On the Hebrew text. The Hebrew follows the Masoretic Text in the Leningrad tradition, as represented by standard diplomatic editions in their main wording; distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Versification follows the MT.

The Book of Isaiah (MT) — Interlinear Summary

A consolidated companion to the Masoretic-Text Isaiah data set: each chapter rendered as a six-tier Hebrew reverse-interlinear (Hebrew · gloss · parsing · syntax · semantic force · lexical note), with per-verse discourse analysis and a chapter argument-outline.

This document gathers, for each annotated chapter, the theme, the argument outline, and the textual / exegetical note (the text_note of each file, with the shared critical-text preface removed since it is stated once above). Judgment and hope: Zion, the Holy One of Israel, the servant, and new creation. The Hebrew follows the Masoretic Text in the Leningrad tradition (Westminster Leningrad Codex / OSHB); distinctively copyrighted apparatus is not reproduced, and Hebrew (MT) versification is used throughout.

Scope. 66 chapters · 1,291 verses · 16,988 annotated words.

Isaiah

Isaiah 1 — ישעיהו 1

Theme. Cosmic lawsuit, filial rebellion, diseased nationhood, rejected worship, demanded justice, refining judgment, and the possibility of a redeemed Zion make this opening oracle the prophetic gateway to the book as a whole. A formal superscription then immediately summons heaven and earth to hear YHWH's case against Judah and Jerusalem. What follows is not generic moral complaint but covenant accusation in family language: children were reared and exalted, yet they rebelled. Israel is portrayed as less perceptive than an ox or donkey, a sinful nation loaded with iniquity, a body from foot to head without soundness, and a land already scarred by invasion, fire, hunger, and isolation. Yet even at this early stage a remnant note is sounded. Had YHWH of hosts not left a very small remnant, Judah would have become altogether like Sodom and Gomorrah. Mercy explains survival; it does not erase guilt. From there the oracle turns with fierce clarity against worship severed from justice. Sacrifices, festivals, assemblies, and multiplied prayers are all rejected because the hands lifted in prayer are full of blood. The problem is not that temple worship is inherently false, but that ritual has become a cover for a city that neglects the orphan, refuses the widow, and loves bribery. Isaiah therefore defines repentance in distinctly ethical and juridical terms: wash, cleanse, cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, set right oppression, and plead for the vulnerable. The famous invitation to reason together then places cleansing within YHWH's own offered judgment: scarlet sin may become white as snow, but refusal and rebellion still end in the sword. The final movement returns to Zion as adulterated city and then carries the reader through judgment into a narrower hope. The Lord of hosts will avenge himself on his adversaries, smelt away dross, restore judges and counselors, and make the city once more deserving of the names righteous and faithful. Zion shall be redeemed by justice, but transgressors shall be shattered together. Taken together, the passage binds indictment and invitation, doom and remnant mercy, anti-cult polemic and social ethics, refining fire and restored city into a programmatic opening where the whole prophetic book is already present in miniature.

Outline.

I. 1 — The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
II. 2–3 — Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for YHWH has spoken, I have nour. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for YHWH has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: Israel does not know, my people does not consider.
III. 4–9 — Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, chi. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken YHWH, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger, they are gone away backward. Why should you be stricken any more? you will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to.
IV. 10–20 — Hear the word of YHWH, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our G. Hear the word of YHWH, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. To what purpose the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says YHWH: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When you come to appear before me, who has.
V. 21–31 — How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righ. How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Your silver is become dross, your wine mixed with water: Your princes rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them..

Textual note. Eight linked phases shape the chapter: superscription (v. 1), covenant lawsuit and national sickness (vv. 2-9), rejection of corrupt worship (vv. 10-15), summons to cleansing and justice (vv. 16-20), lament over the city's corruption (vv. 21-23), purifying judgment and restoration (vv. 24-26), the divided future of Zion and transgressors (vv. 27-28), and the shameful end of idolatrous desire (vv. 29-31). Verse 1 should preserve the full superscriptional force of חזון and the long regnal frame, because the chapter is presented as part of a historically situated prophetic vision directed toward Judah and Jerusalem across multiple reigns. Verses 2-3 are the formal opening of the lawsuit and should retain the heaven-and-earth summons. The line about children reared who rebelled should remain direct, and the contrast with ox and donkey must not be softened, because it intentionally shames Judah beneath ordinary animal recognition. Verses 4-9 should preserve the chapter's layering of moral, bodily, and territorial imagery. The title 'the Holy One of Israel' in verse 4 is one of Isaiah's programmatic divine names and should remain explicit. Verses 5-6 describe the nation as an untreated body full of wounds, bruises, and fresh stripes; the healing language of pressing out, binding up, and softening with oil should remain concrete. Verses 7-8 then shift from body to land, and verse 8's comparison of daughter Zion to a booth in a vineyard and a hut in a cucumber field should be translated with its vulnerability intact. Verse 9's remnant statement is likewise crucial; it introduces mercy precisely in the context of deserved Sodom-like annihilation. Verses 10-20 are the chapter's most sustained liturgical and ethical confrontation and should be translated with sharp contrast. Verse 10's naming of Judah's leaders and people as Sodom and Gomorrah should remain jarring. In verses 11-15 the vocabulary of sacrifice, incense, new moon, Sabbath, assembly, and prayer should be retained in sequence, because YHWH is rejecting the whole cultic complex as presently polluted. Verse 13's compressed line about not enduring iniquity and solemn assembly deserves careful handling; the point is not rejection of the appointed gathering as such, but the intolerable union of worship-form and moral evil. Verses 16-17 then pivot into imperative renewal, and the sequence of washing, ceasing, learning, seeking, correcting, judging, and pleading should remain brisk and practical. Verse 18's invitation to 'reason together' should preserve its forensic quality rather than becoming merely sentimental. The scarlet/crimson and snow/wool imagery should also remain vivid, because it expresses moral cleansing in visual extremes. Verses 19-20 state the covenant alternatives with notable simplicity and should keep the play between eating the land's good and being eaten by the sword. Verses 21-31 shift from invitation back into lament, judgment, and hope, and they should preserve that tonal complexity. Verse 21's איכה is the cry of shocked lament over the once-faithful city become a prostitute, and the contrast between righteousness once lodging there and murderers now occupying it should remain sharp. Verses 22-23 then expose adulteration, bribery, and neglect of the orphan and widow. Verse 24 introduces the solemn divine titles and should retain their weight. In verses 25-26 the smelting of dross and removal of alloy are essential metaphors: YHWH's punitive action is also purifying action. Verse 27's promise that Zion will be redeemed by justice and her repentant ones by righteousness should keep both terms distinct and strong. The closing verses name the shame of sacred trees and gardens and compare the idolaters to withering oak and waterless garden; these fertility images should not be flattened away, because the chapter means to show chosen cult-sites becoming mirrors of the worshipers' own collapse. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where Judah's rebellion is prosecuted before the cosmos, false worship is unmasked, justice is demanded, refinement is promised, and Zion's future divides between redeemed repentance and unquenchable ruin. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 2 — ישעיהו 2

Theme. Exalted Zion, nations taught by Torah, the end of war, Judah's idol-filled fullness, the day of YHWH against every height, and the final renunciation of trust in man create one of the book's clearest juxtapositions of promise and humbling. It opens with one of Scripture's great Zion visions. In the latter days the mountain of YHWH's house will stand established above the hills, all the nations will stream to it, and many peoples will invite one another to ascend because instruction and the word of YHWH go out from Zion and Jerusalem. The center of the vision is not merely geopolitical prominence but judicial and pedagogical rule. YHWH teaches, judges, and settles disputes, and the effect is the undoing of war itself: swords become plowshares and spears pruning hooks. The nations are not absorbed into chaos but reordered around divine instruction. The brief exhortation to the house of Jacob then shows the prophetic force of the vision: Judah is being called to walk now in the light that one day will draw the world. Yet the oracle pivots almost immediately from future Zion to present Judah. The people are full - not of righteousness, but of eastern borrowings, Philistine-style soothsaying, foreign entanglements, silver, gold, horses, chariots, and above all idols made by human fingers. The result is a sustained collision between what Zion is destined to become and what Jacob presently loves. That collision is resolved by the day of YHWH. Human loftiness, whether embodied in proud eyes, mountains, towers, walls, ships, or beautiful display, will be brought low so that YHWH alone is exalted. Idols will vanish, and those who trusted in them will flee into caves and rock-clefts before the terror and splendor of YHWH when he arises to terrify the earth. The final imperative therefore gathers the whole argument into one practical verdict: stop regarding man, whose breath is in his nostrils. Taken together, the passage binds eschatological hope, Zion-centered instruction, critique of borrowed power, anti-idolatrous exposure, cosmic day-of-YHWH humiliation, and the rejection of human self-importance into a prophetic unit where glory and judgment are inseparable. The same Lord who will make Zion the source of peace will first strip Judah of every false ground of pride.

Outline.

I. 1 — The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
II. 2–4 — And it shall come to pass in the last days, the mountain of YHWH's house. And it shall come to pass in the last days, the mountain of YHWH's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we.
III. 5 — O house of Jacob, come you, and let us walk in the light of YHWH. O house of Jacob, come you, and let us walk in the light of YHWH.
IV. 6–9 — Therefore you have forsaken your people the house of Jacob, because they. Therefore you have forsaken your people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither end of their chariots: Their land also is.
V. 10–21 — Enter into the rock, and hide you in the dust, for fear of YHWH, and for. Enter into the rock, and hide you in the dust, for fear of YHWH, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and YHWH alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of YHWH of hosts upon every proud and lofty, and upon every lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all.
VI. 22 — Cease you from man, whose breath in his nostrils: for wherein is he to b. Cease you from man, whose breath in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Textual note. Eight movements shape the chapter: heading (v. 1), latter-days Zion vision (vv. 2-4), exhortation to the house of Jacob (v. 5), present indictment of Judah's foreign-filled and idol-filled condition (vv. 6-9), the first terror-and-humbling announcement (vv. 10-11), the catalog of what the day of YHWH will level (vv. 12-16), the collapse of pride and idols under that day (vv. 17-21), and the closing warning against trust in man (v. 22). Verse 1 should preserve the concise heading formula, which parallels but does not simply duplicate the opening superscription of chapter 1. Verses 2-4 are one of Isaiah's programmatic Zion oracles and should be translated with solemn clarity. The phrase 'in the latter days' in verse 2 should remain as such rather than being flattened into vague futurity. Verse 3's torah-from-Zion line is especially important; תורה here should retain the sense of instruction rather than being reduced merely to abstract teaching, because the nations are coming to be ordered by YHWH's revealed ways. Verse 4's sword-to-plowshare and spear-to-pruning-hook imagery should remain concrete and tactile, since it portrays the conversion of instruments of violence into instruments of cultivation. Verse 5 serves as a hinge and should remain imperative and inviting: the house of Jacob is summoned to walk in YHWH's light now. Verses 6-9 then pivot sharply to present corruption and deserve careful handling. Verse 6's wording about being 'full from the east' and practicing soothsaying like the Philistines should remain somewhat open where the Hebrew is compact, but the central sense is clear: Judah has imported foreign influences and made common cause with alien patterns. Verses 7-8 repeat the line that the land is 'filled,' first with wealth and military resources and then with idols. That repetition is critical to the chapter's rhetoric. The fullness of Judah is a false fullness that displaces trust in YHWH. Verse 9's final clause should preserve the force of the appeal not to forgive or lift them up, depending on construal, because the chapter is no longer only diagnosing but turning toward sentence. Verses 10-21 introduce and develop the day of YHWH, and their repeated phrases should be preserved rather than smoothed away. Verse 10's command to enter the rock and hide in the dust is the first human response to the coming terror. Verse 11 gives the chapter's governing refrain: human loftiness is brought low, and YHWH alone is exalted in that day. Verse 12 then names the day itself as belonging to YHWH of hosts and directed against all that is proud and high. The catalog in verses 13-16 should remain cumulative and concrete: cedars, oaks, mountains, hills, towers, walls, ships of Tarshish, and beautiful craft. The point is not that these items are morally identical in every respect, but that all symbols of created grandeur, political security, commercial reach, and aesthetic human achievement stand beneath YHWH's leveling judgment. Verses 19-21 repeat the flight into rock-clefts and caves, and the phrase 'when he rises to terrify the earth' should remain forceful. Verse 22 closes the chapter with a terse imperative that should stay abrupt: stop regarding man. The reason clause identifies man as the creature whose breath is in his nostrils, which is an intentionally fragile picture. The final question should preserve its rhetorical dismissal: of what account is he? Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where the future supremacy of Zion and the present humiliation of Judah are held together by the coming day of YHWH, so that the nations' peaceable pilgrimage and Judah's shattered pride belong to the same divine rule. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 3 — ישעיהו 3

Theme. Removed supports, failed leadership, shameless rebellion, judicial indictment, stripped finery, and a mourning Zion seated on the ground expose Judah's pride through social collapse from top to bottom. The opening movement is one of subtraction. The Lord, YHWH of hosts, removes from Jerusalem and Judah every kind of support: bread and water, warrior and judge, prophet and elder, captain and counselor, craftsman and expert. What follows is not a dignified transition but civic disintegration. Boys become rulers, capricious children govern, the people press against one another, and ordinary social honor is inverted until youth behaves arrogantly against elders and the contemptible against the honored. The scene of a man being seized merely because he still possesses a cloak, only to refuse the impossible burden of rule because he cannot heal the ruin, captures the oracle's bitter political irony. Judah does not merely lack ideal leaders; it has reached the point where nobody with even symbolic resources believes leadership can repair the collapse. Isaiah then makes clear that this collapse is morally deserved. Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because their tongue and their deeds are against YHWH, and their faces proclaim sin as openly as Sodom. Yet even in this broader unraveling, moral distinction remains: the righteous will eat the fruit of their deeds, while the wicked receive the recompense of their hands. The center is YHWH's lawsuit against the elders and princes who have devoured the vineyard and crushed the poor. Social corruption is not treated as incidental politics but as affront against YHWH's own people. From there the focus narrows to the daughters of Zion, whose lofty carriage, cultivated beauty, and ornamental abundance become emblematic of elite complacency. The long inventory of adornments is not decorative excess in the narrative; it is a rhetorical countdown to reversal. Perfume becomes rottenness, hairstyle becomes baldness, finery becomes sackcloth and branding, and the city's men fall by the sword. The oracle closes with Zion's gates lamenting while the emptied city sits on the ground. Taken together, the passage binds failed provision, predatory rule, public shamelessness, threatened beauty, and civic mourning into a vision of judgment where human height collapses not only in temples or battlefields, but in bread, government, class, gender display, and the life of the streets themselves.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — For, behold, YHWH, YHWH of hosts, does take away from Jerusalem and from. For, behold, YHWH, YHWH of hosts, does take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the.
II. 4–7 — And I will give children their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And I will give children their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, , You have clothing, be you our.
III. 8–15 — For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and t. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings against YHWH, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The shew of their countenance does witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide not. Woe to their soul! for they have rewarded evil to themselves. Say you to the righteous, that well : for they shall eat.
IV. 16–26 — Moreover YHWH says, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk. Moreover YHWH says, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore YHWH will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and YHWH will discover their secret parts. In that day YHWH will take away the bravery of.

Textual note. Eight linked movements shape the chapter: removal of all support and leadership (vv. 1-3), immature rule and civic desperation (vv. 4-7), explanation of Jerusalem's fall (vv. 8-12), YHWH's formal lawsuit against the leaders (vv. 13-15), accusation against the daughters of Zion (vv. 16-17), the inventory of finery to be removed (vv. 18-23), the exchange of beauty for disgrace together with the fall of the city's men (vv. 24-25), and the closing lament over Zion's gates (v. 26). Verses 1-3 should preserve the repeated support language in verse 1. The paired nouns מַשְׁעֵן וּמַשְׁעֵנָה and the elaboration into every support of bread and water are a deliberate way of saying that YHWH is removing the city's sustaining structures at the most basic and the most elevated levels. The following catalog of warrior, judge, prophet, elder, captain, counselor, craftsman, and discerning whisperer should remain concrete rather than being generalized into generic leadership. Verses 4-7 turn from removal to inversion and should keep their social force. The installation of boys and capricious children as rulers is not sentimental but judicially absurd. Verse 5's mutual oppression and contempt between young and old, lowly and honored, should remain sharp. The scene in verses 6-7 where a man is seized because he has a cloak and is asked to rule over the ruin is one of the chapter's most memorable pictures of political collapse; the line about not being a healer should remain visible if possible, because the city is being treated as a wounded body no one can cure. Verses 8-15 are the moral and forensic center of the chapter. Verse 8's explanation that Jerusalem has stumbled because tongue and deeds are against YHWH should remain explicit, as should the phrase about rebelling against the eyes of his glory. Verse 9's comparison with Sodom is again important in Isaiah's opening chapters and should not be softened. Verses 10-11 briefly distinguish righteous and wicked outcomes, and that distinction should remain plain amid the wider judgment. Verses 13-15 then stage YHWH's lawsuit. The verbs of standing to contend and standing to judge give the section courtroom force, and the accusation that the leaders have devoured the vineyard and stored the plunder of the poor in their houses should remain concrete. Verse 15's grinding of the face of the poor is intentionally brutal imagery and should retain that edge. Verses 16-26 move into the daughters-of-Zion oracle and should be translated with sensitivity to both social detail and rhetorical reversal. Verse 16's haughty daughters, outstretched necks, and flirtatious or deceptive eyes should remain vivid without flattening the bodily imagery. Verse 17's threatened exposure is severe and should not be euphemized away so far that the humiliation disappears. The long list in verses 18-23 should be allowed to accumulate item by item. Some individual terms are difficult and have generated variant renderings, but the larger point is unmistakable: every visible sign of cultivated elite beauty and status is being stripped away. Verse 24 resolves the whole list into sharp exchanges - perfume for rottenness, belt for rope, coiffure for baldness, luxury robe for sackcloth, beauty for branding. Those antitheses should remain as compact and cutting as possible. Verse 25 then connects feminine humiliation with male military loss, and verse 26 closes by personifying the city in lament. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where YHWH removes Judah's supports, exposes its rulers in court, strips away Zion's proud display, and leaves the city emptied and mourning on the ground. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 4 — ישעיהו 4

Theme. War-shame, remnant beauty, purifying judgment, and a newly canopied Zion form the brief but crucial resolution that follows the collapse of Isaiah 3. The opening verse still belongs to the world of loss just described: so many men have fallen that seven women seize one man and ask only for his name to remove their reproach, even while promising to bear their own bread and clothing. The social humiliation of Zion has therefore not vanished. But from verse 2 onward the oracle pivots sharply into restoration. In that day the Branch of YHWH and the fruit of the land become beauty, glory, majesty, and splendor for the survivors of Israel. The city's future is no longer described in terms of stripped ornament, but in terms of a holiness and glory that YHWH himself produces for the remnant who remain. That transformation, however, comes only through cleansing. Those left in Zion are called holy because the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and flushed the blood of Jerusalem from her midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Taken together, the passage does not retreat from judgment after chapter 3; it shows judgment accomplishing purification. The closing image then recasts Zion in new-creation and exodus terms. YHWH will create over every site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, smoke, and bright flaming fire by night, so that over all the glory there is a canopy. The final booth-image makes Zion a place of shade, refuge, and shelter from heat, storm, and rain. Taken together, the passage binds the reproach left by devastation, the branch-and-fruit promise, remnant holiness, cleansing by fiery judgment, and glory-covering presence into a compact oracle where Zion emerges from humiliation not by denial of sin, but by being washed, purged, and sheltered under YHWH's own renewed dwelling presence.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of YHWH be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass,.
II. 5–6 — And YHWH will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon h. And YHWH will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Textual note. Four compact movements shape the chapter: the social aftermath of judgment (v. 1), the promise of branch-and-remnant beauty (v. 2), the declaration of holy survivors through cleansing judgment (vv. 3-4), and the creation of a glory-canopy over Zion as protective shelter (vv. 5-6). Verse 1 should be translated with full awareness that it still belongs to the fallout of the previous chapter's devastation. The seven women taking hold of one man is not romantic abundance but social shame under conditions of male loss, and the request that his name be called upon them should remain explicit because the issue is reproach and standing, not simple companionship. Verse 2 is one of the chapter's most discussed lines and should be translated with careful simplicity. צמח יהוה is best left visible as 'the Branch of YHWH' rather than prematurely over-paraphrased, because the phrase has both immediate agricultural resonance and a rich later interpretive history. The parallel phrase 'the fruit of the land' should remain alongside it, since the chapter joins divine gift, land-fruitfulness, and remnant glory. Verse 3's wording about those written for life in Jerusalem should also be kept strong. The remnant is not just leftover population; it is a living register marked out for holy survival. Verse 4 is crucial for the theology of the chapter. The Lord's washing away of the filth of the daughters of Zion and rinsing of Jerusalem's blood from her midst should remain bodily and civic at once. The paired expressions 'spirit of judgment' and 'spirit of burning' should not be flattened into generic purification language. The point is that that Zion's holiness comes through a cleansing judgment that is both forensic and fiery. Verses 5-6 then shift into exodus and sanctuary-like imagery. The verbs of creation in verse 5 should remain explicit: YHWH will create over every site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies the cloud, smoke, and flaming brightness. The pattern recalls wilderness guidance and divine dwelling, and the final clause about a canopy over all the glory should preserve that protective nuptial/tabernacle-like image. Verse 6's booth should likewise remain concrete as shade, refuge, and shelter from heat, storm, and rain. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where the judgment that shamed Zion's social world also purifies her remnant and leads into a renewed glory-presence over the city. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 5 — ישעיהו 5

Theme. Failed vineyard, social greed, intoxicated blindness, moral inversion, corrupt judgment, and the roaring approach of foreign devastation drive one of the book's fullest early indictments of Judah under the figure of cultivated privilege gone rotten. It opens with what sounds like a tender song for a beloved and his vineyard. The owner selects fertile ground, clears stones, plants choice vine, builds tower and wine vat, and reasonably expects grapes; instead the vineyard yields only wild fruit. The listeners are then asked to judge the case, only to discover that they themselves are the vineyard. The house of Israel and the man of Judah were YHWH's cherished planting, and the expected fruit was justice and righteousness. What appeared instead was bloodshed and outcry. Taken together, the passage frames covenant failure not as lack of divine provision but as a corruption of well-cultivated life. The people's public existence has become a spoiled harvest from a carefully prepared field. From there the oracle unfolds a sequence of woes that move through Judah's social and moral disorders with increasing sharpness. Landed greed swallows house into house and field into field until community is displaced by solitary possession, only to be answered by desolation and miserable yield. Pleasure-seekers rise early for drink, pass their days in music and wine, and never regard YHWH's work, so their future becomes exile, hunger, thirst, and the widened throat of Sheol. Others draw sin behind them as though harnessed to it and mockingly demand that the Holy One of Israel hurry his work. Still others rename evil as good, darkness as light, and bitter as sweet, or rest complacently in self-certified wisdom. The final woe cluster joins drunken valor to legal corruption: the wicked are acquitted for bribes while the righteous are robbed of justice. The closing movement gathers all of this into an image of consuming judgment. Because YHWH's instruction and word have been rejected, the people's root rots and their blossom blows away like dust; YHWH's anger strikes, and then a distant nation is summoned with terrifying speed, discipline, and leonine force. Taken together, the passage binds failed covenant fruit, economic predation, liturgical and social heedlessness, moral perversion, false wisdom, bribed judgment, and divinely summoned invasion into a chapter where Judah's whole social order is shown as ripe for devastation precisely because it had first been so carefully planted.

