Isaiah 6:10

6:10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;

make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!

Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.” ¹ 

Isaiah 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ²  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ³ 

they say wonderful things about me, ⁴ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ⁵ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ⁶ 

Isaiah 32:6

32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; ⁷ 

his mind plans out sinful deeds. ⁸ 

He commits godless deeds ⁹ 

and says misleading things about the Lord;

he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite ¹⁰ 

and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 52:15

52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human ¹²  –

so now ¹³  he will startle ¹⁴  many nations.

Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, ¹⁵ 

for they will witness something unannounced to them,

and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Isaiah 55:7

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ¹⁶ 

and sinful people their plans. ¹⁷ 

They should return ¹⁸  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹⁹ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ²⁰ 

Isaiah 57:1

57:1 The godly ²¹  perish,

but no one cares. ²² 

Honest people disappear, ²³ 

when no one ²⁴  minds ²⁵ 

that the godly ²⁶  disappear ²⁷  because of ²⁸  evil. ²⁹ 

Isaiah 63:17

63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray ³⁰  from your ways, ³¹ 

and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? ³² 

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance!

[6:10]  ¹ sn Do we take this commission at face value? Does the Lord really want to prevent his people from understanding, repenting, and being healed? Verse 9, which ostensibly records the content of Isaiah’s message, is clearly ironic. As far as we know, Isaiah did not literally proclaim these exact words. The Hebrew imperatival forms are employed rhetorically and anticipate the response Isaiah will receive. When all is said and done, Isaiah might as well preface and conclude every message with these ironic words, which, though imperatival in form, might be paraphrased as follows: “You continually hear, but don’t understand; you continually see, but don’t perceive.” Isaiah might as well command them to be spiritually insensitive, because, as the preceding and following chapters make clear, the people are bent on that anyway. (This ironic command is comparable to saying to a particularly recalcitrant individual, “Go ahead, be stubborn!”) Verse 10b is also clearly sarcastic. On the surface it seems to indicate Isaiah’s hardening ministry will prevent genuine repentance. But, as the surrounding chapters clearly reveal, the people were hardly ready or willing to repent. Therefore, Isaiah’s preaching was not needed to prevent repentance! Verse 10b reflects the people’s attitude and might be paraphrased accordingly: “Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their mind, repent, and be restored, and they certainly wouldn’t want that, would they?” Of course, this sarcastic statement may also reveal that the Lord himself is now bent on judgment, not reconciliation. Just as Pharaoh’s rejection of Yahweh’s ultimatum ignited judgment and foreclosed, at least temporarily, any opportunity for repentance, so the Lord may have come to the point where he has decreed to bring judgment before opening the door for repentance once more. The sarcastic statement in verse 10b would be an emphatic way of making this clear. (Perhaps we could expand our paraphrase: “Otherwise they might…repent, and be restored, and they certainly wouldn’t want that, would they? Besides, it’s too late for that!”) Within this sarcastic framework, verse 10a must also be seen as ironic. As in verse 9 the imperatival forms should be taken as rhetorical and as anticipating the people’s response. One might paraphrase: “Your preaching will desensitize the minds of these people, make their hearing dull, and blind their eyes.” From the outset the Lord might as well command Isaiah to harden the people, because his preaching will end up having that effect. Despite the use of irony, we should still view this as a genuine, albeit indirect, act of divine hardening. After all, God did not have to send Isaiah. By sending him, he drives the sinful people further from him, for Isaiah’s preaching, which focuses on the Lord’s covenantal demands and impending judgment upon covenantal rebellion, forces the people to confront their sin and then continues to desensitize them as they respond negatively to the message. As in the case of Pharaoh, Yahweh’s hardening is not arbitrarily imposed on a righteous or even morally neutral object. Rather his hardening is an element of his righteous judgment on recalcitrant sinners. Ironically, Israel’s rejection of prophetic preaching in turn expedites disciplinary punishment, and brings the battered people to a point where they might be ready for reconciliation. The prophesied judgment (cf. 6:11-13) was fulfilled by 701 b.c. when the Assyrians devastated the land (a situation presupposed by Isa 1:2-20; see especially vv. 4-9). At that time the divine hardening had run its course and Isaiah is able to issue an ultimatum (1:19-20), one which Hezekiah apparently took to heart, resulting in the sparing of Jerusalem (see Isa 36-39 and cf. Jer 26:18-19 with Mic 3:12).This interpretation, which holds in balance both Israel’s moral responsibility and the Lord’s sovereign work among his people, is consistent with other pertinent texts both within and outside the Book of Isaiah. Isa 3:9 declares that the people of Judah “have brought disaster upon themselves,” but Isa 29:9-10 indicates that the Lord was involved to some degree in desensitizing the people. Zech 7:11-12 looks back to the pre-exilic era (cf. v. 7) and observes that the earlier generations stubbornly hardened their hearts, but Ps 81:11-12, recalling this same period, states that the Lord “gave them over to their stubborn hearts.”

[29:13]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ³ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[32:6]  ³ tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.

[32:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”

[32:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”

[32:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”

[32:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”

[52:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”

[52:15]  ⁵ tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.

[52:15]  ⁶ tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.

[52:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.

[55:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁸ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁹ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[57:1]  ⁶ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”

[57:1]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”

[57:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.

[57:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”

[57:1]  ¹² tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ¹³ tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).

[57:1]  ¹⁴ tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.

[63:17]  ⁷ tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.

[63:17]  ⁸ tn This probably refers to God’s commands.

[63:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).