Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:20 
Context1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured 1 by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. 2
Isaiah 8:15
Context8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, 3
and will fall and be seriously injured,
and will be ensnared and captured.”
Isaiah 10:11
Context10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,
so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” 4
Isaiah 19:10
Context19:10 Those who make cloth 5 will be demoralized; 6
all the hired workers will be depressed. 7
Isaiah 19:15
Context19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots and stalk. 8
Isaiah 24:11
Context24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 9
all joy turns to sorrow; 10
celebrations disappear from the earth. 11
Isaiah 34:8
Context34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 12
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 13
Isaiah 65:19
Context65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,
and my people will bring me happiness. 14
The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow
will never be heard in her again.
Isaiah 65:24
Context65:24 Before they even call out, 15 I will respond;
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
1 sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.
2 tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).
3 tn Heb “over them” (so NASB); NCV “over this rock.”
4 tn The statement is constructed as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text: “Is it not [true that] just as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols?”
sn This statement indicates that the prophecy dates sometime between 722-701
5 tn Some interpret שָׁתֹתֶיהָ (shatoteha) as “her foundations,” i.e., leaders, nobles. See BDB 1011 s.v. שָׁת. Others, on the basis of alleged cognates in Akkadian and Coptic, repoint the form שְׁתִיתֶיהָ (shÿtiteha) and translate “her weavers.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:370.
6 tn Heb “crushed.” Emotional distress is the focus of the context (see vv. 8-9, 10b).
7 tn Heb “sad of soul”; cf. NIV, NLT “sick at heart.”
8 tn Heb “And there will not be for Egypt a deed, which head and tail, shoot and stalk can do.” In 9:14-15 the phrase “head or tail” refers to leaders and prophets, respectively. This interpretation makes good sense in this context, where both leaders and advisers (probably including prophets and diviners) are mentioned (vv. 11-14). Here, as in 9:14, “shoots and stalk” picture a reed, which symbolizes the leadership of the nation in its entirety.
9 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
10 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
11 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
12 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
13 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
14 tn Heb “and I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be happy in my people.”
15 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
