1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem 1 that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah. 2
21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: 4
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 5
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: 6
Someone calls to me from Seir, 7
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?” 8
22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: 9
What is the reason 10
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
52:6 For this reason my people will know my name,
for this reason they will know 11 at that time 12 that I am the one who says,
‘Here I am.’”
1 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
2 tn 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
3 tn Heb “for us.” The plural pronoun refers to the Lord, the seraphs, and the rest of the heavenly assembly.
4 sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.
5 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
6 tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.
7 sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.
8 sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.
9 sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).
10 tn Heb “What to you, then?”
11 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
12 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).