Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:5 
Context1:5 1 Why do you insist on being battered?
Why do you continue to rebel? 2
Your head has a massive wound, 3
your whole body is weak. 4
Isaiah 1:20
Context1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured 5 by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. 6
Isaiah 36:5
Context36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 7 In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?
Isaiah 48:8
Context48:8 You did not hear,
you do not know,
you were not told beforehand. 8
For I know that you are very deceitful; 9
you were labeled 10 a rebel from birth.
1 sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).
2 tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”
3 tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”
4 tn Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).
5 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.
6 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).
7 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
8 tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”
9 tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
10 tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
