Yesaya 3:15

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ¹ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ²  has spoken.

Yesaya 5:7

5:7 Indeed ³  Israel ⁴  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ⁵  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ⁶ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ⁷ 

Yesaya 59:13-16

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up ⁸  oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ⁹ 

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness ¹⁰  stands far off.

Indeed, ¹¹  honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ¹² 

for there is no justice.

The Lord Intervenes

59:16 He sees there is no advocate; ¹³ 

he is shocked ¹⁴  that no one intervenes.

So he takes matters into his own hands; ¹⁵ 

his desire for justice drives him on. ¹⁶ 

[3:15]  ¹ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ² tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[3:15]  sn The use of this title, which also appears in v. 1, forms an inclusio around vv. 1-15. The speech begins and ends with a reference to “the master, the Lord who commands armies.”

[5:7]  ³ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[59:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[59:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”

[59:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”

[59:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[59:15]  ¹² tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[59:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”

[59:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”

[59:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”

[59:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”