Isaiah 1:7

1:7 Your land is devastated,

your cities burned with fire.

Right before your eyes your crops

are being destroyed by foreign invaders. ¹ 

They leave behind devastation and destruction. ² 

Isaiah 29:10

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply. ³ 

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

Isaiah 30:20

30:20 The sovereign master ⁴  will give you distress to eat

and suffering to drink; ⁵ 

but your teachers will no longer be hidden;

your eyes will see them. ⁶ 

Isaiah 37:17

37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ⁷ 

Isaiah 43:8

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,

those who are deaf, even though they have ears!

Isaiah 52:8

52:8 Listen, ⁸  your watchmen shout;

in unison they shout for joy,

for they see with their very own eyes ⁹ 

the Lord’s return to Zion.

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¹ tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”

² tn 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.”

³ tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

⁵ tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”

⁶ tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.

⁷ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

⁸ tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.

⁹ tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”