Yesaya 1:21

Purifying Judgment

1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city

has become a prostitute! ¹ 

She was once a center of ²  justice,

fairness resided in her,

but now only murderers. ³ 

Yesaya 9:18

9:18 For ⁴  evil burned like a fire, ⁵ 

it consumed thorns and briers;

it burned up the thickets of the forest,

and they went up in smoke. ⁶ 

Yesaya 33:16

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ⁷ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ⁸ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

Yesaya 37:32

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ⁹  will accomplish this.

[1:21]  ¹ tn Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2;1; 4:1-2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.

[1:21]  ² tn Heb “filled with.”

[1:21]  ³ tn Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[9:18]  ⁵ sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.

[9:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).

[33:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

[33:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”

[37:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.