Isaiah 5:24
Context5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 1 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 2
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 3 of the Holy One of Israel. 4
Isaiah 58:13
Context58:13 You must 5 observe the Sabbath 6
rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. 7
You must look forward to the Sabbath 8
and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. 9
You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,
and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. 10


[5:24] 1 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
[5:24] 2 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
[5:24] 4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[58:13] 5 tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14.
[58:13] 6 tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”
[58:13] 7 tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”
[58:13] 8 tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”
[58:13] 9 tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).
[58:13] 10 tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).