Isaiah 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ² 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ³ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁴ 

Isaiah 8:6

8:6 “These people ⁵  have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah ⁶  and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. ⁷ 

Isaiah 30:12

30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

“You have rejected this message; ⁸ 

you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, ⁹ 

and rely on that kind of behavior. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 37:29

37:29 Because you rage against me

and the uproar you create has reached my ears, ¹¹ 

I will put my hook in your nose, ¹² 

and my bridle between your lips,

and I will lead you back

the way you came.”

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ³ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[8:6]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text begins with “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 6-7 are one long sentence, with v. 6 giving the reason for judgment and v. 7 formally announcing it.

[8:6]  ⁶ sn The phrase “waters of Shiloah” probably refers to a stream that originated at the Gihon Spring and supplied the city of Jerusalem with water. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:225. In this context these waters stand in contrast to the flood waters of Assyria and symbolize God’s presence and blessings.

[8:6]  ⁷ tn The precise meaning of v. 6 has been debated. The translation above assumes that “these people” are the residents of Judah and that מָשׂוֹשׂ (masos) is alternate form of מָסוֹס (masos, “despair, melt”; see HALOT 606 s.v. מסס). In this case vv. 7-8 in their entirety announce God’s disciplinary judgment on Judah. However, “these people” could refer to the Israelites and perhaps also the Syrians (cf v. 4). In this case מָשׂוֹשׂ probably means “joy.” One could translate, “and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah.” In this case v. 7a announces the judgment of Israel, with vv. 7b-8 then shifting the focus to the judgment of Judah.

[30:12]  ⁹ tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.

[30:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”

[30:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”

[37:29]  ¹³ tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).

[37:29]  ¹⁴ sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.