Isaiah 3:13-14

3:13 The Lord takes his position to judge;

he stands up to pass sentence on his people. ¹ 

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ²  “It is you ³  who have ruined ⁴  the vineyard! ⁵ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁶ 

[3:13]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has “nations,” but the preceding and following contexts make it clear that the Lord is judging his covenant people. עָמִים (’amim) should be changed (with support from the LXX) to עמו. The final mem (ם) on the form in the Hebrew is either dittographic or enclitic. When the mem was added or read as a plural ending, the vav (ו) was then misread as a yod (י).

[3:14]  ² tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ³ tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ⁵ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).