Yesaya 32:1--33:10
Konteks32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 1
officials will promote justice. 2
32:2 Each of them 3 will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from a rainstorm;
like streams of water in a dry region
and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
32:3 Eyes 4 will no longer be blind 5
and ears 6 will be attentive.
32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment 7
and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; 8
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 9
He commits godless deeds 10
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 11
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 12
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 13
he dreams up evil plans 14
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 15
32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security. 16
get up and listen to me!
You carefree 18 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
you carefree ones will shake with fear,
for the grape 20 harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
32:11 Tremble, you complacent ones!
Shake with fear, you carefree ones!
Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves –
put sackcloth on your waist! 21
32:12 Mourn over the field, 22
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 23 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 24
in the city filled with revelry. 25
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 26 city is abandoned.
Hill 27 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 28
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 29
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 30
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 31
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 32
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 33
and result in lasting security. 34
32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 35
32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed 36
and the city is annihilated, 37
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 38
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 39
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 40
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 41
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 42 deceiving, others will deceive you!
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning! 43
Deliver us when distress comes. 44
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; 45
the nations scatter when you spring into action! 46
33:4 Your plunder 47 disappears as if locusts were eating it; 48
they swarm over it like locusts! 49
indeed, 51 he lives in heaven; 52
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; 53
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; 54
he gives all this to those who fear him. 55
33:7 Look, ambassadors 56 cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace 57 weep bitterly.
there are no travelers. 59
Treaties are broken, 60
witnesses are despised, 61
human life is treated with disrespect. 62
33:9 The land 63 dries up 64 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 65 and decays.
Sharon 66 is like the desert; 67
Bashan and Carmel 68 are parched. 69
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself. 70
[32:1] 1 tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”
[32:1] 2 tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”
[32:2] 3 tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.
[32:3] 4 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
[32:3] 5 tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.
[32:3] 6 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
[32:4] 7 tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”
[32:6] 8 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
[32:6] 9 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
[32:6] 10 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
[32:6] 11 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
[32:6] 12 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
[32:7] 13 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
[32:7] 14 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
[32:7] 15 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
[32:8] 16 tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”
[32:9] 17 tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”
[32:9] 18 tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”
[32:10] 19 tn Heb “days upon a year.”
[32:10] 20 tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.
[32:11] 21 tn The imperatival forms in v. 11 are problematic. The first (חִרְדוּ, khirdu, “tremble”) is masculine plural in form, though spoken to a feminine plural addressee (שַׁאֲנַנּוֹת, sha’anannot, “complacent ones”). The four imperatival forms that follow (רְגָזָה, rÿgazah, “shake with fear”; פְּשֹׁטָה, pÿshotah, “strip off your clothes”; עֹרָה, ’orah, “expose yourselves”; and חֲגוֹרָה, khagorah, “put on”) all appear to be lengthened (so-called “emphatic”) masculine singular forms, even though they too appear to be spoken to a feminine plural addressee. GKC 131-32 §48.i suggests emending חִרְדוּ (khirdu) to חֲרָדָה (kharadah) and understanding all five imperatives as feminine plural “aramaized” forms.
[32:12] 22 tc The Hebrew text has “over mourning breasts.” The reference to “breasts” would make sense in light of v. 11, which refers to the practice of women baring their breasts as a sign of sorrow (see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:585). However, one expects the preposition עַל (’al) to introduce the source or reason for mourning (see vv. 12b-13a) and the participle סֹפְדִים (sofedim, “mourning”) seems odd modifying “breasts.” The translation above assumes a twofold emendation: (1) שָׁדַיִם (shadayim, “breasts”) is emended to [ם]שָׂדַי (saday[m], “field,” a term that also appears in Isa 56:9). The final mem (ם) would be enclitic in this case, not a plural indicator. (The Hebrew noun שָׂדֶה (sadeh, “field”) forms its plural with an וֹת- [-ot] ending). (2) The plural participle סֹפְדִים is emended to סְפֹדָה (sÿfodah), a lengthened imperatival form, meaning “mourn.” For an overview of various suggestions that have been made for this difficult line, see Oswalt, 586, n. 12).
[32:13] 23 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 24 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
[32:13] 25 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 26 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 27 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
[32:14] 28 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
[32:14] 29 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[32:15] 30 tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.
[32:15] 31 sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.
[32:16] 32 sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.
[32:17] 33 tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”
[32:17] 34 tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”
[32:18] 35 tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”
[32:19] 36 tn Heb “and [?] when the forest descends.” The form וּבָרַד (uvarad) is often understood as an otherwise unattested denominative verb meaning “to hail” (HALOT 154 s.v. I ברד). In this case one might translate, “and it hails when the forest is destroyed” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV). Perhaps the text alludes to a powerful wind and hail storm that knocks down limbs and trees. Some prefer to emend the form to וְיָרַד (vÿyarad), “and it descends,” which provides better, though not perfect, symmetry with the parallel line (cf. NAB). Perhaps וּבָרַד should be dismissed as dittographic. In this case the statement (“when the forest descends”) lacks a finite verb and seems incomplete, but perhaps it is subordinate to v. 20.
[32:19] 37 tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”
[32:20] 38 tn Heb “by all the waters.”
[32:20] 39 tn Heb “who set free the foot of the ox and donkey”; NIV “letting your cattle and donkeys range free.”
[32:20] sn This verse seems to anticipate a time when fertile land is available to cultivate and crops are so abundant that the farm animals can be allowed to graze freely.
[33:1] 40 tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”
[33:1] sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.
[33:1] 41 tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.
[33:1] 42 tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”
[33:2] 43 tn Heb “Be their arm each morning.” “Arm” is a symbol for strength. The mem suffixed to the noun has been traditionally understood as a third person suffix, but this is contrary to the context, where the people speak of themselves in the first person. The mem (מ) is probably enclitic with ellipsis of the pronoun, which can be supplied from the context. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:589, n. 1.
[33:2] 44 tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
[33:3] 45 tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
[33:3] 46 tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
[33:4] 47 tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.
[33:4] 48 tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
[33:4] 49 tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
[33:5] 50 tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
[33:5] 51 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).
[33:5] 52 tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
[33:6] 53 tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
[33:6] 54 tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
[33:6] 55 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
[33:7] 56 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. Proposals include “heroes” (cf. KJV, ASV “valiant ones”; NASB, NIV “brave men”); “priests,” “residents [of Jerusalem].” The present translation assumes that the term is synonymous with “messengers of peace,” with which it corresponds in the parallel structure of the verse.
[33:7] 57 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
[33:8] 58 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
[33:8] 59 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
[33:8] 60 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
[33:8] 61 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “he despises cities.” The term עָרִים (’arim, “cities”) is probably a corruption of an original עֵדִים (’edim, “[legal] witnesses”), a reading that is preserved in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa. Confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר) is a well-attested scribal error.
[33:8] 62 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
[33:9] 63 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
[33:9] 64 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.
[33:9] 65 tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.
[33:9] 66 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
[33:9] 67 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
[33:9] 68 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
[33:9] 69 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
[33:10] 70 tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