Outline.

I. 1–7 — Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vine. Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it.
II. 8–17 — Woe to them that join house to house, lay field to field, till no place. Woe to them that join house to house, lay field to field, till no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! In mine ears YHWH of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, great and fair, without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. Woe to them that rise up.
III. 18–23 — Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were. Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, hasten his work, that we may see : and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know ! Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter.
IV. 24–30 — Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of YHWH of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of YHWH kindled against his people, and he has stretched forth his hand against.

Textual note. Eight linked movements shape the chapter: the vineyard song and its interpretation (vv. 1-7), the anti-accumulation woe (vv. 8-10), the anti-revelry woe and its humiliation sequence (vv. 11-17), the taunting-scoffer woe (vv. 18-19), the moral-inversion woe (v. 20), the self-wise woe (v. 21), the drink-hero and bribery woe (vv. 22-23), and the final judgment-and-invasion announcement (vv. 24-30). Verses 1-7 require especially careful handling because the rhetoric depends on delayed recognition. Verse 1 should preserve the affectionate tone of the opening song, and the difficult expression בקרן בן שמן is best left with its strong sense of a fertile, elevated site rather than flattened into generic farmland. Verse 2's sequence of digging, clearing stones, planting choice vine, building tower, and hewing vat should remain fully concrete, because the later judgment reverses this earlier care. Verse 7 is the interpretive hinge and must preserve the paronomasia if possible in note or explanation: YHWH looked for משפט but behold משפח, for צדקה but behold צעקה. Justice and righteousness are expected; bloodshed and outcry answer instead. Verses 8-17 move from the vineyard image into social and civic exposure. Verse 8's house-to-house and field-to-field accumulation should remain sharp, because the point is monopolizing land at the expense of neighborly life. Verse 10's reduced yields are measured and should stay measured; scarcity itself becomes judgment. In verses 11-12 the progression from early morning to late evening drink, and the feast instruments listed by name, should be retained. The central accusation is not festivity alone but failure to regard the work of YHWH or see the deed of his hands. Verse 13's exile language should remain straightforward, and verse 14's picture of Sheol enlarging its throat and opening its mouth without measure should not be softened away. Verses 15-16 also matter programmatically: humankind is brought low while YHWH is exalted in judgment and the holy God sanctifies himself in righteousness. Verse 17's lambs and strangers eating amid ruins should remain somewhat strange and concrete; the point is that the proud estates become other creatures' pasture. Verses 18-23 are a concentrated woe-cluster and should preserve their terseness. Verse 18's image of drawing iniquity with cords of emptiness and sin with cart ropes should remain graphic; evil is being hauled deliberately. Verse 19's taunt should preserve its mock impatience toward the Holy One of Israel. Verse 20 depends on clean moral antitheses and should not be paraphrased so heavily that its balanced reversals disappear. Verse 21's self-wise posture and verses 22-23's drink-heroes and bribed judgments must stay linked: the issue is not only private excess but public injustice. Verses 24-30 then gather the chapter into final threat. Verse 24's fire, stubble, rotted root, and dust-blown blossom should remain vivid, because the people themselves are now treated as combustible plant-life. Verse 25 contains the refrain that YHWH's anger has not turned away and his hand is still stretched out, a line that should stay exact because it will recur. Finally, verses 26-30 depict the summoned nation in terms of signal, whistle, speed, readiness, sharp weaponry, leonine seizure, and sea-like roaring over a darkened land. Translation should preserve the relentless build of that arrival. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where Judah's failed fruitfulness is unfolded through parable, woe, and invasion into a single sustained demonstration that covenant privilege without justice ends in desolation. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 6 — ישעיהו 6

Theme. Throne vision, overwhelming holiness, confessed uncleanness, altar-cleansing, hardening commission, and stump-remnant hope concentrate the book's theology in its decisive call narrative. In the year of King Uzziah's death, the real contrast is not merely chronological. An earthly king has died, yet Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned, high and lifted up, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim attend him in veiled service, crying to one another that YHWH of hosts is holy, holy, holy, and that the fullness of the whole earth is his glory. The thresholds shake, the house fills with smoke, and the scene establishes that Isaiah's prophetic world begins not in political analysis alone but in a vision of divine majesty before which temple and cosmos alike tremble. Holiness here is not abstract attribute. It is active, weighty, destabilizing, and inescapably glorious. That holiness immediately turns the prophet against himself. Isaiah does not first volunteer for service; he first pronounces woe upon himself as undone, a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips, because his eyes have seen the King, YHWH of hosts. Personal and corporate impurity are therefore bound together through speech: the lips of the prophet and the lips of the people alike are unfit before the divine King. Yet the answer is not destruction but cleansing. A seraph brings a live coal from the altar, touches Isaiah's mouth, and declares his guilt removed and his sin atoned for. Only then does Isaiah hear the Lord's question and answer, 'Here am I; send me.' The commission that follows is famously severe. Isaiah is sent to a people who will hear without understanding and see without perceiving, whose heart, ears, and eyes are judicially rendered dull lest they turn and be healed. When the prophet asks how long, he is told that the process runs until cities are wasted, houses emptied, and the land forsaken. Yet the vision does not end in obliteration. Even if only a tenth remains and is burned again, the image of terebinth and oak leaves a stump, and that stump is named the holy seed. Taken together, the passage binds holiness, impurity, atonement, prophetic willingness, judicial hardening, devastation, and remnant continuity into a vocation given as both a sentence of judgment and the guarded preservation of future life.

Outline.

I. 1 — In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also YHWH sitting upon a throne. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also YHWH sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
II. 2–4 — Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he cove. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, YHWH of hosts: the whole earth full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
III. 5 — Then said I, Woe me! for I am undone; because I a man of unclean lips, a. Then said I, Woe me! for I am undone; because I a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, YHWH of hosts.
IV. 6–7 — Then flew one of the seraphims to me, having a live coal in his hand, he. Then flew one of the seraphims to me, having a live coal in his hand, he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.
V. 8 — Also I heard the voice of YHWH, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will. Also I heard the voice of YHWH, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here I; send me.
VI. 9–13 — And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand n. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he.

Textual note. Six tightly linked movements shape the chapter: the throne vision and seraphic proclamation (vv. 1-4), Isaiah's woe confession (v. 5), his altar-cleansing (vv. 6-7), the volunteering response to divine sending (v. 8), the hardening commission (vv. 9-10), and the desolation-yet-stump answer to 'until when?' (vv. 11-13). Verse 1 should preserve both the historical frame and the visual elevation. The death of Uzziah matters, but the verse's theological force lies in the contrast between the dead king and the Lord still enthroned, high and lifted up. The filling of the temple by the train or skirts of the robe should remain concrete, because the imagery communicates excess majesty rather than architectural detail alone. Verses 2-4 require careful translation of both creaturely posture and liturgical content. The seraphim should remain seraphim rather than being overexplained inside the running translation, since their identity is part of the vision's strangeness. Their six-winged pattern, with face-covering, foot-covering, and flight, should remain fully visible. Verse 3's trisagion must stay exact in repetition: holy, holy, holy. The line מלא כל הארץ כבודו should preserve the relation between all the earth and his glory; the point is cosmic fullness, not merely local temple radiance. Verse 4's moving thresholds and filling smoke should also remain concrete and responsive to the voiced proclamation. Verse 5 is one of the chapter's central theological moments and should not be softened. Isaiah says אוי לי because he is undone or silenced or ruined; the line should preserve that force. The phrase 'unclean lips' should remain repeated for both prophet and people, since the chapter links the messenger's impurity to the community's impurity through speech. The title 'the King, YHWH of hosts' must also remain explicit. Verses 6-7 then answer uncleanness with altar-mediated cleansing. The seraph's live coal, the tongs, the altar, and the touching of the mouth should all stay concrete. Verse 7 should preserve the paired effects: guilt departs and sin is atoned for. The language is both purgative and cultic. Verse 8's plural 'for us' should remain as the text gives it. The narrative does not explain the heavenly plurality, but it should not be flattened away. Verses 9-13 carry the difficult commission and should be translated with unusual care. Verse 9's hearing-hear and seeing-see constructions should keep their emphatic repetition. Verse 10's imperatives about heart, ears, and eyes are judicially severe and should remain bodily rather than abstractly psychological. The final clause about turning and being healed must also stay plain, because the chapter states hardening as sentence. In verses 11-12 the devastation terms should remain cumulative: cities waste, houses empty, land desolate, humanity removed far away, forsaken places multiplied. Verse 13 is compact and somewhat difficult, especially in its arboreal imagery and the repeated burning note, but the final line is decisive and should be preserved exactly in force: the holy seed is its stump. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where vision of YHWH's holiness creates the prophet, yet creates him for a ministry in which judgment, hardening, devastation, and remnant hope are inseparably joined. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 7 — ישעיהו 7

Theme. Dynastic fear, prophetic reassurance, refused sign, Immanuel, Assyrian invasion, and land-level desolation place the house of David under a searching test of whether it will stand by trust or by frightened calculation. The opening movement places Judah under the Syro-Ephraimite threat: Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah come up against Jerusalem, and when the alliance with Ephraim is reported, the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shake like forest trees before the wind. Into that atmosphere of political panic YHWH sends Isaiah, accompanied by Shear-jashub, to meet the king at the city's water system and to speak a word of anti-panic. Ahaz is told to be quiet and not to fear these smoking stumps of anger. Their plan to crack Judah open and replace the Davidic line with the son of Tabeel will not stand. The threat is real, but the oracle insists that its real issue is not military arithmetic alone. It is whether the Davidic house will believe the Lord strongly enough to be established by him. That is why the offered sign matters so much. YHWH invites Ahaz to ask for a sign reaching as low as Sheol or as high as heaven, but Ahaz refuses beneath a veneer of piety, declining to test the Lord when in fact he is resisting being drawn into dependent faith. The sign is therefore given despite him: the young woman is pregnant and bearing a son, and his name, Immanuel, declares that God is with his people. Before the boy reaches moral maturity, the immediate coalition threatening Ahaz will be gone. Yet the oracle will not let the king treat that deliverance as vindication of his unbelief. The same Lord who breaks the present scheme will bring the king of Assyria upon Judah in days more severe than any since the division from Ephraim. Egypt and Assyria are summoned like insects into every crevice of the land, Assyria becomes the hired razor that shaves Judah into humiliation, and a country once measured in vineyards is reduced to curds, honey, briars, arrows, and grazing animals. Near rescue, dynastic testing, sign-gift, and coming judgment are thus bound into a single prophetic unit where unbelief in the hour of fear leaves Judah exposed to the very imperial future it imagines will save it.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uz. And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the.
II. 3–9 — Then said YHWH to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashu. Then said YHWH to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; And say to him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah..
III. 10–17 — Moreover YHWH spake again to Ahaz, saying. Moreover YHWH spake again to Ahaz, saying, Ask you a sign of YHWH your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt YHWH. And he said, Hear you now, O house of David; a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore YHWH himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a.
IV. 18–25 — And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall hiss for the fly that. And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall hiss for the fly that in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. In the same day shall YHWH shave with a razor that.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: the Syro-Ephraimite threat and Judah's fear (vv. 1-2), Isaiah's meeting with Ahaz and the anti-panic oracle (vv. 3-9), the offered and refused sign (vv. 10-12), the Immanuel sign with its near-term horizon and Assyrian turn (vv. 13-17), the summoned foreign powers and the hired-razor image (vv. 18-20), the curds-and-honey remnant subsistence (vv. 21-22), and the thorn-ridden desolation of once-cultivated land (vv. 23-25). Verse 1 should preserve the full historical frame naming Ahaz, Rezin, and Pekah, because the chapter's theological testing is embedded in concrete royal crisis. Verse 2's image of shaking forest trees should remain vivid and collective; the house of David's fear spreads through the people with bodily immediacy. Verses 3-9 require especially careful handling because they hold together reassurance and warning. Shear-jashub's presence is itself meaningful, and the meeting place by the conduit of the upper pool should remain explicit because the location evokes siege preparation and anxiety over survival. Verse 4's 'tails of smoking firebrands' should be kept in its diminishing force; Rezin and Pekah are dangerous, but they are already pictured as nearly spent. Verse 6's plan to install 'the son of Tabeel' should remain concrete rather than paraphrased away, since dynastic replacement is central to the threat. In verse 7 the doubled denial 'it shall not stand, and it shall not be' should stay terse and emphatic. Verses 8-9 are also important. The head-city formulations for Aram and Ephraim reduce these powers to their limited political centers, while the notice that within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people should be translated in a way that preserves both the time horizon and the severity of the outcome. Verse 9's concluding wordplay is one of the chapter's key lines: if Ahaz and his house do not believe, they will not be established. The connection between trust and firmness should remain audible if at all possible. Verses 10-17 contain the chapter's most discussed material. Verse 11's offered sign is intentionally unrestricted in scope, descending to Sheol or ascending on high. Ahaz's refusal in verse 12 should not be made to sound admirable in context; the narrative presents it as resistance dressed in pious language. Verse 13 therefore widens the rebuke to the house of David as a whole. Verse 14's העלמה should be translated with disciplined simplicity as 'the young woman' rather than importing later doctrinal conclusions into the base rendering itself; at the same time, the clause clearly presents conception and birth in sign-bearing relation to the name Immanuel, 'God with us.' Verses 15-16 should preserve the curds-and-honey imagery and the temporal point: before the boy reaches moral discernment, the two kings currently dreaded will be gone. Verse 17 then turns sharply, and the arrival of 'the king of Assyria' should stand with full weight as the chapter's judicial reversal. Verses 18-25 extend that reversal through dense images of invasion and desolation. Verse 18's whistle for the fly of Egypt and the bee of Assyria should remain concrete and somewhat unsettling; imperial forces are summoned as easily as pests. Verse 19's catalog of ravines, rock clefts, thornbushes, and watered places depicts total infiltration and should be kept cumulative. Verse 20's hired-razor image is especially important. The shaving of head, feet, and beard communicates humiliation, stripping, and foreign domination rather than neat cosmetic trimming. Verses 21-22 use the curds-and-honey motif again, but now clearly within a reduced remnant economy. Finally, verses 23-25 describe once-valued vineyards and cultivated hills yielding to briars, thorns, archers, and grazing animals. Translation should preserve the agricultural reversal throughout. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where the Davidic house is told to stand by faith under immediate threat, receives the Immanuel sign despite royal refusal, and is simultaneously warned that unbelief will usher Judah into an Assyrian future of humiliation and land-scarring desolation. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 8 — ישעיהו 8

Theme. Written sign, prophetic children, Shiloah and Euphrates, conspiracy-fear, sanctuary and stumbling, sealed testimony, rejected necromancy, and darkness turning toward future honor carry the Immanuel crisis beyond a royal encounter into a wider theology of judgment, discipleship, and waiting. Another sign-child stands at the opening, but now the sign is first written publicly, then confirmed by witnesses, then embodied in Isaiah's own son Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Before that boy can form the simplest family words, Damascus and Samaria will be stripped before the king of Assyria. Yet the point quickly widens beyond the fall of Judah's immediate enemies. This people has rejected the softly flowing waters of Shiloah, preferring a politics of panic shaped by Rezin and the son of Remaliah, and therefore the Lord brings upon them the great river itself: Assyria in imperial flood. What they refused as too quiet in God's rule returns as what they cannot master in imperial violence. Judah is not annihilated, but the inundation reaches to the neck and fills Immanuel's land with suffocating breadth. From there the oracle turns to the community that must survive inside such a time. The nations may rage and counsel, but their word fails because God is with us. Isaiah is warned not to share the public language of conspiracy or the public habit of fear. Instead, YHWH of hosts alone is to be sanctified as dread and holy center. That same Lord becomes sanctuary for some and a stone of striking and stumbling for many in Israel and Jerusalem. The testimony is therefore bound up and the instruction sealed among disciples, while Isaiah and his children stand as signs and wonders before a people tempted to seek mediums, mutterers, and the dead. The argument insists that when revelation is contested, the answer is not esoteric supplement but return to the instruction and testimony, because speech not measured by this word has no dawn. The closing movement is bleak: hunger, rage, cursing, distress, darkness, and driven gloom. Yet the final verse turns like a hinge. The northern territories first brought low will not remain under contempt forever. Immediate historical sign, Assyrian judgment, prophetic discipleship, anti-occult fidelity, and the first glimmer of northern restoration are thus bound together in a vision of faith defined as waiting under the hidden face of God while holding fast to the word he has sealed.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — And he said YHWH to me take to you glass great and he shall write on it. And he said YHWH to me take to you glass great and he shall write on it in from mankind to Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz. And I may call to witness to me witnesses faithful Uriah the priest and Zachariah son of Jeberechiah.
II. 3–8 — And I approached to the prophetess, and she conceived and she bore son o. And I approached to the prophetess, and she conceived and she bore son of and he said YHWH to me he called his name Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz Maher-sha-lal-bash-baz. For before he knew the boy he called my father his mother carries ability Damascus and the spoil of Samaria before king of Asshur. Then he shall add.
III. 9–18 — And it was displeasing peoples be dismayed give ear all (a- the land of. And it was displeasing peoples be dismayed give ear all (a- the land of bind (compass) about be dismayed bind (compass) about be dismayed. Take counsel counsel he has broken he spoke it the matter of and not shall stand for with us God. For thus he said YHWH to me as / like the hand and they discipline and he went on the way the people this saying. Not you.
IV. 19–23 — And if they say to you I will require to the mediums and to the spiritis. And if they say to you I will require to the mediums and to the spiritists chatter but you shall meditate is it not a people to his God I will require through life to the dead. The torah and if not they say according to the word of this that there is not to him the dawn. And it crosses in it it is hard and and it shall be for and he let you hunger and he.

Textual note. Eight linked movements shape the chapter: the public writing and birth-sign of Maher-shalal-hash-baz (vv. 1-4), the rejected waters of Shiloah and the Assyrian river-flood (vv. 5-8), the frustrated counsel of the nations under the Immanuel word (vv. 9-10), the command not to fear conspiracy but to sanctify YHWH (vv. 11-15), the sealing of testimony among disciples together with Isaiah's waiting witness (vv. 16-18), the rejection of mediums in favor of instruction and testimony (vv. 19-20), the hunger-and-darkness distress scene (vv. 21-22), and the closing reversal note over Zebulun and Naphtali (v. 23). Verse 1's 'large tablet' and 'stylus of a man' should remain concrete and ordinary, because the sign begins in public legibility rather than esoteric mystery. The compound name מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז should be preserved in transliteration in the running text or very close rendering in note, since its abrupt cadence carries the message of haste, spoil, and plunder. Verse 2's faithful witnesses matter because the prophetic sign is juridically anchored. Verses 3-8 require close handling of the sign-child and the water imagery. Verse 3's 'prophetess' should remain as the text gives it, without over-specifying her role beyond the chapter's wording. Verse 4 links the boy's earliest speech to the Assyrian carrying off of Damascus and Samaria, continuing the near-horizon sign logic of Isaiah 7. Verse 6's waters of Shiloah 'going gently' are especially important and should remain gentle or slow; the contrast with the River in verse 7 is theological as much as geographical. The River is the Euphrates in imperial-symbolic force, and the king of Assyria with all his glory should be named openly as those overwhelming waters. Verse 8's 'up to the neck' must remain visible, since Judah is portrayed as nearly drowned but not yet fully submerged. The final address to Immanuel at the end of verse 8 should likewise remain explicit, because it binds flood judgment to the land still named by divine presence. Verses 9-18 move from political upheaval to the faithful community's posture within it. Verses 9-10 are filled with imperative challenge and collapse formulas; their repeated 'be broken' should stay forceful. The reason clause 'for God is with us' must remain transparent as the compressed Immanuel confession. In verses 11-13, the language of conspiracy and fear should not be flattened into generalized anxiety. The oracle distinguishes public panic from holy fear, and verse 13's sanctifying of YHWH of hosts should keep that cultic-holiness register intact. Verse 14 is one of the chapter's most influential lines. The same Lord becomes both sanctuary and stumbling stone, a dual function that should remain unsmoothed. Verse 16's binding of testimony and sealing of Torah among disciples is also crucial; תורה here again carries the sense of authoritative instruction rather than merely abstract law. In verse 17 Isaiah's waiting and hoping are important because they define prophetic faith under a hidden divine face, not under immediate visible vindication. Verse 18's declaration that the prophet and the children given him are for signs and wonders should retain both the representative household dimension and the Zion-centered source of those signs. Verses 19-23 turn from false guidance to darkness and then to the first hint of reversal. Verse 19's mediums and spiritists are described with chirping and muttering verbs that should remain strange and audible, because the text deliberately contrasts them with the solid word of God. The rhetorical question about seeking the dead on behalf of the living should also stay sharp. Verse 20's 'to the instruction and to the testimony' functions almost as a rallying standard and should retain that clipped authority; the closing phrase indicates that those who refuse this word have no dawn or morning light. Verses 21-22 are deliberately oppressive in sound and movement, tracing hunger, rage, cursing, upward glance, and earthward sight into concentrated darkness. Finally, verse 23 in the MT is the verse commonly numbered as Isaiah 9:1 in many English traditions, and that versification fact should be remembered in cross-reference work. Its claim is that the region first humbled - Zebulun, Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations - will not remain under that gloom. Translation should preserve both the former contempt and the latter honoring. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where prophetic signs multiply, imperial judgment floods the land, the faithful are taught how to fear and wait, occult alternatives are rejected, and darkness itself is made to bend toward a coming northern light. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 9 — ישעיהו 9

Theme. Great light, shattered oppression, the royal child, endless Davidic peace, proud Ephraim, unrepented judgment, consuming wickedness, and fratricidal collapse join radiant promise to relentless sentence in one of Isaiah's sharpest oracles. The opening movement answers the gloom that closed Isaiah 8. A people walking in darkness suddenly see a great light, those dwelling in deep shadow receive shining upon them, and joy swells like harvest gladness and victory spoil. The oppression once laid upon shoulder and back is broken as in the day of Midian, and the very gear of war becomes fuel for fire. The center of promise is then gathered into the child given to the people: rule rests upon his shoulder, his throne is David's, his peace has no end, and the establishment of that kingdom in justice and righteousness is guaranteed by the zeal of YHWH of hosts. The light is therefore not vague encouragement. It is royal, covenantal, Davidic, and durable. Yet from verse 7 onward the oracle pivots into one of Isaiah's most relentless judgment sequences. The Lord has sent a word into Jacob, and Ephraim answers chastisement not with repentance but with civic pride: fallen bricks will be replaced with hewn stone, cut sycamores with cedars. Foreign enemies from east and west devour Israel, but the refrain insists that even this does not turn away divine anger. The people do not return to the one striking them, so YHWH cuts off head and tail, elder and false prophet, and the leaders who should guide instead swallow their people into ruin. The movement then intensifies further. Wickedness burns like fire, the land is scorched, brother does not spare brother, hunger becomes insatiable, and Manasseh and Ephraim devour one another before turning together against Judah. Messianic light and Davidic hope are thus bound to a northern judgment that keeps uncovering deeper layers of pride, false leadership, and self-consuming evil. The promise of the coming ruler shines most brightly precisely against a society that proves, under repeated blows, how dark it still is.

