Discovery BoxIsaiah 5:7 
Context5:7 Indeed 1 Israel 2 is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,
the people 3 of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! 4
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! 5
Isaiah 10:26
Context10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them 6 with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. 7 He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. 8
Isaiah 31:9
Context31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 9 because of fear; 10
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 11
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 12
Isaiah 49:4
Context49:4 But I thought, 13 “I have worked in vain;
I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” 14
But the Lord will vindicate me;
my God will reward me. 15
1 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
2 tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
4 tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
5 tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
6 tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”
7 sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.
8 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.
9 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
10 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
11 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
12 sn The “fire” and “firepot” here symbolize divine judgment, which is heating up like a fire in Jerusalem, waiting to be used against the Assyrians when they attack the city.
13 tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”
14 tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.
15 tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”
