Yesaya 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ¹  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ² 

they say wonderful things about me, ³ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ⁴ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ⁵ 

Yesaya 36:11

36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, ⁶  for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect ⁷  in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

[29:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ² tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ³ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[36:11]  ⁶ sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.

[36:11]  ⁷ tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”