Yesaya 32:9-14

The Lord Will Give True Security

32:9 You complacent ¹  women,

get up and listen to me!

You carefree ²  daughters,

pay attention to what I say!

32:10 In a year’s time ³ 

you carefree ones will shake with fear,

for the grape ⁴  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! ⁵ 

32:12 Mourn over the field, ⁶ 

over the delightful fields

and the fruitful vine!

32:13 Mourn ⁷  over the land of my people,

which is overgrown with thorns and briers,

and over all the once-happy houses ⁸ 

in the city filled with revelry. ⁹ 

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded ¹⁰  city is abandoned.

Hill ¹¹  and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited. ¹² 

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there. ¹³ 

[32:9]  ¹ tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”

[32:9]  ² tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”

[32:10]  ³ tn Heb “days upon a year.”

[32:10]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.

[32:11]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.

[32:13]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.

[32:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).

[32:14]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”