Discovery BoxIsaiah 5:16 
Context5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted 1 when he punishes, 2
the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. 3
Isaiah 5:19
Context5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, 4
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel 5 take shape 6 and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
Isaiah 5:24
Context5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 7 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 8
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 9 of the Holy One of Israel. 10
1 tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”
2 tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.
3 tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.
sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.
4 tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.
5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6 tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”
7 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
8 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
9 tn Heb “the word.”
10 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
