time of his “cutting off.” The KJV rendering “but not for himself,” apparently suggesting a vicarious death, cannot be defended.
[9:26] 76 tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (’im, “with) rather than the noun עַם (’am, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”
[9:26] 77 tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
[9:26] 78 sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.
[9:27] 79 tn Heb “one seven” (also later in this line).
[9:27] 80 tn The referent of the Hebrew word כְּנַף (kÿnaf, “wing”) is unclear here. The LXX and Theodotion have “the temple.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV) take this to mean “a wing of the temple,” but this is not clear.
[9:27] 81 tn The Hebrew text does not have this verb, but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[21:24] 82 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[21:24] 83 tn Grk “by the mouth of the sword” (an idiom for the edge of a sword).
[21:24] 84 sn Here is the predicted judgment against the nation until the time of Gentile rule has passed: Its people will be led away as captives.
[21:24] 85 tn Grk “And Jerusalem.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[21:24] 86 sn Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled implies a time when Israel again has a central role in God’s plan.
