Yesaya 1:6-12
Konteks1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,
there is no spot that is unharmed. 1
There are only bruises, cuts,
and open wounds.
They have not been cleansed 2 or bandaged,
nor have they been treated 3 with olive oil. 4
1:7 Your land is devastated,
your cities burned with fire.
Right before your eyes your crops
are being destroyed by foreign invaders. 5
They leave behind devastation and destruction. 6
1:8 Daughter Zion 7 is left isolated,
like a hut in a vineyard,
or a shelter in a cucumber field;
she is a besieged city. 8
1:9 If the Lord who commands armies 9 had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly become like Sodom, 10
we would have become like Gomorrah.
1:10 Listen to the Lord’s word,
you leaders of Sodom! 11
Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, 12
people of Gomorrah!
1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 13
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 14 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 15
1:12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this –
animals trampling on my courtyards? 16
Yesaya 2:1-6
Konteks2:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem 17 that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz. 18
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure 20
as the most important of mountains,
and will be the most prominent of hills. 21
All the nations will stream to it,
2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so 22 he can teach us his requirements, 23
and 24 we can follow his standards.” 25
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 26
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 27
2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 28
and their spears into pruning hooks. 29
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
2:5 O descendants 30 of Jacob,
come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light. 31
2:6 Indeed, O Lord, 32 you have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
For diviners from the east are everywhere; 33
they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. 34
Plenty of foreigners are around. 35
[1:6] 1 tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”
[1:6] 3 tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”
[1:6] 4 sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.
[1:7] 5 tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”
[1:7] 6 tn Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x. Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the
[1:8] 7 tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.
[1:8] 8 tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).
[1:9] 9 tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.
[1:9] 10 tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kim’at, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.
[1:10] 11 sn Building on the simile of v. 9, the prophet sarcastically addresses the leaders and people of Jerusalem as if they were leaders and residents of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. The sarcasm is appropriate, for if the judgment is comparable to Sodom’s, that must mean that the sin which prompted the judgment is comparable as well.
[1:10] 12 tn Heb “to the instruction of our God.” In this context, which is highly accusatory and threatening, תּוֹרָה (torah, “law, instruction”) does not refer to mere teaching, but to corrective teaching and rebuke.
[1:11] 13 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
[1:11] sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.
[1:11] 14 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
[1:11] 15 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
[1:12] 16 tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.
[2:1] 17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[2:1] 18 tn Heb “the word which Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”
[2:2] 19 tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.
[2:2] 20 tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).
[2:2] 21 tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.
[2:3] 22 tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).
[2:3] 23 tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.
[2:3] 24 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.
[2:3] 25 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
[2:3] 26 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”
[2:3] 27 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
[2:4] 28 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
[2:4] 29 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.
[2:5] 30 tn Heb “house,” referring to the family line or descendants (likewise in v. 6).
[2:5] 31 tn Heb “let’s walk in the light of the Lord.” In this context, which speaks of the Lord’s instruction and commands, the “light of the Lord” refers to his moral standards by which he seeks to guide his people. One could paraphrase, “let’s obey the Lord’s commands.”
[2:6] 32 tn The words “O Lord” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Isaiah addresses the Lord in prayer.
[2:6] 33 tc Heb “they are full from the east.” Various scholars retain the BHS reading and suggest that the prophet makes a general statement concerning Israel’s reliance on foreign customs (J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:32; J. de Waard, Isaiah, 12-13). Nevertheless, it appears that a word is missing. Based on the parallelism (note “omen readers” in 5:6c), many suggest that קֹסְמִים (qosÿmim, “diviners”) or מִקְסָם (miqsam, “divination”) has been accidentally omitted. Homoioteleuton could account for the omission of an original קֹסְמִים (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם [miqqedem, “from the east”] both end in mem); an original מִקְסָם could have fallen out by homoioarcton (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם both begin with mem).
[2:6] 34 tn Heb “and omen readers like the Philistines.” Through this line and the preceding, the prophet contends that Israel has heavily borrowed the pagan practices of the east and west (in violation of Lev 19:26; Deut 18:9-14).
[2:6] 35 tn Heb “and with the children of foreigners they [?].” The precise meaning of the final word is uncertain. Some take this verb (I שָׂפַק, safaq) to mean “slap,” supply the object “hands,” and translate, “they slap [hands] with foreigners”; HALOT 1349 s.v. I שׂפק. This could be a reference to foreign alliances. This translation has two disadvantages: It requires the conjectural insertion of “hands” and the use of this verb with its object prefixed with a בְּ (bet) preposition with this meaning does not occur elsewhere. The other uses of this verb refer to clapping at someone, an indication of hostility. The translation above assumes the verb is derived from II שׂפק (“to suffice,” attested in the Qal in 1 Kgs 20:10; HALOT 1349 s.v. II שׂפק). In this case the point is that a sufficient number of foreigners (in this case, too many!) live in the land. The disadvantage of this option is that the preposition prefixed to “the children of foreigners” does not occur with this verb elsewhere. The chosen translation is preferred since it continues the idea of abundant foreign influence and does not require a conjectural insertion or emendation.
