Discovery BoxIsaiah 3:4 
Context3:4 The Lord says, 1 “I will make youths their officials;
malicious young men 2 will rule over them.
Isaiah 40:25
Context40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One. 3
Isaiah 41:6
Contextone says to the other, ‘Be strong!’
Isaiah 44:27
Context44:27 who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry!
I will dry up your sea currents,’
Isaiah 47:4
Context47:4 says our protector –
the Lord who commands armies is his name,
the Holy One of Israel. 5
Isaiah 48:22
Context48:22 There will be no prosperity for the wicked,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 57:21
Context57:21 There will be no prosperity,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 66:21
Context66:21 And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
1 tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The prophet speaks in vv. 1-3 (note the third person reference to the Lord in v. 1), but here the Lord himself announces that he will intervene in judgment. It is unclear where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s pick up again. The prophet is apparently speaking again by v. 8, where the Lord is referred to in the third person. Since vv. 4-7 comprise a thematic unity, the quotation probably extends through v. 7.
2 tn תַעֲלוּלִים (ta’alulim) is often understood as an abstract plural meaning “wantonness, cruelty” (cf. NLT). In this case the chief characteristic of these leaders is substituted for the leaders themselves. However, several translations make the parallelism tighter by emending the form to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”; cf. ESV, NASB, NCV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV). This emendation is unnecessary for at least two reasons. The word in the MT highlights the cruelty or malice of the “leaders” who are left behind in the wake of God’s judgment. The immediate context makes clear the fact that they are mere youths. The coming judgment will sweep away the leaders, leaving a vacuum which will be filled by incompetent, inexperienced youths.
3 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
4 tn Heb “each his neighbor helps”; NCV “The workers help each other.”
5 tc The Hebrew text reads, “Our redeemer – the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” The ancient Greek version adds “says” before “our redeemer.” אָמַר (’amar) may have accidentally dropped from the text by virtual haplography. Note that the preceding word אָדָם (’adam) is graphically similar.
sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
