Isaiah 15:4

15:4 The people of ¹  Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,

their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.

For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;

their courage wavers. ² 

Isaiah 24:7

24:7 The new wine dries up,

the vines shrivel up,

all those who like to celebrate ³  groan.

Isaiah 24:2

24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, ⁴ 

the master as well as the servant, ⁵ 

the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, ⁶ 

the seller as well as the buyer, ⁷ 

the borrower as well as the lender, ⁸ 

the creditor as well as the debtor. ⁹ 

Isaiah 1:21

Purifying Judgment

1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city

has become a prostitute! ¹⁰ 

She was once a center of ¹¹  justice,

fairness resided in her,

but now only murderers. ¹² 

[15:4]  ¹ tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[15:4]  ² tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[24:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.

[24:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”

[24:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”

[24:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”

[24:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”

[24:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”

[24:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”

[1:21]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “filled with.”

[1:21]  ¹² 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.