Outline.

I. 1–6 — The people the ones going in the dark saw light great the inhabitants of. The people the ones going in the dark saw light great the inhabitants of in the land of shadow of death light (en-) lighten upon them. Greatly the nation not to him and he grew with joy and you shall rejoice before you with joy harvest of just as be glad shall be divided the spoil of. For a yoke of burden and the tribe of his shoulder the tribe of the.
II. 7–20 — The matter of let go my Lord in Jacob and. The matter of let go my Lord in Jacob and ... perish in Israel. And they shall know the people all of it Ephraim and he settled Samaria and in his majesty his greatness the heart of saying. Bricks have fallen hewn stone let us build as / like you shall hew down cedar and changed. Was too high YHWH narrow Rezin on it and his enemies covering. Aram east of.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: great light over the darkened people (vv. 1-2), the breaking of oppression and the burning of war-gear (vv. 3-4), the royal child and endless Davidic peace (vv. 5-6), the proud northern response to a fallen word and the first devouring blow (vv. 7-11), the continued failure to return together with the cutting off of head and tail (vv. 12-16), the land-scorching fire of wickedness (vv. 17-18), and the closing fratricidal hunger scene under the recurring refrain of unresolved wrath (vv. 19-20). Verses 1-6 are among Isaiah's best-known promise passages and require careful attention to imagery and numbering. In the MT, the chapter begins with the light oracle that follows the gloom-hinge of Isaiah 8, and translators should preserve that canonical continuity. Verse 1's 'people walking in darkness' and 'land of deep shadow' should remain vivid, because the chapter's promise is framed as illumination at the point of extremity. Verse 2's textual difficulty around לא/לו in the MT has a long history; the line is commonly understood in a positive sense of enlarged joy, and the translation should preserve the movement toward multiplied gladness before YHWH. Verses 3-6 should keep both battle imagery and royal theology explicit. Verse 3's breaking of yoke, shoulder staff, and oppressor's rod 'as in the day of Midian' should remain concrete and allusive; Gideon's victory supplies the logic of divine reversal. Verse 4's boot and bloodied garment imagery is cumulative and should retain the sense that war's very apparatus is being handed over to fire. In verse 5, the child and son language should remain plain and direct, and the long throne-name sequence should be preserved with dignity rather than paraphrastic flattening. Whether one construes the names as throne-titles or as a compressed series of predicates, the line clearly attributes extraordinary royal identity and function to the child. Verse 6's unending peace over David's throne and kingdom is equally important and should not lose either the dynastic or the juridical dimension: the kingdom is established and upheld in justice and righteousness. The final clause about the zeal of YHWH of hosts should remain active and forceful, because divine zeal is the guarantor of what human monarchy cannot produce by itself. Verses 7-20 are structured by recurring judgment and by the refrain 'In all this his anger has not turned back, and his hand is still stretched out,' which appears in verses 11, 16, and 20 here and should be kept exact because it carries the chapter's cadence. Verse 7's sent word falling upon Israel marks the pivot from promise to sentence. Verse 9's rebuilding boast should remain concrete in its contrast between bricks and hewn stone, sycamores and cedars; the point is defiant self-strengthening under chastisement. Verse 10's raising up of Rezin's adversaries and stirring of enemies should remain as divine action, since the chapter insists on YHWH's sovereignty over geopolitical pressure. Verse 12's failure to return to the smiting Lord exposes the moral center of the judgment sequence. Verses 13-20 then move through leadership collapse, total corruption, and self-consuming violence. Verse 13's 'head and tail, palm branch and reed' should remain pictorial, and verse 14 interprets those symbols through elder and false prophet. Verse 15's participles of leading astray and being swallowed up should stay sharp; bad guidance becomes communal destruction. Verse 16's refusal of pity toward young men, orphans, and widows is deliberately severe and should not be softened, because the whole society is described as profane and vile. Verse 17's wickedness burning like fire through brier, thorn, and forest thicket should remain highly visual, as should the rising columns of smoke. In verses 18-20 the people become food for fire, brother does not spare brother, and hunger drives them into grotesque self-devouring and mutual tribal predation. Translation should preserve the horror without euphemism. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where royal light and peace are promised through the coming Davidic ruler even as the northern kingdom is shown answering divine blows with pride, false leadership, impenitence, and finally a fire of wickedness that consumes it from within. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 10 — ישעיהו 10

Theme. Unjust decrees, Assyria as the rod of divine anger, imperial arrogance, remnant return, and the sudden felling of proud height bind Isaiah 10 into one of the book's clearest chapters on the difference between being used by God and fearing God. It opens by returning to the social crimes already exposed earlier in Isaiah. Lawmakers and scribes are denounced because they do not merely commit private wickedness; they engrave oppression into public order, bending judgment away from the poor and turning widows and orphans into legal prey. That first woe then widens quickly into a larger historical argument. Assyria is named as the rod of YHWH's anger, a brutal empire commissioned against a godless nation to seize spoil and trample the streets. Yet the chapter is just as clear that Assyria does not understand its own role. The empire imagines itself acting by native strength and wisdom alone. Its kings and commanders are treated as an unstoppable succession of conquerors, its victories over idol-ridden cities become the pattern for how it thinks Jerusalem must also fall, and its hand gathers nations as easily as abandoned eggs. The central irony is therefore theological: the instrument mistakes itself for the sovereign. The axe boasts over the woodsman, the saw magnifies itself over the one who wields it, and the staff imagines it can lift the one who lifts it. From there the oracle turns in two directions at once. Assyria's pride will be punished once the Lord has completed his work on Zion and Jerusalem: fatness will waste away, forest glory will burn, and the innumerable will be reduced until a child can count what remains. But Judah is not left only with news of Assyria's downfall. It also states one of Isaiah's defining remnant formulas: the survivors of Jacob will no longer lean on the one striking them, but will lean on YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. Though Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant returns, because a decreed destruction is already moving through the land in righteousness. The closing march scene then lets the threat come almost to Jerusalem's doorstep. Place-name after place-name records the Assyrian advance until the invader stands at Nob shaking a hand at daughter Zion. Yet at that very point the perspective reverses. The Lord YHWH of hosts lops the proud bough, brings down the tall, and cuts the forest with iron so that Lebanon itself falls before a mighty one. Taken together, the passage binds social injustice, imperial vocation, imperial blasphemy, remnant faith, and the felling of worldly loftiness into a chapter where God uses empire without excusing it and saves a remnant without denying judgment.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness. Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and they may rob the fatherless! And what will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation shall come from far? to whom will you.
II. 5–19 — O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine i. O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither does his heart think so; but in his.
III. 20–27 — And it shall come to pass in that day, the remnant of Israel, and such a. And it shall come to pass in that day, the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of.
IV. 28–34 — He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he has laid up. He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he has laid up his carriages: They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard to Laish, O poor Anathoth. Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to.

Textual note. Five broad movements shape the chapter: the woe against unjust legislation and the surviving refrain of wrath (vv. 1-4), Assyria as the commissioned rod that misunderstands itself (vv. 5-11), the punishment of Assyrian arrogance by the one who wielded it (vv. 12-19), the remnant's true return to the Holy One of Israel (vv. 20-27), and the vivid approach-and-collapse of the Assyrian advance before Zion (vv. 28-34). Verses 1-4 should be translated with strong forensic and social language. Verse 1's pair of decree-makers and writers should remain concrete, because the point is that injustice is being formalized into public text. Verse 2's turning aside of the poor from justice and robbery of the afflicted's right should remain legal rather than merely emotional, and the widow-orphan pair should stay explicit as the classic measure of covenant failure. Verse 3's questions about the day of visitation and the devastation from afar should preserve their rhetorical force. The issue is not simply that judgment is coming, but that the oppressors will have nowhere to run and nowhere to leave their glory. Verse 4 then closes the unit under the still-stretched hand refrain carried over from the preceding chapter; that refrain should remain exact because it binds Isaiah 9 and 10 into one continuing wave of judgment. Verses 5-19 require especially careful handling because they move through commission, boast, irony, and sentence. Verse 5's identification of Assyria as the rod of YHWH's anger and the staff of his indignation should remain stark and paradoxical. In verse 6 the empire is sent against a godless nation and a people of wrath, and the vocabulary of spoil, prey, and trampling should stay blunt. Yet verses 7-11 immediately expose the difference between divine purpose and imperial intention. Assyria's heart is set on destruction, not obedience, and its sequence of city comparisons should remain cumulative and taunting. Verse 10 is textually and rhetorically important because Assyria measures Jerusalem and Samaria by the scale of defeated idol-kingdoms; the contrast between carved images and living divine election should not be blurred. Verse 12 marks the decisive turn: only after the Lord completes all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem will he punish the fruit of the Assyrian king's proud heart and the beauty of his haughty eyes. Verses 13-14 should preserve the first-person imperial boasts in full. Removal of boundaries, seizure of treasures, and egg-gathering without resistance all dramatize overreaching power. Verse 15 is one of the chapter's central theological lines and should remain pointed: the axe does not boast over the one who chops, nor the saw over the one who wields it. The imagery depends on preserving the absurdity of instrument against agent. Verses 16-19 then answer pride with wasting, fire, and reduction. The Lord sends leanness among the empire's fat ones, Israel's Light becomes a fire, and the forest-glory dwindles until a child can count the trees. Verse 18's difficult closing image should be rendered in a way that preserves wasting collapse rather than pretending greater lexical certainty than the line allows. Verses 20-27 gather the chapter into remnant theology and should be translated with theological precision. Verse 20's turning from the smiter to reliance on YHWH in truth is central and should remain explicit, because the chapter's issue is not bare survival but redirected trust. Verse 21's שאר ישוב intentionally echoes the prophet's son's name from Isaiah 7 and should be allowed to sound that remnant-return theme clearly. Verse 22 is also crucial and later becomes programmatic beyond Isaiah: though Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant returns. The line about a decreed destruction overflowing with righteousness should remain as a statement of judgment executed in moral rightness, not arbitrary devastation. Verse 23 intensifies that with the language of a complete and decided end in the midst of all the land. In verses 24-27 Zion is told not to fear Assyria even though the rod still falls for a little while. The Midian and Egypt comparisons should remain visible, because they place coming deliverance inside older patterns of divine overthrow. Verse 27's final clause is difficult and often translated in different ways; the image about the yoke being ruined because of fatness should remain concrete or minimally interpretive rather than over-smoothed. Verses 28-34 form a rapid approach scene and should be translated with vivid movement. The place-name chain from Aiath to Nob should remain abrupt, because its force lies in how quickly the invader seems to close on Jerusalem. Daughter Zion and the hill of Jerusalem in verse 32 should remain explicit as the threatened focal point. Then verses 33-34 reverse the entire momentum at once. The Lord YHWH of hosts lops the bough with terrifying force, cuts down the tall in stature, brings low the lofty, and hacks through the forest thickets with iron. Lebanon's fall by a mighty one should remain strong and climactic, whether heard as literal forest imagery, imperial metaphor, or both. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where unjust Judah is warned, Assyria is commissioned yet exposed, a remnant is promised, and the proud forest of imperial might is suddenly felled by the Lord who alone stands above rod, axe, mountain, and empire. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 11 — ישעיהו 11

Theme. From the felled Davidic stump comes the Spirit-endowed ruler whose justice remakes both human society and the wider creation, so Isaiah 11 binds royal renewal, peaceable transformation, and exilic regathering into a single vision of messianic restoration. It opens not with imperial height but with what seems cut down: Jesse's stock is reduced to a stump, yet precisely there a shoot emerges and a branch bears fruit. That reversal matters because it answers the forest-felling judgment of the previous chapter with a new Davidic beginning. Upon this figure rests the Spirit of YHWH in its fullness: wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of YHWH. He is therefore not governed by superficial sight or hearsay, but judges the poor with righteousness, decides with equity for the humble of the land, and destroys wickedness by the sheer authority of his mouth. His rule is not merely administratively competent; it is morally exact and covenantally aligned, with righteousness and faithfulness worn like permanent royal dress. The vision then widens from the king to the world ordered under his reign. Wolf with lamb, leopard with young goat, calf with lion, cow with bear, and even the child near the serpent's den all signify a creation no longer organized by predation and threat. Its point is not sentimental nature poetry but the removal of violence from YHWH's holy mountain because the earth has become full of the knowledge of YHWH as waters cover the sea. That same ruler becomes a banner for peoples, drawing nations to seek him, and his resting place becomes glory. At that point the chapter turns to a second exodus horizon: YHWH stretches out his hand again to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coastlands of the sea. Israel's internal fracture is healed as Ephraim's jealousy departs and Judah's hostility is cut off, while historic enemies are overcome and the obstacles of return are struck like a sea and river once parted for redemption. It therefore gathers together Spirit-anointed kingship, righteous judgment for the lowly, cosmic peace, international attraction, the reunification of Israel, and a new exodus for the dispersed into one of Isaiah's clearest portraits of the future in which YHWH's promised rule becomes visibly restorative for people, land, and nations.

Outline.

I. 1 — And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
II. 2–5 — And the spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and und. And the spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of YHWH; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of YHWH: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he.
III. 6–9 — The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,.
IV. 10–14 — And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from.
V. 15–16 — And YHWH shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with. And YHWH shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: the rise of the Spirit-endowed shoot from Jesse (vv. 1-5), the peaceable ordering of creation under his reign (vv. 6-9), the root of Jesse as a banner sought by the nations (v. 10), the regathering and reunification of the scattered people (vv. 11-14), and the new-exodus path prepared through struck waters and a raised highway (vv. 15-16). Verse 1 should preserve both images - the shoot from the stump and the branch from the roots - because the chapter answers the felled forest imagery of Isaiah 10 with renewed Davidic life from what looked cut down. The reference to Jesse rather than David should remain explicit, since the point is a fresh beginning from the dynastic root. Verses 2-5 define the ruler by the resting Spirit of YHWH and should be translated with careful attention to the ordered pairs of gifts. Wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of YHWH together mark the ruler as fully furnished for covenantal government. Verse 3 is especially delicate: the line about his delight or scented responsiveness in the fear of YHWH should be rendered so that reverent orientation, not mere sensory impression, controls the thought. The parallel clauses make the practical meaning clear: he does not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear. Verse 4 then turns to the poor and humble of the land, and the striking language of smiting the earth with the rod of his mouth and killing the wicked by the breath of his lips should remain forceful rather than being softened into abstraction. Verse 5's righteousness and faithfulness as belt and sash should be preserved as royal-garment imagery. Verses 6-9 should be translated as a vision of transformed creation under holy rule. The animals should remain concrete in sequence, because the chapter means to picture the undoing of ordinary violence. Verse 8's nursing child and weaned child near serpent and viper must remain as daring as the Hebrew allows. Verse 9 gives the theological explanation and should preserve both halves: harm and destruction cease on YHWH's holy mountain because the earth is full of the knowledge of YHWH as waters cover the sea. Verses 10-14 widen the horizon from Zion to the nations and to the dispersed people. Verse 10 should keep the paradox that the Davidic figure is both root of Jesse and banner for peoples, and the nations' seeking of him should remain active. Verse 11's long geographic list must stay visible, since the chapter imagines a regathering from a real dispersion. Verse 12's banner and the gathering of Israel's outcasts and Judah's scattered ones from the four corners of the earth should be translated without reduction. Verse 13 should preserve the healing of the north-south breach between Ephraim and Judah, and verse 14 should retain both the military image of swooping westward on the shoulder of Philistia and the subjection of Edom, Moab, and Ammon. Verses 15-16 close with exodus-shaped imagery and should be translated with full memorial force. YHWH dries up or devotes the tongue of the Egyptian sea, waves his hand over the River with the heat of his wind, strikes it into seven streams, and makes crossing possible in sandals. Verse 16 then names the resulting highway for the remnant from Assyria and compares it explicitly to Israel's ascent from Egypt. It therefore ends by joining Davidic hope to a second exodus. Taken together, the passage should be translated as a chapter where the cut-down royal line unexpectedly flourishes, the righteous king restores right judgment, creation is pacified, nations seek the sign of Jesse, the dispersed are regathered, and YHWH once again opens a path of redemption. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 12 — ישעיהו 12

Theme. A brief but densely theological hymn gathers thanksgiving, wrath turned away, confidence without fear, joy at the springs of salvation, and public proclamation into a liturgical celebration of divine deliverance. The movement is striking: prophetic promise is now taught to Zion and the redeemed community as song. It begins with a personal confession addressed directly to YHWH. Divine anger had once been real, but it has turned away, and comfort now stands where wrath once stood. That sequence matters because the chapter does not erase judgment; it praises YHWH precisely as the one whose just anger has been transformed into consoling mercy. From there the song settles into confidence. God is named as salvation itself, so trust replaces fear, and the old exodus language of strength, song, and deliverance is taken up again in praise. The hymn then turns that assurance into a communal image: water is drawn with joy from the springs of salvation. It is not merely that salvation exists as a doctrine; it is received as life-giving abundance for a restored people. The second half moves outward from reception to proclamation. Thanksgiving, invocation of the divine name, publication of YHWH's deeds among the peoples, and celebration of his exalted name all become the proper overflow of experienced deliverance. Zion is not restored into silence. It is restored into witness. The final summons therefore calls daughter Zion to cry aloud and rejoice because the Holy One of Israel is great in her midst. It closes the chapter by locating salvation not only in acts done for the people but in the holy divine presence dwelling among them. Taken together, the hymn serves as a liturgical coda to the promise-complex of the surrounding chapters: anger turned away, trust without fear, joy at the saving spring, public proclamation to the nations, and Zion's glad recognition that the Holy One of Israel is present in the center of his redeemed people.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — And in that day you shall say, O YHWH, I will praise you: though you was. And in that day you shall say, O YHWH, I will praise you: though you wast angry with me, your anger is turned away, and you comfortedst me. Behold, God my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for YHWH JEHOVAH my strength and song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.
II. 4–5 — And in that day shall you say, Praise YHWH, call upon his name, declare. And in that day shall you say, Praise YHWH, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing to YHWH; for he has done excellent things: this known in all the earth.
III. 6 — Cry out and shout, you inhabitant of Zion: for great the Holy One of Isr. Cry out and shout, you inhabitant of Zion: for great the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you.

Textual note. It is a short hymn that answers the salvation vision of Isaiah 11 with thanksgiving, confidence, and public praise. Four linked movements shape it: the confession that divine anger has turned away into comfort (v. 1), the declaration of fearless trust in God as salvation (vv. 2-3), the call to publish YHWH's deeds among the peoples (vv. 4-5), and Zion's final cry of joy because the Holy One of Israel is in her midst (v. 6). Verse 1 should preserve the tension and resolution of the opening confession. The singer thanks YHWH not because wrath never existed, but because anger was real and has now turned away. The last verb should retain the personal force of comfort rather than flattening it into a generic restoration formula. Verse 2 deliberately echoes exodus praise language and should be translated with that resonance audible. God is not merely the giver of salvation but is named as salvation itself, so trust and the absence of fear arise from his identity. The phrase with Yah, YHWH, and the line about strength and song should remain full and weighty rather than overly paraphrased. Verse 3 gives the chapter's central image and should stay concrete: water is drawn with joy from the springs or wells of salvation. The point is not abstraction but abundant, accessible life received from YHWH's saving work. Verses 4-5 shift from personal and communal reception to proclamation, so the sequence of imperatives should be preserved carefully: give thanks, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, remind or proclaim that his name is exalted, and sing praise because he has done majestically. In verse 5 the imported OSHB stream preserves both a ketiv and qere form around מודעת; the running line here follows the readable form in the sense 'let this be made known,' while the note of textual variation belongs to the Masoretic tradition rather than to a distinct critical apparatus reproduced on the page. Verse 6 should retain both imperative force and Zion address. Daughter Zion is summoned to cry aloud and sing for joy because the Holy One of Israel is great in her midst. The closing line should therefore land on divine presence as the climax of the whole hymn: salvation, proclamation, and joy all culminate in the reality that Israel's Holy One dwells among his people. Taken together, the chapter should be translated as a compact liturgy of wrath turned to comfort, fearless trust, joyful drawing from salvation's spring, missionary praise among the nations, and Zion's glad recognition of the Holy One in her midst. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 13 — ישעיהו 13

Theme. A terrifying vision opens the Babylon material not with political calculation but with YHWH mustering the nations for judgment. Although Babylon is named in the superscription, the chapter quickly expands beyond one city to the shaking of heaven and earth, the panic of peoples, and the day of YHWH as a world-ordering catastrophe. It begins with commands issued over a bare height, a lifted banner, and a summoned host. Yet the decisive speaker is YHWH himself: he has commanded his consecrated ones and called his warriors for his anger. The army gathering in the mountains is therefore not autonomous imperial motion but the instrument of divine visitation. From there it turns to direct lament. The day of YHWH is near, and its arrival is described with collapsing hands, melting hearts, labor-pain anguish, and faces inflamed with dread. Cosmic language intensifies the scene further: stars darken, the sun is blackened, the moon withholds light, and the created order becomes unstable under wrath. Human pride and violence are specifically targeted. The arrogant are humbled, the ruthless brought low, and mortal life becomes rarer than precious gold. Judgment is not random devastation but a moral reckoning against wickedness and insolence. The latter half then narrows again to Babylon in particular. Peoples scatter like hunted animals, slaughter and plunder overtake the city, and the Medes are named as the historical agents who cannot be bought off by silver or gold. Their cruelty is described without softening, and Babylon's splendor is finally likened to Sodom and Gomorrah: once the beauty of kingdoms and the glory of Chaldean pride, it becomes an uninhabited ruin inhabited only by desert creatures and eerie wastes. It thus binds oracle-heading, divine mustering, day-of-YHWH terror, cosmic de-creation, the humbling of human pride, Medo-Persian instrumentality, and Babylon's desolation into a single judgment vision. It is theologically crucial because Babylon is treated not merely as a later empire but as a concentrated figure of human exaltation brought down when YHWH arises to judge the earth.

