Isaiah 58:1

The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion

58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!

Yell as loud as a trumpet!

Confront my people with their rebellious deeds;

confront Jacob’s family with their sin!

Isaiah 17:12

17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead,

those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves.

The people making such an uproar are as good as dead,

those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves.


tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”

tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.

tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”