Psalms 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising ¹  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! ² 

Isaiah 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ³  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ⁴ 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ⁵  of the Holy One of Israel. ⁶ 

Isaiah 30:11-12

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path. ⁷ 

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” ⁸ 

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

“You have rejected this message; ⁹ 

you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, ¹⁰ 

and rely on that kind of behavior. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 30:15

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ¹² 

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ¹³ 

but you are unwilling.

Jeremiah 51:5

51:5 “For Israel and Judah will not be forsaken ¹⁴ 

by their God, the Lord who rules over all. ¹⁵ 

For the land of Babylonia is ¹⁶  full of guilt

against the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁷ 

[71:22]  ¹ tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[71:22]  ² sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.

[5:24]  ³ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ⁴ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[30:11]  ⁷ sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.

[30:11]  ⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[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.”

[30:15]  ¹² tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[30:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).

[51:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “widowed” (cf. BDB 48 s.v. אַלְמָן, an adjective occurring only here but related to the common word for “widow”). It is commonly translated as has been done here.

[51:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering see the study note on 2:19.

[51:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “all, though their land was…” The majority of the modern English versions understand the land here to refer to the land of Israel and Judah (the text reads “their land” and Israel and Judah are the nearest antecedents). In this case the particle כִּי (ki) is concessive (cf. BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c[b]). Many of the modern commentaries understand the referent to be the land of the Chaldeans/Babylonians. However, most of them feel that the line is connected as a causal statement to 51:2-4 and see the line as either textually or logically out of place. However, it need not be viewed as logically out of place. It is parallel to the preceding and gives a second reason why they are to be destroyed. It also forms an excellent transition to the next lines where the exiles and other foreigners are urged to flee and not get caught up in the destruction which is coming “because of her sin.” It might be helpful to note that both the adjective “widowed” and the suffix on “their God” are masculine singular, looking at Israel and Judah as one entity. The “their” then goes back not to Israel and Judah of the preceding lines but to the “them” in v. 4. This makes for a better connection with the following and understands the particle כִּי in its dominant usage not an extremely rare one (see the comment in BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c[b]). This interpretation is also reflected in RSV.

[51:5]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 50:29.