Outline.

I. 1 — The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
II. 2–5 — Lift you up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice to them, sh. Lift you up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice to them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, them that rejoice in my highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms.
III. 6–8 — Howl you; for the day of YHWH at hand; it shall come as a destruction fr. Howl you; for the day of YHWH at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces flames.
IV. 9–13 — Behold, the day of YHWH cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,. Behold, the day of YHWH cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for.
V. 14–16 — And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up:. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and.
VI. 17–18 — Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard si. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and gold, they shall not delight in it. bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
VII. 19–22 — And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellen. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;.

Textual note. It is the opening burden concerning Babylon, but it is cast in the larger idiom of the day of YHWH, where historical overthrow and cosmic judgment are deliberately fused. Six linked movements shape it: the superscription and divine summons to the mustered host (vv. 1-5), the cry that the day of YHWH is near and will break human courage (vv. 6-8), the description of that day as cosmic and moral devastation (vv. 9-13), the scattering and slaughter of peoples caught in the collapse (vv. 14-16), the naming of the Medes as YHWH's instrument (vv. 17-18), and the final portrait of Babylon as a ruined haunt like Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 19-22). Verse 1 should retain the full weight of מַשָּׂא as an oracular burden or pronouncement, and Babylon should remain explicit at the outset because the following material is anchored in a named target even while its rhetoric widens. Verses 2-5 are military in imagery but theological in control. The commands to lift a banner, raise a voice, and wave a hand should be translated crisply, while verse 3 must preserve the striking designation of YHWH's consecrated ones and mighty ones. The point is not that they are morally holy in themselves, but that they are set apart for YHWH's wrathful purpose. Verse 4's mountain tumult and gathered kingdoms should remain audible as the soundscape of an international host under YHWH of hosts' inspection. Verses 6-8 move into lament and panic. The comparison in verse 6 should preserve the wordplay between destruction and the name Shaddai, and the labor-pain imagery of verse 8 must remain severe and embodied. Verses 9-13 describe the day of YHWH in language of de-creation and judicial reckoning. Verse 10 should keep the cosmic darkening concrete rather than reducing it to mood. Verse 11 is especially important because it states the moral target of the chapter plainly: the world for its evil, the wicked for their iniquity, the pride of the presumptuous, and the arrogance of the ruthless. Verse 12 should preserve the shocking rarity of human life in the wake of judgment. Verses 14-16 portray collapse within Babylon's sphere, where foreign peoples scatter back to their own lands and violence overtakes the vulnerable. In verse 16 the imported OSHB stream preserves both the ketiv תשגלנה and the qere תִּשָּׁכַבְנָה; the running line here follows the readable qere sense in English, while the existence of the Masoretic variation is noted without reproducing a separate apparatus. Verses 17-18 name the Medes and stress their indifference to payment, so silver and gold should remain explicit as failed means of averting judgment. Their violence against young men, children, and the fruit of the womb should not be softened. Verses 19-22 close with desolation imagery that should be translated with both grandeur and horror intact: Babylon had been the beauty of kingdoms and the glory of Chaldean pride, yet it becomes like Sodom and Gomorrah, never inhabited, avoided by Arab tent-dwellers and shepherds, and filled instead with desert creatures, ostrich-like birds, goat-demons, jackals, and howling sounds in emptied palaces. The final line should keep the note of imminence: her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged. Taken together, it should be translated as a vision in which Babylon's fall becomes a revelation of YHWH's day against pride, violence, and false splendor. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 14 — ישעיהו 14

Theme. Restoration, taunt, underworld mockery, cosmic ambition brought low, dynastic excision, Assyrian overthrow, and a closing warning to Philistia all converge in this sprawling anti-imperial oracle. It begins with mercy, not mockery. YHWH again chooses Israel, settles Jacob on his own ground, and even attaches the sojourner to the house of Jacob. That restoration is immediately political as well as covenantal: the peoples who once carried Israel away now carry Israel home, and the oppressed come to rule over those who drove them. The taunt against the king of Babylon must therefore be heard as the speech of a people whom YHWH has finally given rest from sorrow, turmoil, and hard bondage. The mockery itself is brilliant and terrible. The oppressor has ceased, the staff of wicked rule is broken, the whole earth rests, and even the trees of Lebanon rejoice because the feller has fallen. Then the horizon plunges beneath the earth. Sheol is stirred to greet the arriving tyrant, and the dead kings rise in astonished contempt: he who weakened nations is now as weak as they. Royal music gives way to worms and maggots. The famous fall of the day-star figure presses the satire upward again into the language of heavenly aspiration. The Babylonian ruler had said in his heart that he would ascend, raise his throne above the stars of God, sit on the mount of assembly, and make himself like the Most High. Instead he is brought down to Sheol, and those who look on him marvel that this ruined man is the same one who shook kingdoms. It then refuses any sentimental end. Babylon's king is denied honorable burial, his land is marked by ruin, and his seed is not to endure. YHWH rises against Babylon to cut off name, remnant, offspring, and posterity, turning imperial magnificence into marshy desolation swept by the broom of destruction. From there it briefly widens to a sworn statement about Assyria: what YHWH has planned will stand, and the oppressor will be broken on YHWH's own land. The final oracle turns to Philistia in the year of Ahaz's death and warns against rejoicing too quickly. A broken rod does not mean lasting safety, because from the serpent's root comes a deadlier offspring. The poor of Zion will find refuge in YHWH's founded city, but Philistia will melt before the northern smoke. Taken together, the movement binds Israel's rest, Babylon's humiliation, anti-theomorphic pride brought down, dynastic extinction, the certainty of YHWH's purpose against empires, and Zion's security over against Philistine misreading into a chapter where divine sovereignty overturns every predatory kingdom and secures the afflicted people who take refuge in YHWH.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — For YHWH will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set t. For YHWH will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of YHWH for servants and handmaids: and they shall take.
II. 3–4 — And it shall come to pass in the day that YHWH shall give you rest from. And it shall come to pass in the day that YHWH shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear, and from the hard bondage wherein you wast made to serve, That you shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
III. 5–8 — YHWH has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers. YHWH has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, , Since you are laid down, no feller is.
IV. 9–11 — Hell from beneath is moved for you to meet at your coming: it stirreth u. Hell from beneath is moved for you to meet at your coming: it stirreth up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say to you, Art you also become weak as we? are you become like to us? Your pomp is brought down to the grave, the noise of your viols: the.
V. 12–15 — How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! are you c. How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! are you cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;.
VI. 16–20 — They that see you shall narrowly look upon you, consider you, this the m. They that see you shall narrowly look upon you, consider you, this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But you are cast out of your grave.
VII. 21 — Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; th. Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
VIII. 22–23 — For I will rise up against them, says YHWH of hosts, and cut off from Ba. For I will rise up against them, says YHWH of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, says YHWH. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, says YHWH of hosts.
IX. 24–27 — YHWH of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it c. YHWH of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth:.
X. 28–32 — In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. Rejoice not you, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote you is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit a fiery flying serpent. And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill your root with famine, and he.

Textual note. It belongs to the Babylon material, but it combines several tightly linked units: the restoration of Jacob (vv. 1-2), the taunt-song against the king of Babylon (vv. 3-23), YHWH's sworn purpose against Assyria (vv. 24-27), and the dated oracle to Philistia (vv. 28-32). Verses 1-2 must retain the force of renewed election and resettlement. YHWH again has compassion on Jacob, again chooses Israel, and gives them rest on their own ground. The joining of the sojourner to the house of Jacob should remain audible, since the restoration is not merely ethnically inward but socially expansive. Verse 2 should also preserve the reversal of subjection: peoples escort Israel home, Israel possesses them in the land of YHWH for servants and handmaids, and former captives rule their oppressors. Verses 3-4 introduce the taunt with the language of rest from sorrow, rage, and hard bondage. That framing matters because the satire against Babylon is possible only after YHWH has given relief to the afflicted people. The opening cry in verse 4 should keep the abrupt wonder of the oppressor's end, and the difficult final noun there should still sound like the cessation of an exacting, driven tyranny. Verses 5-8 celebrate the collapse of oppressive rule. The broken staff and scepter should remain concrete royal emblems, and the rejoicing of the whole earth, even of cypresses and cedars, should be translated with its ironic vividness intact: the woodcutter of nations no longer rises. Verses 9-11 descend into Sheol. The underworld is personified as trembling to greet the fallen king, and the shades of dead rulers mock him as one who has become weak like them. The reduction from pomp and harp-music to maggots and worms should remain stark. Verses 12-15 contain the taunt's most concentrated ascent-and-fall imagery. The morning star figure should be translated carefully enough to preserve the poetic image without erasing that the immediate target is the Babylonian king. His inner speech in verses 13-14 must retain the piling up of ascent verbs and throne-claims: he would rise to heaven, elevate his throne above the stars of God, sit on the mount of assembly in the far north, ascend above the heights of cloud, and make himself like the Most High. Verse 15 then snaps the whole ambition downward into Sheol and the recesses of the pit. Verses 16-20 return to the watchers' astonishment and the king's disgrace. They ask whether this ruined man is really the one who shook the earth, made the world like a wilderness, and would not release his prisoners homeward. The contrast with the burial of other kings is crucial: he is cast away from his tomb like an abhorred branch and denied honorable burial because he destroyed his land and slaughtered his people. Verse 21 extends that judgment to the sons, and verses 22-23 state YHWH's own resolve to cut off Babylon's name, remnant, and posterity and turn it into a possession of the hedgehog and pools of water, swept with the broom of destruction. Verses 24-27 shift to Assyria but stay within the same theology of fixed divine purpose. YHWH of hosts has sworn, and what he has planned stands. The breaking of Assyria in YHWH's land should remain linked to the universal statement that no one can annul his counsel or turn back his outstretched hand. Verses 28-32 are dated to the year of Ahaz's death and address Philistia directly. The warning not to rejoice because the striking rod is broken should preserve the serpent imagery that follows: from the serpent's root comes an adder and then a flying fiery serpent. At the same time, the poor of YHWH's people are fed and secured, while Philistia is told to wail because smoke comes from the north and no straggler is absent from the invader's ranks. The closing answer to the messengers of the nation should land on Zion: YHWH has founded her, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge. Taken together, it should be translated as a sequence where Israel's rest authorizes Babylon's taunt, human self-exaltation is mocked by descent to Sheol, imperial lineage is cut off, Assyria too is subject to YHWH's irreversible counsel, and Zion alone emerges as the secure refuge for the poor. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 15 — ישעיהו 15

Theme. An urgent lament over Moab fills this oracle with place-names, ritual mourning, collapsing civic life, and ecological devastation. It opens with shocking speed: in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, in a night Kir of Moab is undone. There is no slow campaign narrative here, only the stunned realization that the nation's strongholds have fallen almost at once. From there the oracle spreads grief outward across shrine, rooftop, square, and road. Dibon, Nebo, Medeba, Heshbon, Elealeh, and Jahaz all become stations in a widening soundscape of wailing. Heads are shaved, beards are cut off, sackcloth is tied on, and cries descend through public places in tears. The whole land seems to answer itself in lament. Yet it is not written with cold distance. In verse 5 the prophetic voice itself breaks in: my heart cries out for Moab. That line matters because the oracle is not a taunt of gleeful destruction. It is judgment spoken through grief, attentive to the fugitives climbing Luhith in tears and raising the cry of breaking on the road to Horonaim. The devastation then deepens into environmental failure. The waters of Nimrim become desolations, grass is dried up, vegetation is gone, and what wealth remains must be carried across the brook of the willows. The land can no longer sustain life, so mourning becomes migration. The final verses tighten the ring of lament around Moab's border and then turn the waters of Dimon red with blood. Even that is not the end, because additional disaster is appointed: a lion for the fugitives of Moab and for the remnant of the land. Taken together, the movement binds sudden nighttime ruin, liturgical and civic mourning, prophetic empathy, refugee flight, ecological collapse, and pursuing judgment into a single elegiac oracle. It shows Moab not as a distant abstraction but as a people whose entire geography has become a map of grief under the pressure of divine judgment.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — The burden of Moab. The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads baldness, every beard cut off.
II. 3–4 — In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard to Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous to him.
III. 5 — My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives to Zoar, an heifer of thr. My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives to Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
IV. 6–7 — For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.
V. 8–9 — For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof. For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof to Eglaim, and the howling thereof to Beerelim. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

Textual note. It is a lamenting burden concerning Moab, and its rhetoric depends heavily on named places, repeated cries, and a progression from urban collapse to refugee movement and ecological desolation. Four linked movements shape it: the sudden nighttime destruction of Moab's strongholds and the public eruption of mourning (vv. 1-4), the prophet's own heart-cry over Moab's fugitives and broken route of escape (v. 5), the drying of waters and forced carrying away of whatever remains (vv. 6-7), and the encircling cry that ends with blood-filled waters and further judgment on the remnant (vv. 8-9). Verse 1 should preserve the double blow of the opening. Ar and Kir of Moab are both said to be devastated in a night, and the repetition must retain its hammering effect. Verse 2 is textually and geographically dense. The ascent to the temple or high place, Dibon's weeping, and the mourning over Nebo and Medeba should all remain concrete, and the shaved heads and clipped beards must stay as visible signs of humiliation and grief. Verses 3-4 continue the soundscape of lament. Sackcloth in the streets, wailing on rooftops and in squares, and the cry of Heshbon and Elealeh being heard as far as Jahaz should be translated so that the whole civic landscape seems to resonate with sorrow. The difficult close of verse 4 should still preserve the collapse of inner strength rather than smoothing it away. Verse 5 is especially important because the speaker's stance changes: my heart cries out for Moab. That line should remain personal and arresting. The fugitives reaching Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah, the ascent of Luhith in weeping, and the cry of destruction on the road to Horonaim all require careful retention of the geographical sequence, since the chapter imagines real movement through a ruined land. Verses 6-7 turn the lament toward environmental devastation. The waters of Nimrim become desolations; grass, vegetation, and green growth disappear. That should not be treated as decorative background, because it explains why surviving wealth and stores must be carried away across the brook of the willows. Verses 8-9 circle the border of Moab with a cry heard from Eglaim to Beer-elim. The final image is severe: the waters of Dimon are full of blood, and still more is appointed. The added lion for the fugitives and for the remnant should remain startling and unresolved, because the oracle closes not with relief but with pursuing danger. Taken together, it should be translated as an elegy of place-name mourning, prophetic sympathy, exhausted flight, environmental loss, and uncompleted judgment hanging over the survivors. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 16 — ישעיהו 16

Theme. Tribute from Sela, displaced daughters of Moab at the Arnon, an appeal for shelter, a throne established in steadfast love in the tent of David, proud boasting exposed, ruined vineyards, prophetic lament, and a final three-year deadline make Isaiah 16 both a continuation and an interpretation of the Moab burden. It opens with movement toward Zion. Moab is told to send the lamb of tribute from Sela through the wilderness to the mountain of daughter Zion, and the image that follows is one of vulnerability rather than strength: the daughters of Moab hover at the Arnon crossings like a bird driven from its nest. What comes next is one of the oracle's most arresting turns. Counsel is sought, judgment is requested, shade is needed at noonday, and the outcast is not to be exposed. The plea presses toward refuge from the destroyer and then unexpectedly grounds that refuge in a royal future where a throne is established in steadfast love, the Davidic tent is occupied in faithfulness, and judgment and righteousness are pursued without delay. Against that possible ordered refuge stands Moab's actual character. Its pride is notorious, its swelling arrogance has long been heard of, and its boasts do not match reality. The result is not triumph but wailing. Moab wails over Moab, Kir-hareseth is mourned, the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah, once spreading richly outward, is broken down by the lords of nations. The voice of the oracle is not cold toward that ruin. Tears are shed for Jazer, Heshbon, and Elealeh; harvest joy and the vintage cry cease; and the prophet's inward parts sound like a lyre in lament for Moab. Yet pity does not become rescue. When Moab exhausts itself at the high place and comes to its sanctuary to pray, it cannot prevail. The closing word therefore fixes the burden in time: what had been spoken before is now set within three years, after which Moab's glory and multitude will be brought low and only a scant remnant will remain. Taken together, the oracle joins tribute, asylum, Davidic justice, exposed pride, agricultural devastation, grieving prophecy, failed cult, and imminent humiliation into a portrait of Moab brought to the edge of Zion yet left without deliverance because pride and false refuge cannot stand before YHWH's rule.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness,. Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be, , as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
II. 3–4 — Take counsel, execute judgment; make your shadow as the night in the mid. Take counsel, execute judgment; make your shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with you, Moab; be you a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
III. 5 — And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it i. And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
IV. 6–8 — We have heard of the pride of Moab; very proud: of his haughtiness, and. We have heard of the pride of Moab; very proud: of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: his lies not so. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall you mourn; surely stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish, the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal.
V. 9–11 — Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I. Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water you with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for your summer fruits and for your harvest is fallen. And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders.
VI. 12 — And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the hig. And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
VII. 13–14 — This the word that YHWH has spoken concerning Moab since that time. This the word that YHWH has spoken concerning Moab since that time. But now YHWH has spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant very small feeble.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the oracle: tribute and displacement (vv. 1-2), the asylum appeal and Davidic-throne horizon (vv. 3-5), the indictment of Moabite pride and the resulting lament (vv. 6-8), prophetic weeping over ruined harvest and futile cultic recourse (vv. 9-12), and the dated reaffirmation of the judgment word (vv. 13-14). Verse 1 is famously compact and should keep both its political and geographical force. The command to send a lamb to the ruler of the land is usually heard as tribute language, and Sela with the wilderness route should remain concrete because the oracle imagines motion from Moab's southern reaches toward Zion. Verse 2 then turns that diplomatic note into refugee imagery: the daughters of Moab are like a bird wandering from its nest at the fords of the Arnon. Verses 3-4 are among the chapter's most debated lines and should be translated with their urgency preserved. Counsel is requested, a decision is sought, shade at midday is demanded, and the hiding rather than exposure of fugitives is made central. The addressee is debated in interpretation, but the translation should keep the imperatival pressure and the asylum logic clear. Verse 4's expression about outcasts is likewise delicate; the wording should preserve the personal force of the Hebrew without flattening the possibility that the voice has shifted. The reason-clause about the oppressor's end should remain plain, because it leads directly into verse 5. That verse is crucial and should not be detached from what precedes it. The throne established in steadfast love, occupied in faithfulness in the tent of David by one who judges, seeks justice, and is swift to righteousness, gives the whole appeal a Zion-centered royal horizon. Verses 6-8 then expose why the orbit of Zion does not become Moab's salvation. Moab's pride, haughtiness, arrogance, fury, and empty boasts should accumulate without softening. The raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth in verse 7 should remain concrete, even if the exact nuance of the term has been debated, because the line is tied to lament over what once sustained or marked celebration. Verse 8's vine imagery should preserve the former reach of Sibmah's branches toward Jazer, the wilderness, and even across the sea, because the oracle contrasts past abundance with present collapse. Verses 9-11 intensify the lament in the prophet's own voice. The falling battle-cry over summer fruit and harvest in verse 9 should not be confused with festive shouting; the point is that invasion-noise has displaced vintage joy. Verse 10 makes that explicit by removing gladness, song, and wine-treading, and the final first-person verb should remain strong: YHWH himself has made the shouting cease. Verse 11 then internalizes the lament so that the speaker's inward parts sound like a lyre for Moab and for Kir-heres. Verse 12 closes the main oracle with cultic futility. Moab may weary itself on the high place and come to its sanctuary to pray, but it cannot prevail. Verses 13-14 then distinguish between an earlier word and a present dating of that word. The hireling-year formula in verse 14 should retain its exactness, stressing a fixed and unsentimental term. Moab's glory, multitude, and remnant are all assessed under that deadline, and the remnant left is not strong but very small. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a Moab oracle in which tribute and asylum gesture toward Zion's just kingship, yet Moab's pride, shattered abundance, and helpless cultic appeal end in a timed humiliation before YHWH's word. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 17 — ישעיהו 17

