Isaiah 3:1

A Coming Leadership Crisis

3:1 Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies ¹ 

is about to remove from Jerusalem ²  and Judah

every source of security, including ³ 

all the food and water, ⁴ 

Isaiah 3:7

3:7 At that time ⁵  the brother will shout, ⁶ 

‘I am no doctor, ⁷ 

I have no food or coat in my house;

don’t make me a leader of the people!’”

Isaiah 28:28

28:28 Grain is crushed,

though one certainly does not thresh it forever.

The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it,

but his horses do not crush it.

Isaiah 30:20

30:20 The sovereign master ⁸  will give you distress to eat

and suffering to drink; ⁹ 

but your teachers will no longer be hidden;

your eyes will see them. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 36:17

36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Isaiah 44:15

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ¹¹ 

he takes some of it and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹² 

Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ¹³ 

Why spend ¹⁴  your hard-earned money ¹⁵  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ¹⁶  to me and eat what is nourishing! ¹⁷ 

Enjoy fine food! ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 44:19

44:19 No one thinks to himself,

nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:

‘I burned half of it in the fire –

yes, I baked bread over the coals;

I roasted meat and ate it.

With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?

Should I bow down to dry wood?’ ¹⁹ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[3:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:1]  ³ tn Heb “support and support.” The masculine and feminine forms of the noun are placed side-by-side to emphasize completeness. See GKC 394 §122.v.

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the support of food, and all the support of water.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will lift up [his voice].”

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “wrapper [of wounds]”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “healer.”

[30:20]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[30:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”

[30:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.

[44:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[55:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ¹⁸ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ²⁰ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ²² tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[44:19]  ²¹ tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.