Yesaya 4:2

The Branch of the Lord

4:2 At that time ¹ 

the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; ² 

the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight

to those who remain in Israel. ³ 

Yesaya 32:15

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ⁴ 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ⁵ 

Yesaya 32:20

32:20 you will be blessed,

you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, ⁶ 

you who let your ox and donkey graze. ⁷ 

Yesaya 55:13

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁸ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ⁹ 

[4:2]  ¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh yÿhvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23;5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23-24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26-29; and Amos 9:13-14).

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”

[32:15]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[32:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “by all the waters.”

[32:20]  ⁷ 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.

[55:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ⁹ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”