Theme. The burden concerning Damascus joins the collapse of Aram and Ephraim, the wasting of Jacob to gleanings, a brief return of human sight toward the Holy One of Israel, forgotten salvation answered by harvest-pain, and a final vision of roaring nations rebuked in an instant. It opens with a northern undoing. Damascus is removed from being a city and becomes a fallen heap, the towns of Aroer are abandoned to flocks, and the stronghold disappears from Ephraim just as kingdom-status disappears from Damascus. Aram and Israel are not treated here as stable rivals but as intertwined objects of judgment, so that what remains of Aram is compared to the fading glory of the sons of Israel. The oracle then turns from international ruin to bodily thinning. The glory of Jacob grows poor, the fatness of his flesh becomes lean, and the nation is pictured like a harvested field stripped by the reaper's arm or like olives left only in the highest boughs after beating. Yet this reduction is not sheer negation. In the day of stripping, a human being will look to his Maker and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel rather than the altars, Asherim, and sun-pillars fashioned by human hands. Here judgment clears sight. But that recovered sight does not soften the reason for the devastation. The fortified cities become deserted because the people forgot the God of their salvation and did not remember the rock of their refuge. Beautiful planting and foreign slips may be set out with eager cultivation and may even sprout quickly, yet the harvest proves to be a heap in the day of grief and incurable pain. What seems promising under human management collapses at the point of reaping. The final movement broadens the oracle dramatically. The many nations roar like seas and surge like mighty waters, but YHWH rebukes them and they flee far away like mountain chaff before the wind and whirling dust before the storm. Evening brings terror; before morning the threat is gone. Taken together, the oracle binds Damascus and Ephraim under one sentence, interprets Jacob's loss as a severe gleaning that may redirect sight to the Maker, exposes forgotten salvation beneath cultivated substitutes, and ends by showing that even the great roaring of the nations vanishes at a single divine rebuke.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — The burden of Damascus. The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of.
II. 4–6 — And in that day it shall come to pass, the glory of Jacob shall be made. And in that day it shall come to pass, the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree,.
III. 7–8 — At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respe. At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
IV. 9 — In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an upper. In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
V. 10–11 — Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been. Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the rock of your strength, therefore shall you plant pleasant plants, and shall set it with strange slips: In the day shall you make your plant to grow, and in the morning shall you make your seed to flourish: the harvest a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
VI. 12–14 — Woe to the multitude of many people, make a noise like the noise of the. Woe to the multitude of many people, make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the oracle: Damascus and Ephraim brought low together (vv. 1-3), Jacob reduced to a gleaned remnant (vv. 4-6), renewed looking to the Maker instead of idols (vv. 7-8), fortified desolation and failed cultivation because God was forgotten (vv. 9-11), and the roaring nations silenced by divine rebuke (vv. 12-14). Verse 1 should preserve the bluntness of the superscription and announcement. Damascus is not merely threatened but removed from city-status, and the closing phrase should keep the sense of a ruinous heap rather than a merely weakened settlement. Verse 2 is textually awkward in places and should remain concrete without over-resolving every difficulty. The abandoned cities are yielded to flocks, and the image of untroubled lying down underscores depopulation rather than pastoral blessing. Verse 3 is crucial because it joins Ephraim and Damascus in one judgment frame. The stronghold ceases from Ephraim, kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Aram is measured against the fading glory of the sons of Israel. The comparison should remain weighty and not be paraphrased away, because it binds Aram's fate to Israel's humiliation. Verses 4-6 then move into some of the oracle's most vivid reduction imagery. The thinning of Jacob's glory and flesh in verse 4 should keep the bodily force of the Hebrew. Verse 5 compares the nation to grain reaped from standing stalks in the Valley of Rephaim, while verse 6 shifts to olive gleanings left high in the tree. The numbers there should remain concrete, because the point is that only a tiny remainder survives the beating. Verses 7-8 are the theological turn and should be translated with clear contrast. Human attention turns back to the Maker and to the Holy One of Israel, and just as importantly turns away from altars, Asherim, and sun-images produced by human hands and fingers. That restoration note is narrow but real: judgment strips away false objects of trust. Verse 9 is difficult in detail, especially in its historical comparison, but the dominant point should remain the same. Fortified cities become like abandoned wooded heights because of the sons of Israel, and desolation follows. Verses 10-11 then give the reason and one of the oracle's most pointed metaphors. The people forgot the God of their salvation and failed to remember the rock of their refuge. The planting of pleasant plants and the sowing of a foreign slip should be preserved as cultivation imagery with theological edge: what is carefully planted thrives briefly but cannot secure a true harvest. Verse 11's final line is intentionally bleak; the harvest becomes a heap in the day of sickness, inheritance-loss, or grief, and the pain is incurable. Translation should preserve that abrupt reversal from early growth to unusable yield. Verses 12-14 widen from Israel and Aram to the many nations. Their tumult must retain its sea-sound, because the repeated roaring and surging are central to the rhetoric. Yet verse 13 immediately subordinates that apparent enormity to YHWH's rebuke, after which they are chased like mountain chaff before wind and like a whirling thing before storm. Verse 14 then gives the oracle its closing suddenness: evening terror, morning disappearance. The final sentence should remain sharply proverbial, identifying this as the portion of those who plunder and despoil YHWH's people. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as an oracle where northern political collapse, covenantal forgetting, remnant reduction, anti-idolatrous clarification, failed cultivated substitutes, and the instant dispersal of roaring nations all serve the sovereignty of the Holy One of Israel. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 18 — ישעיהו 18

Theme. Whirring wings beyond the rivers of Cush, swift envoys in papyrus vessels, a world summoned to watch the lifted signal, YHWH's quiet observation before harvest, the cutting down of ripening growth, and a final gift brought to Mount Zion make Isaiah 18 one of the book's most enigmatic and tightly staged international oracles. It opens with a cry over a distant land marked by the buzzing or shadowing of wings beyond the rivers of Cush. That land is active, not isolated. It sends ambassadors by sea in vessels of papyrus over the waters, and the command to the swift messengers sends them on toward a people described in striking and debated terms: stretched out and polished, feared far and wide, measured out, trampled, and inhabiting a land divided or washed by rivers. Whatever the precise ethnographic force of each phrase, the chapter portrays a people of imposing visibility and long reach. Yet the oracle then lifts the horizon far beyond one mission. All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth are summoned to look when a banner is raised on the mountains and to listen when a trumpet is blown. The local embassy becomes a global sign-scene. From there the chapter makes an unexpected move into divine stillness. YHWH says he will be quiet and will look on from his dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in harvest heat. The image is not absence but composed sovereignty. He watches without haste while events ripen. Then comes the decisive cut. Before harvest, when blossom has finished and flower turns to ripening grape, the sprigs are cut off with pruning hooks and the spreading branches are lopped away. What had seemed to be maturing strength is removed before it can be gathered. The abandoned remains are left together to birds of prey and beasts of the earth, the birds summer on them, and the beasts winter on them, so the judgment stretches across seasons. Yet it does not end in carrion. At that time a gift is brought to YHWH of hosts from that notable people, to the place of the name of YHWH of hosts, Mount Zion. Taken together, the oracle joins distant imperial movement, universal summons, divine stillness, pre-harvest judgment, and final homage at Zion into a vision where YHWH rules over peoples beyond Judah's horizon and brings even remote nations into relation with his name on his mountain.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which beyond the rivers of Ethiopi. Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, , Go, you swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! All you.
II. 5–6 — For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ri. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away cut down the branches. They shall be left together to the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter.
III. 7 — In that time shall the present be brought to YHWH of hosts of a people s. In that time shall the present be brought to YHWH of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of YHWH of hosts, the mount Zion.

Textual note. Four linked movements shape the oracle: the cry over the land beyond Cush and its envoy-mission (vv. 1-2), the world summoned to heed the mountain signal (v. 3), YHWH's still observation and pre-harvest cutting down (vv. 4-6), and the final bringing of tribute to Mount Zion (v. 7). Verse 1 is notoriously difficult and should be translated with restraint. The expression often rendered as whirring, buzzing, or shadowing wings should retain its vivid ambiguity rather than being overexplained, and the geographic marker beyond the rivers of Cush should remain explicit. Verse 2 continues the foreign scene with ambassadors sent by sea in papyrus vessels. The command to swift messengers and the repeated descriptions of the target people should be preserved in their strangeness, because the Hebrew piles up characterizations whose exact force is debated. Terms often rendered stretched out, polished, feared, measured, and trampled should not be flattened into generic ethnography. The closing line about rivers despoiling or dividing the land should also remain concrete, because the chapter emphasizes a river-marked territory. Verse 3 then universalizes the scene. All who dwell in the world are summoned to watch the raised ensign on the mountains and to hear the trumpet blast. Translation should preserve that widening from regional diplomacy to public signal. Verse 4 is the theological center and should keep the paradox of divine quietness. YHWH says he will be still and will look from his established place, and the similes of clear heat in sunshine and dew-cloud in harvest heat should remain sensory and patient. The point is not indifference but poised sovereignty. Verses 5-6 then interpret what that watchfulness means. Before harvest, after blossom and as the grape ripens, the sprigs are cut off and the spreading branches removed. The agricultural imagery should remain precise because judgment falls before apparent maturity reaches gathering. Verse 6 extends the picture into carrion exposure. What is cut down is left to birds of prey and beasts of the earth, with the birds spending the summer and the beasts the winter upon it. The long duration underscores the completeness and public visibility of the downfall. Verse 7 closes with a striking reversal or completion. At that time a gift is brought to YHWH of hosts from the very people earlier described in remote and formidable terms. The destination should remain full and explicit: the place of the name of YHWH of hosts, Mount Zion. It therefore ends not only with judgment but with ordered homage directed toward Zion. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as an oracle in which a distant Cushite horizon, internationally visible envoys, universal summons, divine stillness, untimely cutting, and eventual tribute all serve the lordship of YHWH of hosts over peoples far beyond Judah. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 19 — ישעיהו 19

Theme. YHWH riding on a swift cloud into Egypt, idols trembling, civil strife, dried waters, ruined labor, failed counselors, Judah becoming a terror, Egyptian cities speaking the language of Canaan, an altar to YHWH in Egypt, struck-and-healed repentance, and the final blessing over Egypt, Assyria, and Israel make Isaiah 19 one of Isaiah's most astonishing nation-oracles. It opens in judgment of the most direct kind. YHWH himself comes against Egypt, and the immediate effects are religious, psychological, and political all at once: idols shake, the heart of Egypt melts, Egyptians are set against Egyptians, and the nation's spirit is emptied while it gropes after idols, ghosts, and mediums. The result is not merely confusion but subjugation. Egypt is handed over to a hard master, and the blow runs through the land's whole ecological and economic order. Waters fail from the sea, the Nile dries, reeds wither, sown ground vanishes, fishermen mourn, linen-workers are ashamed, and every hired laborer is crushed in soul. The oracle then turns to the proud wisdom of the land. Zoan's princes, Noph's leaders, and Pharaoh's counselors are exposed as fools who cannot discern what YHWH of hosts has purposed. Egypt is made to stagger under a spirit of distortion like a drunkard in his vomit, and no social extremity, from head to tail, can produce a remedy. Yet from verse 16 onward the movement changes. Egypt first trembles like a woman before the waved hand of YHWH, and even the land of Judah becomes a terror because of YHWH's counsel. But fear is not the final word. Five cities in Egypt speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to YHWH of hosts. An altar stands to YHWH in the midst of Egypt and a pillar at its border, so that the land once known for idols bears signs of covenantal witness. Egypt cries out under oppression, YHWH sends a savior and defender, and the Egyptians come to know YHWH, worship with sacrifice and offering, and pay their vows. The paradox of judgment and mercy is then stated directly: YHWH strikes Egypt, striking and healing, so that they return and are healed. The climax widens beyond Egypt alone. A highway links Egypt and Assyria, the two great historical powers move freely toward one another, and Israel becomes a third alongside them, a blessing in the midst of the earth. The final blessing is breathtaking: Egypt is called my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance. Taken together, the oracle binds anti-idolatrous judgment, ecological collapse, political folly, holy terror, conversion, healing, international reconciliation, and shared blessing into a vision where YHWH's sovereignty over the nations ends not only in humiliation but in a reordered world gathered around his name.

Outline.

I. 1 — The burden of Egypt. The burden of Egypt. Behold, YHWH rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
II. 2–4 — And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have.
III. 5–10 — And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted an. And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away; the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no . The.
IV. 11–15 — Surely the princes of Zoan fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of. Surely the princes of Zoan fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say you to Pharaoh, I the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where they? where your wise ? and let them tell you now, and let them know what YHWH of hosts has purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are.
V. 16–17 — In that day shall Egypt be like to women: and it shall be afraid and fea. In that day shall Egypt be like to women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of YHWH of hosts, which he shaketh over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of YHWH of hosts, which he has determined against it.
VI. 18–22 — In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to YHWH of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. In that day shall there be an altar to YHWH in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to YHWH. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness to YHWH of hosts in the land of.
VII. 23 — In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the As. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
VIII. 24–25 — In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a ble. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom YHWH of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the oracle: YHWH's coming against Egypt and the collapse of its internal order (vv. 1-4), the drying of waters and the ruin of labor bound to the Nile (vv. 5-10), the humiliation of Egypt's counselors and the divinely induced staggering of the nation (vv. 11-15), Egypt's fear before YHWH and Judah (vv. 16-17), Egyptian acknowledgment of YHWH through speech, altar, cry, and healing (vv. 18-22), the highway between Egypt and Assyria (v. 23), and the final triadic blessing over Egypt, Assyria, and Israel (vv. 24-25). Verse 1 should retain the vivid theophanic force of YHWH riding on a swift cloud and coming to Egypt. The line is not merely metaphorical ornament; it sets the whole oracle under direct divine approach. The shaking of the idols and melting of Egypt's heart should remain immediate and parallel. Verses 2-4 then unfold the political result. Egypt is set against Egypt in layers from brotherhood to kingdom, its spirit is emptied out, and its search through idols, ghosts, and mediums should be preserved as an intensification of helplessness. Verse 4's hard lord and fierce king should remain stark, because the oracle presents foreign or harsh domination as part of YHWH's sentence. Verses 5-10 are tightly bound to the Nile-world and should keep their ecological concreteness. Whether ים in verse 5 is heard as the Nile, a sea-like expanse, or a linked water-system, the drying imagery must remain severe. Reeds, rushes, riverbank growth, sowings by the Nile, fishers, net-casters, flax-workers, weavers, and wage-earners all belong to one collapsing economic order. Verse 10 is difficult in detail, but the thrust is clear: the social foundations and the lives dependent on them are crushed. Verses 11-15 shift from economic devastation to failed state wisdom. Zoan and Noph should remain named, because the humiliation of famous political centers matters to the rhetoric. Pharaoh's advisers boast ancient royal wisdom, but they cannot tell what YHWH of hosts has purposed. Verse 14's spirit of distortion or confusion should remain strong, and the simile of a drunkard staggering in vomit should not be softened; it portrays total incapacity. Verse 15 then underscores the point with a merism from head to tail, palm-branch to reed. Verses 16-17 mark the transition from collapse to fear. Egypt becomes like women before the brandished hand of YHWH, and Judah's land becomes a terror not because of Judah's own independent power but because of YHWH's counsel concerning Egypt. Verses 18-22 then introduce one of the chapter's most surprising reversals. Five cities in Egypt speak the language of Canaan and swear to YHWH of hosts. The city-name in verse 18 is textually disputed and should be handled cautiously, but the wider point is unaffected: Egyptian urban life is now marked by allegiance to YHWH. Verse 19's altar in the midst of Egypt and pillar at its border should both remain, because inward and outward witness are central to the picture. Verse 20 presents those signs as testimony, and verse 20-21 should preserve the exodus-like pattern in which oppressed people cry out and YHWH sends a savior and champion. Verse 21 is equally important: Egypt comes to know YHWH not abstractly but through sacrifice, offering, vow, and fulfillment. Verse 22 then states the paradox with precision: YHWH strikes Egypt, striking and healing, and return leads to healing. Verse 23 widens the horizon through the highway between Egypt and Assyria. The line about Egypt serving with Assyria should be translated carefully, but the core image is shared access and coordinated worship or service under a new order. Verses 24-25 give the oracle its climactic reordering of the nations. Israel is a third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. The blessing formulas in verse 25 should remain explicit and undiminished: Egypt, once judged for idols, is called my people; Assyria, once the rod of judgment, is called the work of my hands; and Israel remains my inheritance. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as an Egypt oracle that moves from theophanic judgment and civil-ecological collapse through failed wisdom and holy fear into healing, worship, international reconciliation, and astonishing covenantal blessing. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 20 — ישעיהו 20

Theme. Sargon's campaign against Ashdod, Isaiah stripped of sackcloth and sandals, three years of naked-and-barefoot sign-bearing, the shameful deportation of Egypt and Cush, and the coastal inhabitants' cry of failed trust make Isaiah 20 one of the book's starkest acted warnings against political reliance on anti-Assyrian hopes. It opens with precise historical anchoring. The Assyrian commander comes to Ashdod under Sargon, fights against it, and captures it, so the chapter is rooted in imperial movement rather than abstract symbolism. Into that setting YHWH speaks to Isaiah and commands him to remove the sackcloth from his waist and the sandals from his feet. The prophet obeys and walks naked and barefoot, not as private eccentricity but as public prophetic embodiment. YHWH then interprets the act: for three years Isaiah's exposed condition serves as sign and portent against Egypt and Cush. The sign is severe because the fate it announces is severe. The king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. It therefore attacks more than military optimism; it attacks the prestige of the very powers on which Judah and the coastlands might imagine leaning. Those who looked to Cush as hope and to Egypt as glory will be shattered and ashamed. The final voice belongs to the inhabitant of this coastland, who recognizes too late what has happened: behold, this was our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape? Taken together, the oracle binds historical invasion, prophetic sign-act, imperial humiliation of Egypt and Cush, exposed political illusion, and the desperate question of survival into a compact warning where YHWH strips away confidence in foreign alliances by making their end visible in advance.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria. In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; At the same time spake YHWH by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off your loins, and put off your shoe from your foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And YHWH said, Like as my servant Isaiah.
II. 5–6 — And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

Textual note. Three linked movements shape the chapter: the historical notice of Ashdod's capture (v. 1), Isaiah's enacted sign and YHWH's interpretation of it (vv. 2-4), and the resulting shame and fear of those who trusted in Cush and Egypt (vv. 5-6). Verse 1 should preserve its historical specificity. Tartan, Ashdod, Sargon king of Assyria, and the capture of the city belong to the chapter's framing force, because the sign-act is set within recognizable imperial aggression. Verse 2 is equally important and should keep both the sackcloth and sandal details. The prophet's stripped condition should be translated plainly without over-softening it; the shock of the sign depends on bodily exposure and vulnerability. Verse 3 clarifies that the action lasted three years and functioned as both sign and portent against Egypt and Cush. That duration should remain explicit, because it gives the sign public persistence rather than momentary theatricality. Verse 4 then states the meaning in full. The captives of Egypt and exiles of Cush, young and old, are led away naked and barefoot with the shame of exposed buttocks. The wording should remain blunt, because humiliation is part of the announced judgment and part of the argument against trusting those powers. Verses 5-6 turn from the sign to the audience's shattered confidence. The relation between Cush as object of expectation and Egypt as object of glory or boast should remain clear, because the chapter targets prestige-politics as much as military calculation. The final line from the coastland inhabitant should preserve its startled recognition and desperate logic: if the powers to whom we fled are humiliated, what hope remains for us before Assyria? Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a short but forceful sign-oracle in which historical Assyrian advance, prophetic exposure, and the shaming of Egypt and Cush combine to warn Judah and its neighbors against salvation by foreign alliance. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 21 — ישעיהו 21

Theme. Tempest from the Negeb, a hard vision of treachery and plunder, the prophet doubled over in labor-pains, the watchman's cry over fallen Babylon, Duma's question about the night, and Arabia's fugitives receiving only brief refuge before Kedar's glory collapses make Isaiah 21 a chain of burden-oracles bound together by night-watch, alarm, and the failure of human security. It opens with the burden of the wilderness of the sea, a title as strange and unsettling as the storm-image that follows. Like whirlwinds sweeping through the south, the vision comes out of the wilderness from a dreadful land. What is shown is harsh: the treacherous deal treacherously, the destroyer destroys, Elam rises, Media lays siege, and the prophet's own body is seized by anguish like the pangs of childbirth. Desired twilight turns into terror. Yet the command to set the table, keep watch, eat, drink, and suddenly rise to anoint the shield shows that complacent feasting is already being overtaken by invasion. The central movement then becomes one of surveillance. A watchman is posted to report what he sees, and after attentive waiting the report comes: fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the carved images of her gods are shattered to the ground. The oracle moves from private convulsion to public announcement and then turns tenderly toward the addressed people as threshed grain receiving only what YHWH of hosts has truly spoken. The second burden compresses itself into a haunting exchange. From Seir comes the repeated question, Watchman, what of the night? and the answer gives only partial relief: morning comes, and also night. Inquiry is allowed, but no easy daylight is granted. The final burden turns to Arabia. Caravan-groups lodge in scrub, Tema brings water to the thirsty and bread to the fugitive, and the travelers are plainly refugees from sword, drawn bow, and the weight of war. Even that hospitality is set under a measured deadline. Within a hireling's year all the glory of Kedar will fail, and the remaining number of its mighty archers will be few. Taken together, the chapter joins Babylon's collapse, night-watch uncertainty, and Arabian diminution into one prophetic complex where nations strain to see what is coming, but only YHWH's word makes the night legible.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — The burden of the desert of the sea. The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared to me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
II. 3–4 — Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me,. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing ; I was dismayed at the seeing . My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure has he turned into fear to me.
III. 5 — Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, you princ. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, you princes, anoint the shield.
IV. 6–9 — For thus has YHWH said to me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what h. For thus has YHWH said to me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh.
V. 10 — O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of YHW. O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared to you.
VI. 11–12 — The burden of Dumah. The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if you will enquire, enquire you: return, come.
VII. 13–17 — The burden upon Arabia. The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall you lodge, O you travelling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus has YHWH said.

