Yesaya 5:7

5:7 Indeed ¹  Israel ²  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ³  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ⁴ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ⁵ 

Yesaya 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ⁶  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ⁷ 

Yesaya 59:3-7

59:3 For your hands are stained with blood

and your fingers with sin;

your lips speak lies,

your tongue utters malicious words.

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ⁸ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ⁹  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ¹⁰ 

and give birth to sin.

59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake

and spin a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die,

a poisonous snake is hatched. ¹¹ 

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ¹² 

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ¹³ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ¹⁴ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ¹⁵ 

[5:7]  ¹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ² tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ³ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[10:2]  ⁶ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[10:2]  sn On the socio-economic background of vv. 1-2, see the note at 1:23.

[59:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[59:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”

[59:6]  ¹² tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[59:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”