Discovery BoxIsaiah 31:1--32:20
Context31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 1
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 2
and in their many, many horsemen. 3
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 4
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 5 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 6
He will attack the wicked nation, 7
and the nation that helps 8 those who commit sin. 9
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 10 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 11
31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey. 12
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 13
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 14
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 15
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 16
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 17 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 18 31:7 For at that time 19 everyone will get rid of 20 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 21
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 22
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 23
They will run away from this sword 24
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 25 because of fear; 26
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 27
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 28
32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 29
officials will promote justice. 30
32:2 Each of them 31 will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from a rainstorm;
like streams of water in a dry region
and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
32:3 Eyes 32 will no longer be blind 33
and ears 34 will be attentive.
32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment 35
and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; 36
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 37
He commits godless deeds 38
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 39
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 40
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 41
he dreams up evil plans 42
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 43
32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security. 44
get up and listen to me!
You carefree 46 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
you carefree ones will shake with fear,
for the grape 48 harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
32:11 Tremble, you complacent ones!
Shake with fear, you carefree ones!
Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves –
put sackcloth on your waist! 49
32:12 Mourn over the field, 50
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 51 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 52
in the city filled with revelry. 53
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 54 city is abandoned.
Hill 55 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 56
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 57
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 58
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 59
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 60
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 61
and result in lasting security. 62
32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 63
32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed 64
and the city is annihilated, 65
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 66
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 67
[31:1] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
[31:1] 2 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
[31:1] 3 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
[31:1] 4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[31:2] 5 sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.
[31:2] 6 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
[31:2] 7 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
[31:2] 9 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
[31:3] 10 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
[31:3] 11 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
[31:4] 12 tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.
[31:4] 13 tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”
[31:4] 14 tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.
[31:5] 15 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:5] 16 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:5] 17 tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.
[31:6] 18 tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.
[31:7] 19 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[31:7] 20 tn Heb “reject” (so NIV); NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT “throw away.”
[31:7] 21 tn Heb “the idols of their idols of silver and their idols of gold which your hands made for yourselves [in] sin.” חָטָא (khata’, “sin”) is understood as an adverbial accusative of manner. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:573, n. 4.
[31:8] 22 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 23 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 24 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[31:9] 25 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
[31:9] 26 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
[31:9] 27 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
[31:9] 28 sn The “fire” and “firepot” here symbolize divine judgment, which is heating up like a fire in Jerusalem, waiting to be used against the Assyrians when they attack the city.
[32:1] 29 tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”
[32:1] 30 tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”
[32:2] 31 tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.
[32:3] 32 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
[32:3] 33 tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.
[32:3] 34 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
[32:4] 35 tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”
[32:6] 36 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
[32:6] 37 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
[32:6] 38 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
[32:6] 39 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
[32:6] 40 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
[32:7] 41 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
[32:7] 42 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
[32:7] 43 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
[32:8] 44 tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”
[32:9] 45 tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”
[32:9] 46 tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”
[32:10] 47 tn Heb “days upon a year.”
[32:10] 48 tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.
[32:11] 49 tn The imperatival forms in v. 11 are problematic. The first (חִרְדוּ, khirdu, “tremble”) is masculine plural in form, though spoken to a feminine plural addressee (שַׁאֲנַנּוֹת, sha’anannot, “complacent ones”). The four imperatival forms that follow (רְגָזָה, rÿgazah, “shake with fear”; פְּשֹׁטָה, pÿshotah, “strip off your clothes”; עֹרָה, ’orah, “expose yourselves”; and חֲגוֹרָה, khagorah, “put on”) all appear to be lengthened (so-called “emphatic”) masculine singular forms, even though they too appear to be spoken to a feminine plural addressee. GKC 131-32 §48.i suggests emending חִרְדוּ (khirdu) to חֲרָדָה (kharadah) and understanding all five imperatives as feminine plural “aramaized” forms.
[32:12] 50 tc The Hebrew text has “over mourning breasts.” The reference to “breasts” would make sense in light of v. 11, which refers to the practice of women baring their breasts as a sign of sorrow (see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:585). However, one expects the preposition עַל (’al) to introduce the source or reason for mourning (see vv. 12b-13a) and the participle סֹפְדִים (sofedim, “mourning”) seems odd modifying “breasts.” The translation above assumes a twofold emendation: (1) שָׁדַיִם (shadayim, “breasts”) is emended to [ם]שָׂדַי (saday[m], “field,” a term that also appears in Isa 56:9). The final mem (ם) would be enclitic in this case, not a plural indicator. (The Hebrew noun שָׂדֶה (sadeh, “field”) forms its plural with an וֹת- [-ot] ending). (2) The plural participle סֹפְדִים is emended to סְפֹדָה (sÿfodah), a lengthened imperatival form, meaning “mourn.” For an overview of various suggestions that have been made for this difficult line, see Oswalt, 586, n. 12).
[32:13] 51 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 52 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
[32:13] 53 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 54 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 55 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
[32:14] 56 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
[32:14] 57 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[32:15] 58 tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.
[32:15] 59 sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.
[32:16] 60 sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.
[32:17] 61 tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”
[32:17] 62 tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”
[32:18] 63 tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”
[32:19] 64 tn Heb “and [?] when the forest descends.” The form וּבָרַד (uvarad) is often understood as an otherwise unattested denominative verb meaning “to hail” (HALOT 154 s.v. I ברד). In this case one might translate, “and it hails when the forest is destroyed” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV). Perhaps the text alludes to a powerful wind and hail storm that knocks down limbs and trees. Some prefer to emend the form to וְיָרַד (vÿyarad), “and it descends,” which provides better, though not perfect, symmetry with the parallel line (cf. NAB). Perhaps וּבָרַד should be dismissed as dittographic. In this case the statement (“when the forest descends”) lacks a finite verb and seems incomplete, but perhaps it is subordinate to v. 20.
[32:19] 65 tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”
[32:20] 66 tn Heb “by all the waters.”
[32:20] 67 tn Heb “who set free the foot of the ox and donkey”; NIV “letting your cattle and donkeys range free.”
