Isaiah 24:10

24:10 The ruined town ¹  is shattered;

all of the houses are shut up tight. ² 

Isaiah 40:17

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing. ³ 

Isaiah 40:23

40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;

he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.

Isaiah 41:29

41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, ⁴ 

their accomplishments are nonexistent;

their metal images lack any real substance. ⁵ 

[24:10]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”

[40:17]  ³ tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”

[41:29]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.

[41:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”