1:4 1 The sinful nation is as good as dead, 2
the people weighed down by evil deeds.
They are offspring who do wrong,
children 3 who do wicked things.
They have abandoned the Lord,
and rejected the Holy One of Israel. 4
They are alienated from him. 5
5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 6 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 7
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 8 of the Holy One of Israel. 9
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 15
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 16
and in their many, many horsemen. 17
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 18
and do not seek help from the Lord.
45:11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, 19 the one who formed him,
concerning things to come: 20
“How dare you question me 21 about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with 22 the work of my own hands!
56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. 23
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” 24
57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols 25 help you!
The wind blows them all away, 26
a breeze carries them away. 27
But the one who looks to me for help 28 will inherit the land
and will have access to 29 my holy mountain.”
60:9 Indeed, the coastlands 30 look eagerly for me,
the large ships 31 are in the lead,
bringing your sons from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to honor the Lord your God, 32
the Holy One of Israel, 33 for he has bestowed honor on you.
1 sn Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2-3) has concluded.
2 tn 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.
3 tn 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).
4 sn Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
5 tn Heb “they are estranged backward.” The LXX omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.
6 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
7 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
8 tn Heb “the word.”
9 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
10 tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
11 tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”
12 tn Or “the ones perishing.”
13 tn Or “the ones driven into.”
14 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
15 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
16 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
17 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
18 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
19 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
20 tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
21 tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
22 tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
23 tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”
24 tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”
25 tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.
26 tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”
27 tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”
28 tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”
29 tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.
30 tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”
31 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.
32 tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”
33 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
34 tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”
35 tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
36 tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.