1:22 Your 1 silver has become scum, 2
your beer is diluted with water. 3
3:25 Your 4 men will fall by the sword,
your strong men will die in battle. 5
22:19 I will remove you from 6 your office;
you will be thrown down 7 from your position.
41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,” 8 says Jacob’s king. 9
43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, 10
the one who created Israel, your king.”
43:27 The father of your nation 11 sinned;
your spokesmen 12 rebelled against me.
49:16 Look, I have inscribed your name 13 on my palms;
your walls are constantly before me.
54:13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity. 14
55:8 “Indeed, 15 my plans 16 are not like 17 your plans,
and my deeds 18 are not like 19 your deeds,
61:5 20 “Foreigners will take care of 21 your sheep;
foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.
1 tn The pronoun is feminine singular; personified Jerusalem (see v. 21) is addressed.
2 tn Or “dross.” The word refers to the scum or impurites floating on the top of melted metal.
3 sn The metaphors of silver becoming impure and beer being watered down picture the moral and ethical degeneration that had occurred in Jerusalem.
4 tn The pronoun is feminine singular, suggesting personified Zion, as representative of its women, is the addressee. The reference to “her gates’ in v. 26 makes this identification almost certain.
5 tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.
6 tn Heb “I will push you away from.”
7 tn Heb “he will throw you down.” The shift from the first to third person is peculiar and abrupt, but certainly not unprecedented in Hebrew poetry. See GKC 462 §144.p. The third person may be indefinite (“one will throw you down”), in which case the passive translation is justified.
8 tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.
9 sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.
10 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
11 tn Heb “your first father.” This could refer to Abraham (see 51:2), but elsewhere in Isaiah he does not appear in a negative light (see 29:22; 41:8; 63:16). A more likely candidate is Jacob/Israel, also referred to as the nation’s “father” elsewhere (see 58:14; 63:16).
12 tn On the meaning of the term לִיץ (lits), see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ. This may refer to the nation’s prophets, priests, and/or kings.
13 tn Heb “you.” Here the pronoun is put by metonymy for the person’s name.
14 tn Heb “and great [will be] the peace of your sons.”
15 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
16 tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).
17 tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.
18 tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).
19 tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.
20 sn The Lord speaks in vv. 7-8 (and possibly v. 9). It is not clear where the servant’s speech (see vv. 1-3a) ends and the Lord’s begins. Perhaps the direct address to the people signals the beginning of the Lord’s speech.
21 tn Heb “will stand [in position] and shepherd.”