1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city
has become a prostitute! 1
She was once a center of 2 justice,
fairness resided in her,
but now only murderers. 3
7:8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus,
and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. 4
10:7 But he does not agree with this,
his mind does not reason this way, 9
for his goal is to destroy,
and to eliminate many nations. 10
19:16 At that time 11 the Egyptians 12 will be like women. 13 They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 14
21:16 For this is what the sovereign master 16 has told me: “Within exactly one year 17 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.
33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, 18
the mast is not secured, 19
and the sail 20 is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; 21
even the lame will drag off plunder. 22
43:12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,
and there was no other god among you.
You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.
49:20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement
will say within your hearing,
‘This place is too cramped for us, 23
make room for us so we can live here.’ 24
1 tn 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.
2 tn Heb “filled with.”
3 tn 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.
4 tn Heb “Ephraim will be too shattered to be a nation”; NIV “to be a people.”
sn This statement is problematic for several reasons. It seems to intrude stylistically, interrupting the symmetry of the immediately preceding and following lines. Furthermore, such a long range prophecy lacks punch in the midst of the immediate crisis. After all, even if Israel were destroyed sometime within the next 65 years, a lot could still happen during that time, including the conquest of Judah and the demise of the Davidic family. Finally the significance of the time frame is uncertain. Israel became an Assyrian province within the next 15 years and ceased to exist as a nation. For these reasons many regard the statement as a later insertion, but why a later editor would include the reference to “65 years” remains a mystery. Some try to relate the prophecy to the events alluded to in Ezra 4:2, 10, which refers to how the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal settled foreigners in former Israelite territory, perhaps around 670
5 tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.
6 tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.
7 tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.
8 sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.
9 tn Heb “but he, not so does he intend, and his heart, not so does it think.”
10 tn Heb “for to destroy [is] in his heart, and to cut off nations, not a few.”
11 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
12 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
13 sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.
14 tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.
15 tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”
16 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
17 tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.
18 tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.
19 tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.
20 tn Or perhaps, “flag.”
21 tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
22 sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.
23 tn Heb “me.” The singular is collective.
24 tn Heb “draw near to me so I can dwell.”