Isaiah 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ¹ 

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. ² 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

Isaiah 32:6

32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; ³ 

his mind plans out sinful deeds. ⁴ 

He commits godless deeds ⁵ 

and says misleading things about the Lord;

he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite ⁶ 

and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. ⁷ 

Isaiah 55:1

The Lord Gives an Invitation

55:1 “Hey, ⁸  all who are thirsty, come to the water!

You who have no money, come!

Buy and eat!

Come! Buy wine and milk

without money and without cost! ⁹ 

[29:8]  ¹ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ² tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”

[32:6]  ³ tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.

[32:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”

[32:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”

[32:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”

[32:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”

[55:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.

[55:1]  ⁶ sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”