Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:21 
Context1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city
has become a prostitute! 1
She was once a center of 2 justice,
fairness resided in her,
but now only murderers. 3
Isaiah 10:2
Context10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 4 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 5
Isaiah 28:17
Context28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, 6
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
Isaiah 32:14
Context32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 7 city is abandoned.
Hill 8 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 9
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 10
Isaiah 33:21
Context33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. 11
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; 12
no war galley will enter; 13
no large ships will sail through. 14
Isaiah 34:13
Context34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 15 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 16
Isaiah 54:14
Context54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. 17
You will not experience oppression; 18
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified, 19
for nothing frightening 20 will come near you.
Isaiah 56:1
Context56:1 This is what the Lord says,
“Promote 21 justice! Do what is right!
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly. 22
Isaiah 58:6
Context58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. 23
I want you 24 to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed, 25
and to break every burdensome yoke.
Isaiah 59:9
Context59:9 For this reason deliverance 26 is far from us 27
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light, 28 but see only darkness; 29
we wait for 30 a bright light, 31 but live 32 in deep darkness. 33
Isaiah 59:14
Context59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness 34 stands far off.
Indeed, 35 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
Isaiah 61:8
Context61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice
and hate robbery and sin.
I will repay them because of my faithfulness; 36
I will make a permanent covenant with them.
1 tn Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2;1; 4:1-2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.
2 tn Heb “filled with.”
3 tn Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.
4 tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”
5 tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”
sn On the socio-economic background of vv. 1-2, see the note at 1:23.
6 tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.
7 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
8 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
9 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
10 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
11 tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
12 tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
13 tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
14 tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
15 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
16 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
17 tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.
18 tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.
19 tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.
20 tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.
21 tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”
22 tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”
23 tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
24 tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
25 tn Heb “crushed.”
26 tn מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which refers to “justice” in the earlier verses, here refers to “justice from God,” or “vindication.” Because the people are unjust, God refuses to vindicate them before their enemies. See v. 11.
27 sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.
28 sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing.
29 tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”
30 tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
31 tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.
32 tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.”
33 tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.
34 tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”
35 tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).
36 tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”
