Isaiah 5:7

5:7 Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience!

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help!

Isaiah 7:1

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it.

Isaiah 44:26

44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants

and brings to pass the announcements 10  of his messengers,

who says about Jerusalem, 11  ‘She will be inhabited,’

and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,

her ruins I will raise up,’

Isaiah 48:1

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, 12 

you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’

and are descended from Judah, 13 

who take oaths in the name of the Lord,

and invoke 14  the God of Israel –

but not in an honest and just manner. 15 


tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsaqah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

tn Or perhaps, “but they were unable to attack it.” This statement sounds like a summary of the whole campaign. The following context explains why they were unable to defeat the southern kingdom. The parallel passage (2 Kgs 16:5; cf. Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9 for a similar construction) affirms that Syria and Israel besieged Ahaz. Consequently, the statement that “they were not able to battle against them” must refer to the inability to conquer Ahaz.

tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.

10 tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.

11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

12 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”

13 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿe, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.

14 tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”

15 tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”