Textual note. Three closely related burdens shape the chapter: the wilderness-of-the-sea vision culminating in Babylon's fall (vv. 1-10), the brief dialogue concerning Duma/Seir and the night (vv. 11-12), and the Arabian oracle concerning Dedan, Tema, and Kedar (vv. 13-17). Verse 1 should preserve both the enigmatic superscription and the violent motion of the comparison. The wilderness of the sea is deliberately unsettling, and the Negeb storm image gives the whole opening a force of sudden, sweeping threat from a dreadful region. Verse 2 identifies the vision as hard and should keep the stark parallelism of treacherous dealing and destructive plundering. Elam and Media should remain named, because the oracle's international frame matters to the recognition-scene that follows. Verses 3-4 then register the prophet's bodily and emotional response. The birth-pang comparison should remain strong, and the line about twilight turning into terror should preserve the reversal from desired evening to dread. Verse 5 is famously cinematic and should retain that abruptness: prepare the table, watch the watch, eat, drink, rise, anoint the shield. The point is that banqueting and vigilance collide just as danger breaks in. Verses 6-9 form the watchman sequence and should be translated with patient attention. The watchman is stationed to report exactly what he sees; the paired riders and animal-mounted traffic in verse 7 should remain concrete; and verse 8's cry, whether rendered as lion or as a shouted call, should preserve the intensity of long, continual watch. Verse 9 is the center of the first burden and must keep the doubled fall: fallen, fallen is Babylon. The breaking of her idols to the ground links the city's downfall to anti-idolatrous judgment and should remain explicit. Verse 10 then turns to the addressed people in language of threshing and grain-floor imagery; the tenderness and authority of that conclusion should both remain audible. Verses 11-12 are brief but difficult. The burden of Duma likely plays on Edom/Seir associations, and the repeated question to the watchman about the night should remain compressed and insistent. The answer should preserve its tension: morning comes, and also night. Even the invitation to ask and return does not dissolve the ambiguity. Verses 13-17 then turn to Arabia and should keep the concrete tribal and travel references. Dedanite caravan-groups lodge in the thicket, Tema brings water and bread to fugitives, and verses 15-16 explain that these are people fleeing swords, drawn bow, and the heaviness of war. Verse 16's hireling-year formula should remain exact, because it fixes the reduction of Kedar's glory within a measured and unsentimental term. Verse 17 then narrows the judgment to the remnant of Kedar's mighty bowmen, whose number becomes small because YHWH, the God of Israel, has spoken. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a triad of night-burdens in which Babylon falls under watch, Duma receives only a guarded answer, and Arabian strength diminishes under a timed word, all under the sovereignty of YHWH's revealed speech. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 22 — ישעיהו 22

Theme. The valley of vision crowded on the rooftops, slain without battle, rulers captured in flight, Isaiah weeping over the daughter of his people, frantic fortification without regard for the Maker, feasting under sentence, Shebna's tomb-proud self-exaltation, and Eliakim's rise with the key of the house of David make Isaiah 22 one of the sharpest chapters on Jerusalem's blindness under pressure and the politics of stewardship. It opens with bewildered interrogation. The city is loud, crowded, and exhilarated on the housetops, yet the scene is not triumph. Its slain are not sword-slain heroes of open battle, its rulers have fled and been captured, and the prophet refuses shallow consolation as he looks on the devastation of the daughter of his people. The day belongs to the Lord YHWH of hosts: tumult, trampling, confusion, walls broken down, and cries rising to the mountain. Elam and Kir stand at the gates, the finest valleys fill with chariots, and Judah's covering is stripped away. Yet the deepest indictment falls not on military weakness alone but on spiritual misreading. Jerusalem inventories weapons, counts breaches, gathers waters, numbers houses, tears down buildings to strengthen walls, and makes a reservoir between the double walls for the old pool. All of this is strategic and energetic, but the chapter's decisive sentence is that the people did not look to the one who made the city or see the one who formed it long ago. When YHWH called for weeping, mourning, baldness, and sackcloth, the response was festal fatalism: let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. The revealed answer is severe: this iniquity will not be atoned for until death. The final movement narrows from the city to the steward's house. Shebna, who is over the palace, is rebuked for carving out a grand tomb for himself on high, as though office guaranteed permanence and honor. YHWH will hurl him away, roll him up like a ball into a wide land, and bring his pompous chariots to shame. In his place Eliakim son of Hilkiah is called, clothed, strengthened, and given authority as a father to Jerusalem and Judah. The key of the house of David is laid on his shoulder so that what he opens none will shut and what he shuts none will open. He is driven in like a peg in a secure place and becomes a throne of glory to his father's house. Yet even that stable image is finally qualified: the peg fastened in a secure place will one day give way, and the load hanging on it will be cut off. Taken together, the oracle binds civic panic, spiritual blindness, unatoned revelry, arrogant office-holding, delegated Davidic authority, and the fragility even of established human supports into a vision where Jerusalem is judged for looking everywhere except to the God who shaped its life.

Outline.

I. 1 — The burden of the valley of vision. The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth you now, that you are wholly gone up to the housetops?
II. 2–4 — You that are full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: your slain. You that are full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: your slain not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All your rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in you are bound together, have fled from far. Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling.
III. 5 — For a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by YHWH YH. For a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by YHWH YHWH of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
IV. 6–8 — And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men horsemen, and Kir uncovere. And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. And it shall come to pass, your choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. And he discovered the covering of Judah, and you didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
V. 9–11 — You have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many. You have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have you broken down to fortify the wall. You made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but you have not looked to the maker thereof,.
VI. 12–14 — And in that day did YHWH YHWH of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning. And in that day did YHWH YHWH of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. And it was revealed in mine ears by YHWH of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged.
VII. 15–19 — Thus says YHWH YHWH of hosts, Go, get you to this treasurer, to Shebna,. Thus says YHWH YHWH of hosts, Go, get you to this treasurer, to Shebna, which over the house, , What have you here? and whom have you here, that you have hewed you out a sepulchre here, he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? Behold, YHWH will carry you away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover.
VIII. 20–25 — And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliak. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: And I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your girdle, and I will commit your government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: Jerusalem's bewildered rooftop scene and captured leadership (vv. 1-4), the Lord's day of confusion and the encircling military threat (vv. 5-8a), the city's energetic defenses without theological sight (vv. 8b-11), revelry under a call to mourning and the sentence of unatoned guilt (vv. 12-14), the downfall of Shebna (vv. 15-19), and the calling and qualified establishment of Eliakim (vv. 20-25). Verse 1 should preserve the strangeness of the superscription 'valley of vision' and the interrogative opening. The rooftops suggest public excitement or alarm, but the chapter immediately exposes that atmosphere as deluded or unstable. Verses 2-4 should retain the contrast between noisy celebration and non-heroic death. The city's slain are not fallen in conventional battle, the rulers are captured in flight, and Isaiah's refusal of comfort should remain emotionally sharp. Verse 5 then marks the whole crisis as a day belonging to the Lord YHWH of hosts. The cluster of tumult, trampling, and confusion should stay dense, and the lines about wall-breaking and crying to the mountain should keep the sense of public collapse. Verses 6-8a introduce Elam and Kir and should preserve their martial concreteness. The filled valleys and horsemen at the gate show Jerusalem under real military pressure, and the phrase about uncovering Judah's covering should remain vivid because it signals exposure rather than mere strategic setback. Verses 8b-11 are among the chapter's most important lines and should be translated with their irony intact. Looking to the weapons in the House of the Forest, seeing the breaches, gathering lower-pool waters, counting houses, and breaking down buildings to fortify the wall all show intense urban competence. The reservoir between the double walls for the old pool is likewise an unmistakable act of preparation. Yet verse 11's rebuke is the theological center: they did not look to the Maker or see the one who formed the city long ago. The point is not that preparation is inherently wrong, but that preparation divorced from regard for YHWH is blindness. Verses 12-14 then sharpen that blindness into moral response. The Lord called for lament-signs, but the people answered with slaughter, meat, wine, and the fatalist line about tomorrow's death. The exposed divine word in verse 14 should remain severe and direct: this iniquity will not be expiated until death. Verses 15-19 turn to Shebna and should preserve the personal force of the rebuke. His grand tomb-cutting 'on high' must remain visible, because it embodies self-exalting permanence. The imagery of hurling, wrapping, and throwing him like a ball into a broad land should keep its humiliation. Verse 18's shame of the chariots of his glory should likewise remain explicit. Verses 20-25 then establish Eliakim, but with important texture. He is clothed and strengthened with Shebna's garments and authority, becoming a father to Jerusalem and Judah. Verse 22 is crucial and should preserve the key of the house of David on his shoulder and the authority to open and shut without reversal. Verse 23's peg in a secure place and throne of glory should remain strong, because the image explains his stabilizing office for the household. Yet verses 24-25 qualify that stability. The household's weight hangs on him down to small vessels, but in the final saying the peg fixed in a secure place gives way, falls, and the load on it is cut off. Translation should preserve that tension rather than flattening Eliakim into an uncomplicated ideal. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as an oracle where Jerusalem's crisis, festive denial, and administrative ambition are exposed under YHWH's gaze, and where even rightful authority in the Davidic household is shown as delegated, weight-bearing, and finally precarious under the sovereign word of God. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 23 — ישעיהו 23

Theme. Howling ships of Tarshish, silent coastlands, Sidon's shame, Nile-fed trade, Tyre's ancient exultation brought low, YHWH's counsel against commercial glory, the seventy-year forgetting of Tyre, and the final consecration of her gain to YHWH make Isaiah 23 a remarkable oracle about maritime wealth, prestige, and the Lord's right to humble and redirect the economies of the nations. It opens in a cry of commercial catastrophe. The ships of Tarshish howl because Tyre is laid waste, cut off from house and harbor, and the news reaches them from the land of Kittim. The coastlands are stunned into silence, Sidon's sea-borne merchants are interrupted, and the grain of Shihor and the harvest of the Nile, once Tyre's revenue and the merchandise of nations, become part of the lament over her collapse. The sea itself is personified as speaking in shame, as though the maritime womb that once fostered Tyre now disowns motherhood and youth. Egypt trembles at the report. The whole network is affected. Yet the oracle does not merely record commercial disruption; it asks who has purposed this against crown-giving Tyre, whose merchants were princes and whose traders were the honored of the earth. The answer is explicit: YHWH of hosts has purposed it in order to profane all beautiful pride and humble all the honored of the earth. Tarshish may flow freely like an unbanked Nile, but no old restraint remains. YHWH stretches his hand over the sea, shakes kingdoms, and commands against Canaan to destroy its strongholds. Sidon's daughter is told that even passage to Kittim will not provide true rest. The oracle then widens its angle through Chaldea and devastation before returning to the ships of Tarshish, whose stronghold is ruined. Yet the oracle does not end in permanent disappearance. Tyre is forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king, and then remembered like a forgotten prostitute taking up the lyre and circling the city to be remembered again. She returns to her hire and trades with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the ground. But the final turn is theologically startling. Her merchandise and wages become holiness to YHWH. They are not stored up as autonomous wealth but become provision for those who dwell before YHWH, for eating to fullness and for durable clothing. Taken together, the oracle binds the collapse of maritime prestige, the humiliation of world-honored commerce, the long eclipse and return of Tyre, and the eventual redirection of its gain into a vision where YHWH judges the pride of trade without denying his power to reclaim even international wealth for holy use.

Outline.

I. 1 — The burden of Tyre. The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
II. 2–3 — Be still, you inhabitants of the isle; you whom the merchants of Zidon,. Be still, you inhabitants of the isle; you whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
III. 4–5 — Be you ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea. Be you ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, bring up virgins. As at the report concerning Egypt, shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
IV. 6–7 — Pass you over to Tarshish; howl, you inhabitants of the isle. Pass you over to Tarshish; howl, you inhabitants of the isle. this your joyous , whose antiquity of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
V. 8–9 — Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning , whose merchants. Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning , whose merchants princes, whose traffickers the honourable of the earth? YHWH of hosts has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
VI. 10–12 — Pass through your land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: no more stren. Pass through your land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: no more strength. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: YHWH has given a commandment against the merchant , to destroy the strong holds thereof. And he said, You shall no more rejoice, O you oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shall.
VII. 13–14 — Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, the Assyrian foun. Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; he brought it to ruin. Howl, you ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
VIII. 15–17 — And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seve. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, you harlot that have been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of.
IX. 18 — And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to YHWH: it shall not. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to YHWH: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before YHWH, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the oracle: the opening maritime lament over Tyre's devastation (vv. 1-7), the declaration that YHWH purposed the humbling of Tyrian commercial glory (vv. 8-12), the devastation reframed through imperial history and renewed lament (vv. 13-14), Tyre's seventy-year eclipse and remembered return (vv. 15-17), and the final consecration of Tyre's trade to YHWH (v. 18). Verse 1 should preserve the seaborne immediacy of the burden. The ships of Tarshish are the first mourners, and the line about Tyre being laid waste from house and harbor should remain abrupt and concrete. Kittim should remain named, because the news travels through the Mediterranean network the chapter is mapping. Verses 2-3 widen the lament to coastland dwellers and Sidonian merchants. The reference to Shihor and the harvest of the Nile should remain explicit, because Tyre's commercial web includes Egyptian grain and international exchange. Verse 4 personifies the sea and the stronghold of the sea in a strikingly maternal denial; that rhetoric should remain strong, because the city once associated with generative maritime prosperity now speaks as though it had borne no children. Verse 5's Egyptian reaction should likewise remain as a networked consequence of Tyre's fall. Verses 6-7 press the hearer to compare present humiliation with Tyre's ancient exultant past, even including her far-traveling feet. It is not describing a minor port but a city of old international reach. Verses 8-9 then ask and answer the key theological question. Tyre is 'the crowning one' or crown-giver, whose merchants were princes and whose traders were the honored of the earth. The answer must stay explicit: YHWH of hosts planned this to profane beautiful pride and humble earthly honor. The central issue is not commerce as such but pride attached to global prestige. Verses 10-12 are difficult in places but should preserve the sense of loosened structure and denied rest. The daughter of Tarshish is told to overflow her land like the Nile, because the old restraint is gone. YHWH's hand over the sea and his shaking of kingdoms should remain active and sovereign. The address to the oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon should also keep its edge: even flight to Kittim will not secure repose. Verse 13 is notoriously compressed and should be translated with care, but the larger point is clear enough: imperial powers and ruined fortifications are part of the historical theater within which Tyre's fall is understood. Verse 14 returns to the opening howl of the Tarshish ships and should preserve the refraining effect. Verses 15-17 introduce the seventy-year period and the prostitute-song image. The phrase 'like the days of one king' should remain, because the chapter measures Tyre's eclipse in a formulaic historical term. The song about the forgotten prostitute should not be flattened away; it explains Tyre's remembered reentry into circulation among the kingdoms of the earth. Verse 17's return to wages and prostitution language should remain commercially and morally vivid. Verse 18 then provides the oracle's final reversal. Tyre's merchandise and hire become holiness to YHWH; they are neither hoarded nor stored up autonomously, but serve those who dwell before YHWH for abundant food and enduring clothing. That ending should remain surprising and concrete, because it does not simply erase commerce but subordinates it to the holy economy of YHWH's presence. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a Tyre oracle in which global trade, maritime identity, imperial humiliation, remembered return, and the sanctification of wealth are all gathered under the counsel of YHWH of hosts. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 24 — ישעיהו 24

Theme. YHWH emptying the earth, social distinctions collapsing, the world withering under broken covenant, joy and wine failing, the city of chaos shattered, a gleaning-remnant praising from sea and coastlands, treachery still multiplying, terror-pit-snare overtaking the earth, and YHWH reigning in Zion while moon and sun are abashed make this oracle the great widening of Isaiah's judgment horizon from particular nations to the inhabited world itself. It opens with totalizing devastation. YHWH lays waste the earth, twists its face, and scatters its inhabitants so thoroughly that priest and people, master and servant, buyer and seller, lender and borrower all share one leveling sentence. The world is not only politically shaken but morally indicted: the earth lies polluted under its inhabitants because they transgressed laws, violated statute, and broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse devours the earth, its dwellers bear guilt, and only a few humans remain. The loss runs through creation and culture alike. Vine and new wine fail, tambourines and lyres fall silent, strong drink turns bitter, the city of chaos is broken, and every house is shut against entry. This is not merely military desolation but the collapse of festive human ordering. Yet the chapter does not end in silence. Like olives after beating or gleanings after vintage, a remnant remains in the midst of the earth and among the peoples. They lift their voice, sing for the majesty of YHWH, and from the west, east, and coastlands call for YHWH's glory. Even there, however, praise is interrupted by the prophet's cry of emaciation and woe, because treachery still breeds treachery. The earth-dwellers face fear, pit, and snare, and escape from one terror only falls into another as the windows on high are opened and the foundations of the earth shake. The world reels like a drunkard and sways like a hut because its transgression lies heavy upon it. Finally the horizon rises beyond the earth to the host of the height on high and the kings of the ground on the ground, gathered, shut up, and later visited under YHWH's judgment. The ending is royal and dazzling: moon is confounded, sun ashamed, because YHWH of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his elders is glory. Taken together, covenantal pollution, cultural collapse, remnant praise, unavoidable judgment, cosmic shaking, and Zion-centered kingship turn the whole earth into the stage on which the universal reign of Israel's God is revealed.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — Behold, YHWH maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it. Behold, YHWH maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with.
II. 4–6 — The earth mourneth fadeth away, the world languisheth fadeth away, the h. The earth mourneth fadeth away, the world languisheth fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate:.
III. 7–12 — The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sig. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. a crying.
IV. 13–16 — When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, as the. When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of YHWH, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify you YHWH in the fires, the name of YHWH God of Israel in the isles of the sea. From.
V. 17–20 — Fear, and the pit, and the snare, upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down,.
VI. 21–23 — And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall punish the host of the. And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when YHWH of.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the earth emptied and social distinctions leveled (vv. 1-3), the world withering under covenantal violation and curse (vv. 4-6), the collapse of festal life and the city of chaos (vv. 7-12), the remnant-like praise that rises from the earth's edges amid continuing treachery (vv. 13-16a), fear-pit-snare and the convulsion of the earth (vv. 16b-20), and YHWH's judgment of heavenly and earthly powers culminating in his reign in Zion (vv. 21-23). Verse 1 should retain the energetic cluster of verbs: YHWH empties, lays waste, twists the face of the earth, and scatters its inhabitants. The effect is not localized devastation but world-order undone. Verse 2 then levels every social distinction and should preserve the breadth of the pairings, because the point is comprehensive equality under judgment rather than social reform. Verse 3 intensifies that certainty by doubling the devastation language and grounding it in YHWH's spoken word. Verses 4-6 then explain why the whole world withers. The earth, world, and high people languish together, and verse 5 is crucial: the inhabitants transgressed laws, violated statute, and broke an everlasting covenant. The exact covenantal scope can be debated, but translation should preserve the universal moral force rather than reducing it to one narrow legal infraction. Verse 6's curse-devouring imagery and the remaining few should remain stark, because they establish both the sentence and the remnant-scale survival that later imagery resumes. Verses 7-12 move through the end of festal life and should keep their sensory concreteness. Wine fails, merry-hearted ones groan, tambourines cease, joyous noise stops, song no longer accompanies drink, and the city of tohu is broken. The phrase 'city of chaos' or 'city of emptiness' in verse 10 should remain weighty, because it marks a human order reduced to anti-order. Verse 12's shattered gate should preserve the civic image of defenseless desolation. Verses 13-16a then introduce a crucial counterpoint. The olive-beating and vintage-gleaning imagery should stay explicit, because they tie the survivors to a remnant pattern rather than broad recovery. From sea, east, and coastlands comes praise to YHWH's majesty and glory, and verse 16's 'beauty/glory to the righteous one' should remain resonant even if the precise referent is discussed. The second half of verse 16 immediately reverses tone, and that turn must remain sharp. The prophet's cry of wasting away and the repeated treachery of traitors prevent the praise from being misheard as easy restoration. Verses 17-20 form one of the chapter's most memorable judgment sequences. Fear, pit, and snare should retain their rapid escalation, and the chain in verse 18 should preserve the logic of inescapability. The opened windows from on high and the shaken foundations of the earth intentionally recall cosmic-scale upheaval. Verses 19-20 then pile verb upon verb to depict the earth broken, split, tottering, reeling like a drunkard, and swaying like a temporary hut. The reason is moral weight: its transgression is heavy upon it. Verse 21 widens the judgment to the host of the height on high and the kings of the ground on the ground. Translation should preserve both spheres, because the chapter's scope is cosmic and political together. Verse 22's imprisonment and later visitation should remain concrete, showing that powers can be gathered and confined under divine rule. Verse 23 then gives the final scene of YHWH's kingship. Moon and sun are shamed not because they are evil but because YHWH's glory surpasses all lesser lights when he reigns in Zion and Jerusalem before his elders. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a universal judgment vision where covenant-breaking ruins the earth, remnant praise survives at the margins, cosmic and human orders convulse together, and YHWH's royal glory finally outshines every other source of splendor. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 25 — ישעיהו 25

