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 3:8

3:8 Jerusalem certainly stumbles,

Judah falls,

for their words and their actions offend the Lord; ⁵ 

they rebel against his royal authority. ⁶ 

Isaiah 5:7

5:7 Indeed ⁷  Israel ⁸  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ⁹  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ¹⁰ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ¹¹ 

Isaiah 8:8

8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, ¹²  O Immanuel.” ¹³ 

Isaiah 22:21

22:21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. ¹⁴  He will become a protector of ¹⁵  the residents of Jerusalem and of the people ¹⁶  of Judah.

Isaiah 26:1

Judah Will Celebrate

26:1 At that time ¹⁷  this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city!

The Lord’s ¹⁸  deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 36:1

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, ²⁰  King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Isaiah 44:26

44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants ²¹ 

and brings to pass the announcements ²²  of his messengers,

who says about Jerusalem, ²³  ‘She will be inhabited,’

and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,

her ruins I will raise up,’

[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.”

[3:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “for their tongue and their deeds [are] to the Lord.”

[3:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “to rebel [against] the eyes of his majesty.” The word כָּבוֹד (kavod) frequently refers to the Lord’s royal splendor that is an outward manifestation of his authority as king.

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ¹² tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[8:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.

[8:8]  ¹⁴ sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)

[22:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your dominion I will place in his hand.”

[22:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a father to.” The Hebrew term אָב (’av, “father”) is here used metaphorically of one who protects and supports those under his care and authority, like a father does his family. For another example of this metaphorical use of the word, see Job 29:16.

[22:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[26:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).

[26:1]  ²² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:1]  ²³ tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”

[36:1]  ²⁵ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[44:26]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.

[44:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.

[44:26]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.