translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: ISA

label: NET translator note

text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: Heb “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” sn Isaiah’s prophetic career probably began in the final year of Uzziah’s reign (ca. 740 b.c. , see Isa 6:1 ) and extended into the later years of Hezekiah’s reign, which ended in 686 b.c.


text: Or “sons” (NAB, NASB). sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses ( 1:7-9, 19-20 ) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.


text: Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.


text: Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar , 346-47).


text: Heb “Woe [to the] sinful nation.” The Hebrew term הוֹי , ( hoy , “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30 ; Jer 22:18; 34:5 ) and carries the connotation of death. In highly dramatic fashion the prophet acts out Israel’s funeral in advance, emphasizing that their demise is inevitable if they do not repent soon.


text: Or “sons” (NASB). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege – nation, people, offspring, children – with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day – sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah , 43).


text: Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger ( Isaiah , 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”


text: Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”


text: Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”


text: Heb “pressed out.”


text: Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”


text: Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”


text: Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כְּ ( kÿ , “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118. x . Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the mss or ancient versions. Such an emendation finds support from the following context (vv. 9-10 ) and usage of the preceding noun מַהְפֵּכָה ( mahpekhah , “overthrow”). In its five other uses, this noun is associated with the destruction of Sodom. If one accepts the emendation, then one might translate, “the devastation resembles the destruction of Sodom.”


text: Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.


text: Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7 b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר ( natsar , “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר ), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר ( tsur , “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר ).


text: Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.


label: NET textual note

text: The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט ( kim ’ at , “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah , 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.


text: Heb “to the instruction of our God.” In this context, which is highly accusatory and threatening, תּוֹרָה ( torah , “law, instruction”) does not refer to mere teaching, but to corrective teaching and rebuke.


text: Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!” sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3 ), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.


text: The verb שָׂבַע ( sava ’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע . Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.


text: Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.


text: Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”


text: Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17 ).


text: Heb “I close my eyes from you.”


text: The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ ( khamots , “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ ( khamuts , “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ ( khamats , “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ ashar ) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר . This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17 c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17 a-b). J. A. Motyer ( The Prophecy of Isaiah , 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17 a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”


text: This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.


text: Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.


text: The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.


text: Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.


text: Heb “listen”; KJV “obedient”; NASB “If you consent and obey.”


text: Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי ( ki ) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).


text: Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ ekhah , “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2;1; 4:1-2 ). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.


text: Heb “filled with.”


text: Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund ( Whoredom , 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.


text: The pronoun is feminine singular; personified Jerusalem (see v. 21 ) is addressed.


text: Or “dross.” The word refers to the scum or impurites floating on the top of melted metal.


text: Or “stubborn”; CEV “have rejected me.”


text: Heb “and companions of” (so KJV, NASB); CEV “friends of crooks.”


text: Heb “pursue”; NIV “chase after gifts.”


text: Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9 .


text: Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”


text: Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”


text: Heb “turn my hand against you.” The second person pronouns in vv. 25-26 are feminine singular. Personified Jerusalem is addressed. The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack,” in Ps 81:15 HT ( 81:14 ET); Ezek 38:12 ; Am 1:8 ; Zech 13:7 . In Jer 6:9 it is used of gleaning grapes.


text: Heb “I will purify your dross as [with] flux.” “Flux” refers here to minerals added to the metals in a furnace to prevent oxides from forming. For this interpretation of II בֹּר ( bor ), see HALOT 153 s.v. II בֹּר and 750 s.v. סִיג .


text: Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23 ), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2 .


text: Heb “Zion will be ransomed with justice.” Both cola in this verse end with similar terms: justice and righteousness (and both are preceded by a בְּ [ bet ] preposition). At issue is whether these virtues describe the means or result of the deliverance and whether they delineate God’s justice/righteousness or that of the covenant people. If the righteousness of Israelite returnees is in view, the point seems to be that the reestablishment of Zion as a center of justice (God’s people living in conformity with God’s demand for equity and justice) will deliver the city from its past humiliation and restore it to a place of prominence (see 2:2-4 ; cf. E. Kissane, Isaiah, 1:19). Most scholars conclude that “righteousness and “justice” refers to God alone (J. Ridderbos, Isaiah [BSC], 50; J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:25; E. J. Young, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:89; cf. NLT, TEV) or serves as a double reference to both divine and human justice and righteousness (J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 51; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:10; H. Wildberger, Isaiah , 1:72). If it refers to both sides of the coin, these terms highlight the objective divine work of redemption and the subjective human response of penitence (Motyer, 51).


text: The Hebrew text has, “her repentant ones/returnees with righteousness.” The form שָׁבֶיהָ ( shaveha , “her repentant ones”), as pointed in MT, is a masculine plural Qal participle from שׁוּב ( shuv , “return”). Used substantivally, it refers to the “returning (i.e., repentant) ones.” It is possible that the parallel line (with its allusion to being freed by a ransom payment) suggests that the form be repointed to שִׁבְיָהּ ( shivyah , “her captivity”), a reading that has support from the LXX. Some slightly emend the form to read וְשָׁבָה ( vÿshavah , “and will return”). According to this view, the verb from the first line applies to the second line as well with the following translation as a result: “she will be released when fairness is restored.” Regardless, it makes best sense in the context to regard this as a reference to repentant Israelites returning to the land of promise. This understanding provides a better contrast with the rebels and sinners in 1:28 .


text: Heb “and [there will be] a shattering of rebels and sinners together.”


text: person) in the middle of his sentence.


text: The second person pronouns in vv. 29-30 are masculine plural, indicating that the rebellious sinners (v. 28 ) are addressed.


text: Or “gardens” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “groves.”


text: Or “a garden” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).


text: Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).