Theme. Praise for YHWH's long-formed counsels, the reduction of the fortified city to ruin, refuge for the poor against ruthless storm, a mountain feast for all peoples, the swallowing of the world-covering shroud and of death itself, tears wiped away, the jubilant confession of those who waited for salvation, and the humiliation of Moab's pride together make Isaiah 25 one of the most radiant answer-songs to the universal judgment vision of the previous chapter. It opens as direct doxology. YHWH is named as 'my God,' and praise rises because what has happened is not improvisation but the execution of plans formed from long ago in faithfulness and firmness. The ruined city therefore matters not only as political collapse but as proof that the God who judges history does so according to reliable purpose. From there the chapter turns outward. Strong peoples and the city of ruthless nations now honor or fear YHWH precisely because he has shown himself to be a stronghold for the poor and needy in distress. The ruthless had seemed like storm, blast, and desert heat, but their force is answered by divine shelter and by a humbling as decisive as shade breaking oppressive sun. The middle movement then rises into one of Isaiah's great Zion promises. On this mountain YHWH of hosts prepares for all peoples a feast of rich food and well-aged wine, and there he destroys the shroud cast over the nations and swallows up death forever. The world-order threatened in Isaiah 24 is answered not by mere survival but by a renewed communion marked by abundance, unveiled life, and the removal of tears and reproach. The response in verse 9 is therefore central. The saved community identifies YHWH openly as the God for whom it waited and calls one another to rejoice in his salvation. Yet the chapter does not dissolve into generalized triumph. It returns to judgment in a focused and humiliating image of Moab trampled like straw in foul water, spreading its hands like a swimmer only to find its pride brought low. The fortified height of its walls is cast down to dust. Taken together, the chapter binds doxology, anti-imperial reversal, protection for the poor, eschatological feast, victory over death, public confession, and the abasement of proud resistance into a Zion song where YHWH's faithful purpose is shown to end not only in judgment but in the public vindication and joy of his people.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — O YHWH, you my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you h. O YHWH, you my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful counsels of old faithfulness truth. For you have made of a city an heap; a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
II. 3–5 — Therefore shall the strong people glorify you, the city of the terrible. Therefore shall the strong people glorify you, the city of the terrible nations shall fear you. For you have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones as a storm the wall. You shall bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place;.
III. 6–8 — And in this mountain shall YHWH of hosts make to all people a feast of f. And in this mountain shall YHWH of hosts make to all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and YHWH YHWH.
IV. 9 — And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this our God; we have waited for h. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this YHWH; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
V. 10–12 — For in this mountain shall the hand of YHWH rest, and Moab shall be trod. For in this mountain shall the hand of YHWH rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: praise for YHWH's faithful long-planned wonders in the ruin of the city (vv. 1-2), the honoring of YHWH by strong peoples because he shelters the poor and silences the ruthless (vv. 3-5), the mountain feast for all peoples together with the swallowing of the world-covering shroud and of death itself (vv. 6-8), the saved community's confession that it has waited for this God and now rejoices in his salvation (v. 9), and the final humiliation of Moab's pride and fortifications beneath YHWH's resting hand on the mountain (vv. 10-12). Verse 1 should preserve the directness of the address and the compact force of the final pair. YHWH is not praised vaguely but for having enacted marvelous plans from long ago in faithfulness and firmness; translation should keep both the antiquity and the reliability of the divine counsel visible. Verse 2 then grounds the praise in urban overthrow. The city is made a heap, the fortified town a ruin, and the foreign palace is reduced so thoroughly that it will never be rebuilt; the point is less the naming of one locale than the demonstration that hostile civic strength can be unmade by YHWH. Verses 3-5 explain why the nations now respond differently. Strong peoples glorify YHWH because he has proved to be a refuge for the poor and needy in distress. The similes in verses 4-5 should remain vivid: the blast of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, and their uproar is subdued like desert heat broken by cloud-shadow. The transition matters because the God who overthrows fortified pride is the same God who shelters the vulnerable. Verses 6-8 are among the chapter's theological centerpieces and should be translated with full material and eschatological force. The doubled feast language in verse 6 should keep both abundance and refinement visible: rich food, aged wine, marrow-fatness, and strained or purified wine. Verse 7's twofold image of the covering and the veil spread over all peoples should remain explicit, because the chapter portrays a universal human condition being removed on Zion. Verse 8 must preserve the directness of the triumph: death is swallowed forever, tears are wiped from every face, and the reproach of YHWH's people is removed from all the earth. The closing clause, 'for YHWH has spoken,' seals that promise with prophetic certainty. Verse 9 then gives the fitting communal response and should retain its repeated waiting-language. The point is not generic piety but recognition that the long-awaited salvation has now arrived in the God who has acted. Verses 10-12 return to judgment with difficult but vivid imagery focused on Moab. The hand of YHWH resting on this mountain should be preserved as a settled sign of favor and sovereign presence, while Moab beneath is trampled like straw in the liquid filth of a dung-pit. The exact nuance of the final phrase in verse 10 is debated, but the image's humiliating downwardness should remain unmistakable. Verse 11's swimming simile should likewise stay concrete: Moab stretches out its hands as though to stay afloat, yet YHWH brings low its pride together with the skill or stratagem of those hands. Verse 12 closes with triple abasement language for the high fortification of the walls, carrying the chapter from lofty feast to dust-level humiliation for proud resistance. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a Zion hymn in which YHWH's ancient counsels are vindicated through judgment on the ruthless, shelter for the poor, the abolition of death's covering power, and the public joy of a people whose waiting has not been in vain. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 26 — ישעיהו 26

Theme. A song in Judah celebrating the strong city of salvation, open gates for the righteous nation, peace for the mind stayed on YHWH, the humiliation of the lofty city beneath the feet of the poor, longing for YHWH's judgments, the refusal of the wicked to learn righteousness, confession that all peace and achievement come from God, the extinction of former tyrant-lords, the community's labor pains that seemed to produce only wind, the startling promise that the dead will live, and the summons to hide until indignation passes together make this chapter a sustained answer to the Zion hope and proud-city judgment of the surrounding chapters. It opens as a communal song. Judah is given a strong city not by masonry alone but by salvation itself, and its gates are opened not to any passerby but to a righteous nation keeping faithfulness. The movement quickly presses inward from civic imagery to spiritual posture: the steadfast mind is kept in perfect peace because it trusts in YHWH, and trust in YHWH is urged forever because YHWH is an everlasting rock. That confidence is not sentimental. It rests on his act of bringing down the exalted city until it lies in dust under the feet of the poor. From there the oracle turns contemplative and searching. The righteous path is made level by God, and the faithful community confesses that it has waited for YHWH in the path of his judgments and desired his name. Yet the passage is candid about a hard truth: judgment teaches righteousness to the inhabitants of the world, whereas favor shown to the wicked does not. The wicked continue in crookedness and fail to perceive YHWH's majesty even when his hand is raised. The prayer therefore asks not only for peace but for the shame of adversaries and the consuming fire of divine zeal. It then deepens into historical confession. Other lords had ruled over the people, but only YHWH's name is now remembered; those dead tyrannies will not rise again, because God has visited and erased them. At the same time the nation's own experience is described through painful failure. Like a woman in labor, the people writhed and cried out, yet their travail seemed to produce only wind; they had not wrought salvation for the earth, nor had the world's inhabitants fallen through their strength. Against that frustration comes one of Isaiah's most arresting promises: the dead will live, the dwellers in dust will awake and sing, and the earth will cast out the shades. Even there, however, resurrection hope is framed by waiting through wrath. The people are summoned into their chambers for a little moment until indignation passes, because YHWH is coming out from his place to punish the earth's inhabitants and to uncover bloodguilt no longer hidden. Taken together, civic song, steadfast trust, moral pedagogy through judgment, national inadequacy, resurrection hope, and sheltered waiting form a prophetic liturgy where peace belongs to those who cling to YHWH while the earth is brought under his final reckoning.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a stro. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will appoint walls and bulwarks. Open you the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. You will keep in perfect peace, mind stayed : because he trusteth in you. Trust you in YHWH for ever: for in YHWH JEHOVAH everlasting strength:
II. 5–6 — For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, to the ground; he bringeth it to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
III. 7–11 — The way of the just uprightness: you, most upright, dost weigh the path. The way of the just uprightness: you, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of your judgments, O YHWH, have we waited for you; the desire of soul to your name, and to the remembrance of you. With my soul have I desired you in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek you early: for when your judgments in the earth, the.
IV. 12–15 — YHWH, you will ordain peace for us: for you also have wrought all our wo. YHWH, you will ordain peace for us: for you also have wrought all our works in us. O YHWH our God, lords beside you have had dominion over us: by you only will we make mention of your name. dead, they shall not live; deceased, they shall not rise: therefore have you visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. You have increased the.
V. 16–18 — YHWH, in trouble have they visited you, they poured out a prayer your ch. YHWH, in trouble have they visited you, they poured out a prayer your chastening upon them. Like as a woman with child, draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in your sight, O YHWH. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in.
VI. 19 — Your dead shall live, my dead body shall they arise. Your dead shall live, my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust: for your dew the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
VII. 20–21 — Come, my people, enter you into your chambers, and shut your doors about. Come, my people, enter you into your chambers, and shut your doors about you: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, YHWH cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the song of the strong city and the open gates for the righteous nation (vv. 1-6), the community's waiting for YHWH in the path of his judgments and the contrast with the unteachable wicked (vv. 7-11), the confession that YHWH alone grants peace and has displaced former tyrant-lords (vv. 12-15), the recollection of distress and labor that seemed to produce only wind (vv. 16-18), the promise that the dead will live and the dust-dwellers awake (v. 19), and the summons for the people to hide briefly until indignation passes while YHWH comes to punish the earth's inhabitants (vv. 20-21). Verse 1 should preserve the song-setting and the striking predication of salvation as city-defense. The line is not merely that the city possesses salvation but that salvation itself functions as walls and rampart. Verse 2's righteous nation should remain singular and corporate, marked by keeping faithfulness. Verse 3 is famously compressed and should retain both the notion of a steadfast or supported mind and the doubled peace; the force is not generic tranquility but a peace perfectly secured by trust in YHWH. Verse 4 then grounds that trust in the divine name and should preserve the weight of YH YHWH as the everlasting rock. Verses 5-6 contrast directly with the strong city of verse 1. The lofty city is brought all the way to dust and trampled by the feet of the poor and needy; the social reversal should remain explicit. Verses 7-11 move into reflection and prayer. The path imagery in verse 7 should be kept coherent: the way of the righteous is level because the upright God weighs or makes level the righteous track. Verse 8 combines waiting, judgment, and desire for YHWH's name and remembrance; those devotional terms should remain warm without losing their covenantal seriousness. Verse 9 then states a key pedagogical claim: when YHWH's judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Verse 10 supplies the counterpoint and should remain sharp. Favor to the wicked does not educate him; even in a land of uprightness he acts unjustly and fails to see YHWH's majesty. Verse 11's raised hand, the shame of the people, and the fire consuming adversaries should be rendered with full force. Verses 12-15 confess dependence and deliverance. Verse 12's claim that YHWH establishes peace because he has also wrought all the community's works for it should not be diluted into generic assistance. Verses 13-14 contrast YHWH with former lords and should preserve the finality of their disappearance: dead, shades, not rising, visited, destroyed, and erased from memory. Verse 15 reverses the scene with national enlargement and glory to YHWH, though the line about extending all the borders of the land should remain concrete. Verses 16-18 give the chapter its most painful communal self-assessment. The people sought YHWH in distress and poured out whispered prayer under discipline, but their labor is compared to pregnancy and birth that produce only wind. Translation should keep the pathos of failed travail and the explicit admission that the community itself did not bring deliverance to the earth. Verse 19 then breaks that failure with a promise of life. The lineation is difficult, but the sense should preserve both the revivification of the dead and the command for dust-dwellers to awake and sing, grounded in the dew of lights and the earth's casting out of the shades. Verses 20-21 close with protective and judicial urgency. The command to enter chambers, shut doors, and hide for a little moment should retain its intimacy, while the reason remains cosmic and forensic: YHWH comes out from his place to visit the iniquity of the earth's inhabitant upon him, and the earth itself uncovers the blood it has absorbed and no longer covers its slain. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where steadfast trust sings within Judah even as the faithful confess failure, await resurrection, and take shelter until YHWH's judgment finishes its work on the earth. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 27 — ישעיהו 27

Theme. YHWH's visitation with hard and great sword upon Leviathan and the sea-dragon, the answering song over the delightful vineyard, vigilant divine keeping, the offer of peace in place of briars and thorns, Jacob taking root and Israel filling the world with fruit, measured chastisement rather than annihilating slaughter, atonement expressed through the pulverizing of idolatrous stones, the desolation of the fortified city, and the final one-by-one regathering of the lost and banished to worship on the holy mountain together make Isaiah 27 a fitting close to the sequence that has moved through cosmic judgment toward Zion-centered restoration. It opens at the mythic edge of history. YHWH's sword falls upon Leviathan in doubled serpent imagery and upon the dragon in the sea, so this oracle frames divine victory not merely as local politics but as the subduing of chaos-power itself. Yet it turns at once from monster judgment to vineyard song. Unlike the failed vineyard of Isaiah 5, this vineyard is one of delight, personally watched, watered, and guarded by YHWH night and day. Wrath is no longer his stance toward it; if briars and thorns arise, they are the objects of his advance unless they take hold of his stronghold and make peace with him. Restoration therefore includes both protection and a summons to reconciliation. The movement then broadens from vineyard to people. Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and bud, and the face of the world will be filled with fruit. This fecund image matters because it answers earlier barrenness and judgment with durable, world-touching fertility. The middle verses then clarify the character of YHWH's dealings with his people. Israel has been struck, but not in the same way as its smiters; the nation has been contended with in measure and driven out with the rough east wind, yet not destroyed like its enemies. That distinction becomes theological in verse 9: Jacob's iniquity is expiated in the smashing of altar stones and the abolition of Asherim and incense altars. Forgiveness is therefore inseparable from the removal of idolatry. The desolated fortified city that follows stands as a warning counterpart, abandoned until even branches are dried and burned, because a people without understanding cannot presume upon compassion while refusing the maker who formed it. The final movement rises into harvest and pilgrimage. YHWH beats out grain from the Euphrates reach to the Wadi of Egypt, and the sons of Israel are gleaned one by one. Then a great trumpet sounds, the perishing from Assyria and the outcasts from Egypt come, and they bow before YHWH on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. Taken together, chaos victory, vineyard restoration, measured discipline, anti-idolatrous atonement, city desolation, and eschatological regathering form a closing vision where Israel is not merely spared but purified, replanted, and brought home for worship under YHWH's victorious reign.

Outline.

I. 1 — In that day YHWH with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish l. In that day YHWH with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that in the sea.
II. 2–5 — In that day sing you to her, A vineyard of red wine. In that day sing you to her, A vineyard of red wine. I YHWH do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Fury not in me: who would set the briers thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of my strength, he may make peace with me; he shall make peace with.
III. 6 — He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blosso. He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
IV. 7–9 — Has he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? is he slain accord. Has he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? In measure, when it shooteth forth, you will debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh.
V. 10–11 — Yet the defenced city desolate, the habitation forsaken, and left like a. Yet the defenced city desolate, the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, set them on fire: for it a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy.
VI. 12–13 — And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall beat off from the chan. And it shall come to pass in that day, YHWH shall beat off from the channel of the river to the stream of Egypt, and you shall be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt,.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: YHWH's sword-judgment upon Leviathan and the dragon in the sea (v. 1), the song of the delightful vineyard kept by YHWH and offered peace (vv. 2-5), Jacob's rooting, flowering, and world-filling fruit (v. 6), the distinction between measured covenant chastisement and destructive slaughter together with the removal of idolatry (vv. 7-9), the desolation of the fortified city because of a people without understanding (vv. 10-11), and the final one-by-one gleaning and trumpet-led regathering of Israel from Assyria and Egypt to worship in Jerusalem (vv. 12-13). Verse 1 should preserve the triple force of YHWH's sword as hard, great, and strong, and the Leviathan imagery should remain vivid rather than over-domesticated. This poem deliberately uses monster and sea-dragon language to portray YHWH's sovereignty over hostile powers at the largest scale. Verses 2-5 answer that scene with song over a vineyard of delight. The imperative to sing to her should remain audible, because the movement turns from combat to lyrical care. Verse 3 is especially important: YHWH himself keeps, waters, and guards the vineyard continually. Verse 4's statement that wrath is not in him should not be flattened, though the following challenge against briars and thorns must retain its martial edge. Verse 5 then opens a real alternative in repeated peace-language: the enemy may take hold of YHWH's stronghold and make peace with him. Verse 6 broadens the image from vineyard to people and should preserve the sequence of rooting, blossoming, budding, and filling the world's face with fruit. The point is durable and abundant restoration. Verses 7-9 require careful attention to proportion and purpose in judgment. The rhetorical questions of verse 7 insist that Israel has not been struck in the same final way as those who struck it. Verse 8's difficult language should still convey measured contention and removal, associated with the rough wind in the day of the east wind. The following לכן in verse 9 interprets that discipline: Jacob's iniquity is expiated when idolatrous structures are reduced to chalk-stones crushed to pieces and no Asherim or incense altars stand. Atonement here is inseparable from decisive de-idolization. Verses 10-11 then present the abandoned fortified city as an object lesson. Its pasture-like emptiness, stripped branches, and women kindling them for fire should remain concrete. The final rationale is severe: because this is not a people of understanding, its maker does not show mercy and its former does not favor it. Translation should preserve the unsettling force of that sentence. Verses 12-13 close with harvest and pilgrimage imagery. YHWH's beating out from the channel of the River to the Wadi of Egypt should remain agricultural and territorial at once, while the sons of Israel are gathered one by one rather than as an indistinct mass. Verse 13's great trumpet should retain full summons-force, and the lost in Assyria together with the banished in Egypt should remain as the far-flung objects of restoration. The climax is liturgical: they come and worship YHWH on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where YHWH's victory over chaos gives way to restored vineyard-care, purifying discipline, anti-idolatrous atonement, and the final regathering of Israel for worship. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 28 — ישעיהו 28

Theme. Woe to the proud drunken crown of Ephraim, the fading flower of Samaria's beauty, YHWH as the true diadem for the remnant, drunken priestly and prophetic collapse in Judah as well, mockery of elementary instruction, foreign-sounding speech as judgment, the rulers in Jerusalem boasting of a covenant with death, the divine laying of a tested cornerstone in Zion, the sweeping away of false refuge, and the farming parable that defends measured and purposeful divine severity together make Isaiah 28 one of the book's most intricate judgments on human arrogance, intoxicated leadership, and counterfeit security. It opens by fixing attention on Ephraim as a garland of pride set over a fertile valley yet already marked for collapse. The beauty is flower-like and fading, and the drunkards who admire it are themselves reeling toward ruin. YHWH has a stronger agent ready, like hail, storm, and flooding waters, to fling the crown to earth and trample it. Yet the chapter does not end with Samaria's fall. It turns to the remnant of YHWH's people and declares that YHWH himself will be their crown of beauty, spirit of justice, and strength in battle. The contrast is sharp: where intoxicated leaders made their glory into a perishing wreath, YHWH becomes the enduring adornment and competence of those who remain. From there the indictment spreads south. Priest and prophet stagger with wine, tables are covered in vomit, and those entrusted with judgment and revelation mock the very possibility of serious instruction. Their sneering repetition of command on command and line on line becomes self-condemning, because the God whose clear rest they refused will speak to them by alien lips and strange tongue. The result is not comprehension but stumbling, breaking, and capture. The oracle then addresses Jerusalem's ruling scoffers directly. They claim to have made a treaty with death and an agreement with Sheol, imagining that the overwhelming scourge will pass them by because lies and falsehood shelter them. Against that fantasy stands one of Isaiah's great positive declarations: the Lord YHWH lays in Zion a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, and the one who trusts will not panic. Justice and righteousness then become the measuring line that exposes and sweeps away every fraudulent shelter. The bed proves too short, the covering too narrow, and YHWH's strange work advances with inescapable force. The closing agricultural parable completes the chapter's logic. The farmer does not plow forever, nor does he thresh every crop with the same implement or to the point of destruction. Distinctions in cultivation, threshing, and crushing display ordered wisdom learned from God himself. So too YHWH's judgment is not random frenzy but disciplined, purposeful, and proportioned action. Taken together, the chapter binds anti-pride woe, remnant hope, exposure of intoxicated leadership, the cornerstone promise, the collapse of false refuge, and the pedagogy of measured judgment into a prophetic argument that the only durable security is the one YHWH establishes himself.

Outline.

I. 1 — Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious b. Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty a fading flower, which on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
II. 2–4 — Behold, YHWH has a mighty and strong one, as a tempest of hail a destroy. Behold, YHWH has a mighty and strong one, as a tempest of hail a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: And the glorious beauty, which on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, as the hasty fruit before.
III. 5–6 — In that day shall YHWH of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diade. In that day shall YHWH of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, to the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
IV. 7–8 — But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out. But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble judgment. For all tables are full of vomit filthiness, no place .
V. 9–13 — Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doct. Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? weaned from the milk, drawn from the breasts. For precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This the rest you may cause the.
VI. 14–19 — Wherefore hear the word of YHWH, you scornful men, that rule this people. Wherefore hear the word of YHWH, you scornful men, that rule this people which in Jerusalem. Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come to us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus says.
VII. 20–22 — For the bed is shorter than that can stretch himself : and the covering. For the bed is shorter than that can stretch himself : and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself . For YHWH shall rise up as mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I.
VIII. 23–29 — Give you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Give you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? does he open and break the clods of his ground? When he has made plain the face thereof, does he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? For his God does.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: the woe over Ephraim's proud and drunken crown together with its imminent trampling (vv. 1-4), YHWH as the true crown and judicial strength for the remnant (vv. 5-6), the exposure of drunken priestly and prophetic collapse and the mockery of instruction (vv. 7-13), the address to Jerusalem's scoffing rulers who boast of a pact with death (vv. 14-15), the laying of the tested cornerstone in Zion and the sweeping away of false refuge (vv. 16-19), the warning that ordinary evasions fail before YHWH's strange work (vv. 20-22), and the agricultural parable that explains proportioned divine wisdom in judgment (vv. 23-29). Verse 1 should preserve the double image of crown and fading flower, because Samaria's beauty is treated as ornamental, fragile, and intoxicated all at once. The fertile valley remains visible beneath the proud wreath, which heightens the tragedy of squandered abundance. Verses 2-4 describe the coming assault with storm and flood similes; the progression should remain forceful, and verse 4's early fig image should retain its immediacy, since the point is how quickly coveted beauty is snatched and swallowed. Verses 5-6 then pivot sharply to remnant promise. YHWH of hosts becomes crown, diadem, spirit of justice, and battle-strength; translation should preserve each role distinctly, because the oracle contrasts the failed human crown with the divine provision for those who remain. Verses 7-8 broaden the indictment to Judah's own religious authorities. Priests and prophets reel, vision and legal judgment are warped, and the tables filled with vomit should remain as offensive as the Hebrew intends. Verses 9-13 depend heavily on tone. The rhetorical questions and sing-song repetitions of verse 10 should preserve the sneering or mocking quality without erasing the formal cadence. Verse 11's foreign lips and other tongue should be translated as judicial reversal: those who would not heed plain speech will face unintelligible speech. Verse 12's rest for the weary must remain genuine, because the tragedy is that a real offer was refused. Verse 13 then returns the mocked cadence as sentence, ending in backward stumbling, breaking, ensnarement, and capture. Verses 14-19 address the scoffing rulers in Jerusalem. Their claimed covenant with death and pact with Sheol should remain audacious and absurd, while the sweeping scourge should keep its flood-like threat. Verse 16 is central for the theology of the chapter: the Lord lays in Zion a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Each descriptor matters, and the final clause should keep the sense that the trusting one will not panic or hasten in alarm. Verses 17-19 then apply justice and righteousness as measuring tools against false refuge; hail and waters expose lies, and the covenant with death is annulled. Verse 19's morning-by-morning passage and the terror of merely hearing the report should remain relentless. Verses 20-22 tighten the warning through homely metaphors and historic allusion. The bed too short and cover too narrow should remain proverb-like. References to Mount Perazim and the valley at Gibeon should preserve their memory of former decisive divine intervention, while the terms 'strange' and 'alien' work underline that YHWH's coming act is astonishing, not capricious. Verses 23-29 close with the farmer parable and should be translated with concrete agrarian precision. Plowing, leveling, sowing different seeds, proper tools for threshing, and the refusal to crush grain forever all matter because they teach discernment, sequence, and limit. The conclusion explicitly attributes this wisdom to YHWH of hosts, wonderful in counsel and great in sound wisdom. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where pride, intoxication, and lies are brought under woe, while the only stable foundation is the one YHWH himself lays and the final model for his judgment is skilled, proportioned husbandry rather than mindless destruction. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 29 — ישעיהו 29

Theme. Woe to Ariel, David's city, festival cycles continuing while siege approaches, YHWH himself encamping against Jerusalem until her voice sinks to dust, the sudden pulverizing of hostile nations after dream-like assault, judicial stupor poured over prophet and people so that vision becomes a sealed book, lip-honor without heart-nearness, the collapse of merely human wisdom, the clay's absurd inversion of the potter, Lebanon turned fruitful and the deaf and blind newly perceiving, the meek rejoicing in the Holy One of Israel, and Jacob's house no longer ashamed when its children sanctify God's name together make Isaiah 29 a densely layered oracle in which judgment upon ritualized complacency becomes the very path toward purified understanding and wonder. It opens with the haunting name Ariel, binding Jerusalem to Davidic memory and altar-like associations while warning that the round of years and feasts will not protect the city from distress. YHWH himself lays siege to Ariel so that the city is brought low enough to whisper from the dust like a ghostly voice. Yet the besiegers are not the final center of the oracle. Their multitude becomes like fine dust and passing chaff, visited by thunder, earthquake, storm, and devouring fire from YHWH of hosts, and their apparent success dissolves like the dream of a hungry or thirsty sleeper who wakes still empty. Zion is therefore afflicted, but not abandoned to the nations' appetite. The movement then turns inward to the deeper judgment on Judah's perception. Stupefaction, blindness, and the sealed-book image show that the people possess revelation without comprehending it. Whether handed to the literate or the unlettered, the vision remains inaccessible because the problem is not the mere mechanics of reading but a heart far from God. Their fear of YHWH has become learned human routine, and so YHWH answers with a wonder that destroys the wisdom of the wise. From there the oracle exposes secretive political and theological inversion. Those who think they can hide counsel in darkness from YHWH are rebuked by the potter-clay analogy: the thing made cannot deny, judge, or outwit its maker. The final movement reverses the whole atmosphere. Lebanon becomes fruitful, the deaf hear the words of the book, the blind see out of gloom, the meek gain joy in YHWH, and the needy exult in the Holy One of Israel because the ruthless, scoffer, and perverters of justice are cut off. The closing movement brings not only social renewal but a rehabilitated Jacob. Abraham's redeemed house will no longer pale in shame, for its children will sanctify the name of the Holy One, fear the God of Israel rightly, and those who once erred in spirit and grumbled will learn understanding. Taken together, siege, invisible deliverance, spiritual blindness, false religiosity, creator-creature reversal, and the restoration of humble understanding form an oracle where God overturns both enemies and empty worship so that Jacob may finally become a people who truly know and hallow him.

