Discovery BoxIsaiah 3:8 
Context3:8 Jerusalem certainly stumbles,
Judah falls,
for their words and their actions offend the Lord; 1
they rebel against his royal authority. 2
Isaiah 27:7
Context27:7 Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors? 3
Has Israel been killed like their enemies? 4
Isaiah 41:29
Context41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, 5
their accomplishments are nonexistent;
their metal images lack any real substance. 6
Isaiah 44:18
Context44:18 They do not comprehend or understand,
for their eyes are blind and cannot see;
their minds do not discern. 7
1 tn Heb “for their tongue and their deeds [are] to the Lord.”
2 tn Heb “to rebel [against] the eyes of his majesty.” The word כָּבוֹד (kavod) frequently refers to the Lord’s royal splendor that is an outward manifestation of his authority as king.
3 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Like the striking down of the one striking him down does he strike him down?” The meaning of the text is unclear, but this may be a rhetorical question, suggesting that Israel has not experienced divine judgment to the same degree as her oppressors. In this case “the one striking down” refers to Israel’s oppressors, while the pronoun “him” refers to Israel. The subject of the final verb (“does he strike down”) would then be God, while the pronoun “him” would again refer to Israel.
4 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Or like the killing of his killed ones is he killed?” If one accepts the interpretation of the parallel line outlined in the previous note, then this line too would contain a rhetorical question suggesting that Israel has not experienced destruction to the same degree as its enemies. In this case “his killed ones” refers to the one who struck Israel down, and Israel would be the subject of the final verb (“is he killed”).
5 tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.
6 tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”
7 tn Heb “for their eyes are smeared over so they cannot see, so their heart cannot be wise.”
