Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:16 
Context1:16 1 Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds 2
from my sight.
Stop sinning!
Isaiah 39:7
Context39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 3 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
Isaiah 54:3
Context54:3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your children will conquer 4 nations
and will resettle desolate cities.
Isaiah 58:4
Context58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by 5 arguments, brawls,
and fistfights. 6
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
1 sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.
2 sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun ַמעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma’alleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).
3 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
4 tn Or “take possession of”; NAB “shall dispossess.”
5 tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”
6 tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”
