Isaiah 56:10-11

56:10 All their watchmen ¹  are blind,

they are unaware. ² 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ³  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ⁴ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ⁵ 

Isaiah 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ⁶ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ⁷ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ⁸ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ⁹ 

They have decided to behave this way; ¹⁰ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 13:22

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ¹² 

Her time is almost up, ¹³ 

her days will not be prolonged. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 34:14

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ¹⁵ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ¹⁶ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ¹⁷  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ¹⁸ 

[56:10]  ¹ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ² tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ⁴ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[66:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ¹² tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[13:22]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).

[13:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ¹² sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[34:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”

[34:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”