Outline.

I. 1 — Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city David dwelt! add you year to year; let. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city David dwelt! add you year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
II. 2–4 — Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be to me as Ariel. And I will camp against you round about, and will lay siege against you with a mount, and I will raise forts against you. And you shall be brought down, shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust, and your voice shall be, as.
III. 5–8 — Moreover the multitude of your strangers shall be like small dust, and t. Moreover the multitude of your strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. You shall be visited of YHWH of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations.
IV. 9–14 — Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry you out, and cry: they are drunken, but. Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry you out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For YHWH has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers has he covered. And the vision of all is become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which.
V. 15–16 — Woe to them that seek deep to hide their counsel from YHWH, and their wo. Woe to them that seek deep to hide their counsel from YHWH, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
VI. 17–21 — it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruit. it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase joy in YHWH, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the.
VII. 22–24 — Therefore thus says YHWH, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of. Therefore thus says YHWH, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the woe over Ariel together with YHWH's own siege and the city's dust-level abasement (vv. 1-4), the sudden dissolution of the hostile nations and the dream-like frustration of their appetite against Zion (vv. 5-8), the judicial stupor that makes vision into a sealed book and exposes lip-service religion (vv. 9-14), the rebuke of secret counsel through the potter-clay reversal (vv. 15-16), the transformation in which deaf and blind perceive and the meek rejoice while oppressors are removed (vv. 17-21), and the promise that Jacob's redeemed house will sanctify God's name and learn understanding (vv. 22-24). Verse 1 should preserve the double cry 'Ariel' and the linkage to David's encampment, because the city is addressed through both cultic and royal memory. The annual circling of feasts must remain audible as irony: liturgical continuity does not guarantee immunity from judgment. Verses 2-4 intensify that irony. YHWH himself distresses Ariel, encamps, besieges, and brings her voice down to the dust. The comparison to an 'ov' or ghostly voice should remain uncanny rather than smoothed away. Verses 5-8 then reverse the apparent balance. The besieging nations become dust and chaff, visited by thunder, earthquake, storm, and devouring fire from YHWH of hosts. Verse 8's hungry and thirsty dream images should remain concrete, because they explain how the nations' anticipated satisfaction evaporates upon waking. Verses 9-14 move from military imagery to spiritual incapacity. The imperative cluster in verse 9 should preserve the sense of stunned self-blinding. Verse 10's spirit of deep sleep and the covering of prophets and seers show that the inability is judicial, not accidental. Verses 11-12 must retain the sealed-book contrast between the literate and the illiterate, since both are equally unable. Verse 13 is central and should keep the tension between mouth/lips nearness and heart-distance, together with fear of God reduced to humanly taught routine. Verse 14 then announces the answering wonder: the wisdom of the wise perishes and the discernment of the discerning is hidden. Verses 15-16 expose secretive inversion. Those who hide counsel in darkness and say 'Who sees us?' should be rendered with full audacity, and the potter-clay analogy must remain sharp: the thing made cannot deny the maker or accuse him of ignorance. Verses 17-21 turn dramatically toward renewal. Lebanon becoming orchard and orchard becoming forest should preserve the startling reversal of scale. The deaf hearing the words of the book and the blind seeing from gloom directly answer the sealed-book blindness of earlier verses. At the same time the meek and poor rejoice in YHWH because the ruthless, scoffer, and legal perverters are cut off; restoration is therefore epistemic, spiritual, and social together. Verses 22-24 close with a promise addressed to the house of Jacob by the God who redeemed Abraham. Jacob's shame is removed when his children, described as the work of YHWH's hands in his midst, sanctify the divine name. The final lines should preserve the moral and intellectual change: spirit-wanderers gain understanding and grumblers learn instruction. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where Jerusalem's ritualized security is shattered, hostile nations are frustrated, revelation remains sealed to the heart-far people, and only through YHWH's overturning wonder does Jacob become a community of humble perception and true sanctification. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 30 — ישעיהו 30

Theme. Woe over rebellious sons who descend to Egypt without asking YHWH, embassy wealth dragged through the dangerous Negeb toward a useless ally, the command to inscribe Judah's refusal of torah for future witness, the people's demand for pleasant illusions instead of the Holy One of Israel, the shattered wall and smashed pot that image sudden collapse, the refused promise that salvation lies in returning and quiet trust, YHWH's astonishing willingness to wait in order to be gracious, the restoration in which a seen teacher, obedient hearing, rejected idols, abundant rain, healed light, and renewed land accompany judgment, and finally the fiery coming of YHWH against Assyria with festival-song, storm, rod, and Topheth together make Isaiah 30 a great anti-alliance oracle that moves from political rebellion through deserved ruin into mercy that teaches, restores, and judges. It opens by naming Judah not simply as imprudent but as rebellious children whose plans are woven without YHWH and whose covering is not by his Spirit. The movement into Egypt is therefore no neutral diplomacy. It is sin added to sin, an attempted refuge under Pharaoh's strength and Egypt's shadow that will yield only shame. Isaiah lingers over the futility by describing princes already at Zoan and envoys arriving at Hanes, then by painting the caravan through the beast-haunted south carrying treasures to a nation that cannot profit. Egypt is reduced to a bitterly memorable name: Rahab, the do-nothing. From there the oracle deepens from failed policy to revealed character. The prophet is told to write the charge down because this is a people of denial who do not want YHWH's instruction. They tell seers not to see straight, ask prophets for smooth words, and demand that the Holy One of Israel be removed from before them. That refusal turns the sought-after support into a collapsing wall and a vessel smashed so completely that no shard remains useful. At the theological center stands what Judah rejected: in returning and rest is salvation, in quietness and trust is strength. Because the people insist instead on flight and swift horses, their speed becomes the measure of their pursuers and their reduced remnant. Yet judgment does not end the chapter's argument. YHWH waits in order to show grace, answers the cry of Zion, gives bread of distress without hiding the teacher forever, lets ears hear the right way, and leads the people to defile their idols and throw them away as filth. Agricultural plenty, well-watered heights, brightened heavenly light, and healed wounds all signal a future in which divine mercy remakes both perception and land. The last movement returns to judgment, but now as the saving appearance of YHWH against Assyria. His name comes from afar in burning wrath, his breath becomes an overflowing torrent and a sulfurous stream, and while his people sing like pilgrims going up to a feast, the oppressor is struck under the rod until Topheth is seen prepared for the king. Taken together, diplomatic folly, anti-prophetic resistance, refused rest, patient mercy, restored instruction, fertile renewal, and the downfall of Assyria form an oracle where the Holy One of Israel dismantles every false shelter so that his people may learn that quiet trust in him alone is life.

Outline.

I. 1 — Woe to the rebellious children, says YHWH, that take counsel, but not of. Woe to the rebellious children, says YHWH, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
II. 2–3 — That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to stre. That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt confusion.
III. 4–5 — For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
IV. 6–7 — The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and angu. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people shall not profit . For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore.
V. 8–11 — Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it. Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this a rebellious people, lying children, children will not hear the law of YHWH: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not to us right things, speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the.
VI. 12–14 — Wherefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, Because you despise this wor. Wherefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in.
VII. 15–17 — For thus says YHWH YHWH, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest s. For thus says YHWH YHWH, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and you would not. But you said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall you flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand at the rebuke of one; at.
VIII. 18–26 — And therefore will YHWH wait, that he may be gracious to you, and theref. And therefore will YHWH wait, that he may be gracious to you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for YHWH a God of judgment: blessed all they that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: you shall weep no more: he will be very gracious to you at the voice of your cry; when he shall hear it, he will.
IX. 27–33 — Behold, the name of YHWH cometh from far, burning his anger, and the bur. Behold, the name of YHWH cometh from far, burning his anger, and the burden heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing to err. You shall have a song,.

Textual note. Eight linked movements shape the chapter: the woe against Judah's Egypt-bound policy and the shame attached to Pharaoh's protection (vv. 1-5), the southern caravan oracle and the naming of Egypt as useless Rahab (vv. 6-7), the command to record Judah's rebellion and refusal of YHWH's instruction (vv. 8-11), the collapse-image answer in which false reliance becomes a suddenly broken wall and shattered vessel (vv. 12-14), the refused promise that salvation lies in returning, rest, quietness, and trust (vv. 15-17), the gracious reversal in which YHWH waits, teaches, answers, and restores Zion with repudiated idols and renewed land (vv. 18-26), and the final coming of YHWH against Assyria in storm, song, rod, and Topheth-fire (vv. 27-33). Verse 1 should preserve both the filial accusation and the political indictment. The people are rebellious sons not merely because they are weak, but because they execute counsel not from YHWH and pour out a covering or alliance not by his Spirit. The line about adding sin to sin should retain its cumulative force. Verses 2-3 make Egypt's appeal and failure explicit. Going down to Egypt without asking at YHWH's mouth is the core offense, and both Pharaoh's stronghold and Egypt's shadow should remain visible as false refuge imagery. Verses 4-5 anchor the critique in actual diplomacy. Zoan and Hanes should remain concrete Egyptian destinations, while verse 5's humiliation language should stay sharp even though the Hebrew is difficult in detail. Verses 6-7 form one of the chapter's most vivid sections and should keep their burden-oracle tone. The Negeb caravan crosses a land of distress, lion, viper, and flying fiery serpent, carrying wealth on donkeys and camels to a people who cannot profit. Verse 7's verdict must remain memorable: Egypt's help is vanity and emptiness, therefore Isaiah names her Rahab sitting still or Rahab the do-nothing. Verses 8-11 turn from policy to durable witness and should preserve the legal-recording force. The writing on tablet and scroll is for a latter day, and the charge is that this is a rebellious, lying people who do not want to hear the torah of YHWH. Their commands to the seers and visionaries are central: they ask not for truth but for smooth things and illusions. Verse 11's demand to have the Holy One of Israel cease from before them should remain shocking. Verses 12-14 then answer with collapse metaphors. Reliance on oppression and crookedness becomes like a bulging crack in a high wall whose break comes suddenly, and then like a potter's jar smashed without pity so completely that no shard can carry coals or scoop water. Verses 15-17 are the chapter's theological center and should be translated with special care. The titles Lord YHWH and Holy One of Israel govern the promise: in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength. The people's refusal must remain blunt, and the horse imagery should preserve the irony that their chosen speed becomes the speed of those chasing them. Verse 17's remnant picture of mast and signal on bare height should stay lonely and exposed. Verses 18-26 turn toward mercy without erasing holiness. Verse 18's claim that YHWH waits to be gracious and rises to show mercy should retain both patience and judicial dignity, because he is a God of justice. Verse 19 promises answered crying in Zion. Verses 20-21 should preserve the interplay of distress and instruction: bread of adversity is real, yet the teacher is no longer hidden, eyes see him, and ears hear the way to walk when turning right or left. Verse 22's defilement and throwing away of silvered and golden idols should remain forceful and bodily. Verses 23-26 then broaden restoration into agriculture and cosmos. Rain, rich produce, spacious pasture, winnowed fodder for the beasts, streams on every high mountain, and the heightened light of moon and sun all belong to the same healing horizon. Verse 26 should keep the bond between cosmic brightness and YHWH's binding up of his people's fracture. Verses 27-33 conclude with a theophanic assault on Assyria. The name of YHWH comes from afar in burning anger; lips, tongue, and breath are all active instruments of judgment. Verse 28's torrent reaching to the neck and the sieve of worthlessness over the nations should remain severe, and the misleading bridle on the peoples should stay concrete. Verse 29 then gives the contrasting response of Judah: festival-night song and pilgrimage joy toward the mountain of YHWH. Verses 30-32 continue with thunderous voice, descending arm, storm, hail, and repeated strokes upon Assyria, while verse 33 closes with Topheth long prepared, deep and wide, kindled by YHWH's own breath like a torrent of sulfur. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where Judah's Egypt-alliance is exposed as torah-refusing rebellion, true strength is redefined as quiet trust, and the same God whose people refused to hear still waits to teach, heal, and finally overthrow the imperial threat. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 31 — ישעיהו 31

Theme. Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, leaning on horses, chariots, and horsemen instead of looking to the Holy One of Israel, the reminder that YHWH is truly wise enough to bring the very disaster his word has long threatened, the contrast between Egypt as mere human flesh and YHWH as sovereign Spirit, the lion image of YHWH descending unafraid to wage war for Zion, the companion bird-image of hovering protection over Jerusalem, the call for Israel to return from its deeply made revolt, the promised rejection of silver and gold idols, and the announcement that Assyria will fall by a nonhuman sword while Zion itself becomes the place of YHWH's fire together make Isaiah 31 a concentrated sequel to the anti-Egypt warnings of the previous chapter. It opens by naming Judah's policy in the starkest possible terms. Help is sought by going down to Egypt, and confidence is placed in visible military mass: horses, chariots, and riders because they are many and strong. Yet the real scandal is theological rather than tactical. Judah neither looks to the Holy One of Israel nor seeks YHWH. From there the oracle answers human calculations with divine irony. YHWH too is wise, and his wisdom is not available to be outmaneuvered. He will bring evil, he will not retract his words, and he will rise both against the house of evildoers and against the helpers of those who practice iniquity. Egypt's glamour is then punctured by a hard contrast: Egyptians are human and not God, their horses flesh and not spirit. Once YHWH stretches out his hand, helper and helped alike stumble and perish together. The movement then turns from polemic to imagery of divine intervention. YHWH's descent on Zion is compared first to a lion or young lion growling over its prey, unmoved by the clamor of gathered shepherds; then to hovering birds shielding Jerusalem. The paired images matter because they hold together ferocity toward the threat and tenderness toward the city. He will defend, deliver, spare, and rescue. That promise, however, is not license for continuing rebellion. Israel is summoned to return precisely to the one against whom it has revolted so deeply, and the sign of that return will be the casting away of handcrafted idols as sin. The oracle closes with the defeat of Assyria, but emphatically not by ordinary human prowess. A sword not of man devours it, its young men are reduced to forced labor or collapse, and even its rock or stronghold passes away in terror. The final identification of YHWH as the one whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem leaves the reader with a vivid image of holy presence burning at the center of Judah's true security. Taken together, false confidence in Egypt, the God-man and spirit-flesh contrast, lion-like descent, bird-like protection, demanded repentance, anti-idolatrous return, and Assyria's nonhuman overthrow form an oracle where YHWH insists that Zion's safety rests neither on imperial alliance nor on domestic idols, but on his own holy, intervening presence.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trus. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, neither seek YHWH! Yet he also wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of.
II. 4–5 — For thus has YHWH spoken to me, Like as the lion and the young lion roar. For thus has YHWH spoken to me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall YHWH of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. As birds flying, so will YHWH of hosts defend.
III. 6–7 — Turn you to whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. Turn you to whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made to you a sin.
IV. 8–9 — Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and th. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, says YHWH, whose fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the opening woe against those who seek Egyptian military help instead of YHWH (v. 1), the insistence that YHWH's wisdom actively brings judgment upon evildoers and their helpers (v. 2), the contrast between Egypt's human flesh and YHWH's decisive hand so that helper and helped perish together (v. 3), the lion and bird similes for YHWH's determined protection of Zion and Jerusalem (vv. 4-5), the call to return together with the promised rejection of silver and gold idols (vv. 6-7), and the fall of Assyria by a nonhuman sword before the fire of YHWH in Zion (vv. 8-9). Verse 1 should preserve the downward motion toward Egypt and the full range of visible military confidence: horses, chariotry, and horsemen because they are many and very strong. The line's theological climax is crucial and should remain plain: Judah has neither looked to the Holy One of Israel nor sought YHWH. Verse 2 answers any implied human cleverness with divine irony. YHWH also is wise, and his wisdom is judicial rather than merely advisory. The verbs should keep their force: he brings evil, does not turn back his words, and rises against both the house of evildoers and the aid of workers of iniquity. Verse 3 contains the chapter's central contrast and should be rendered sharply. Egypt is adam and not God; its horses are flesh and not spirit. The point is not contempt for creatureliness as such, but the folly of trusting finite embodied power where divine agency alone can save. When YHWH stretches out his hand, the helper stumbles, the helped falls, and all of them perish together. Verses 4-5 are highly pictorial and should preserve both images in their distinct force. Verse 4's lion and young lion growling over prey must remain fearless before the noise of many shepherds; the image explains YHWH's unintimidated descent to fight for Mount Zion and its hill. Verse 5 turns just as strongly to avian protection. The hovering birds image should not be flattened, because it adds swiftness, covering, and tenderness to the prior leonine ferocity. The sequence of verbs - defend, deliver, spare/pass over, and rescue - should remain cumulative. Verse 6 is compact but central: the call is to return to the very one against whom the sons of Israel have gone so deep in revolt. The depth of defection should remain audible. Verse 7 makes the fruit of repentance visible in anti-idolatrous action. Each man rejects his silver idols and gold idols, the things hands made for sin. Translation should preserve that the idols are not neutral art objects but the embodied output of transgression. Verses 8-9 conclude with the downfall of Assyria and should be translated so as to exclude human boasting. Assyria falls by a sword not of man, is consumed by a sword not of adam, flees, and its young men become subject to forced labor or collapse under judgment. Verse 9's rock or stronghold passing away from terror, together with officers dismayed at the standard, should remain militarily concrete. The final line is decisive for the whole chapter: YHWH is the one whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. Translation should preserve both terms, since the image identifies Zion not merely as defended city but as the site of holy burning presence. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a compact oracle where reliance on Egyptian military power is exposed as creaturely folly, repentance is demanded, idols are renounced, and Zion is saved because YHWH himself descends, hovers, and burns there as Israel's true defense. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 32 — ישעיהו 32

Theme. Behold, a king reigning for righteousness with rulers governing for justice, the sheltering human figure who becomes like windbreak, watercourses, and rock-shadow, the healing of sight, hearing, heart, and speech, the exposure of the fool and scoundrel so that noble and ignoble can no longer be mislabeled, the denunciation of complacent women who will lose harvest-security and exchange ease for trembling lament over ruined fields, the abandoned palace and emptied city, and then the great reversal when Spirit is poured from on high so that wilderness becomes orchard, justice dwells, righteousness yields peace, and God's people inhabit secure resting places together make Isaiah 32 a chapter of moral unmasking and Spirit-borne renewal. It opens with a royal horizon in which rule is finally aligned with justice. The king and his princes are not ornamental authorities but agents of ordered righteousness, and the individual figure in view becomes a place of refuge against storm, drought, and exhaustion. Political life is therefore imagined not as predation but as protection. From there the oracle turns to restored perception. Eyes no longer glaze over, ears truly listen, impulsive hearts understand, and stammering tongues speak clearly. Such healing is matched by social truth-telling: fools are no longer called noble, and the miser or scoundrel is no longer dressed in the language of generosity. Isaiah then explains why this demasking matters. The fool speaks folly, devises wickedness, misleads about YHWH, empties the hungry, and withholds drink from the thirsty. The scoundrel similarly plots ruin against the poor by deceitful words even when the needy is in the right. By contrast, the noble person plans noble things and stands by them. The oracle then pivots sharply toward the complacent women and secure daughters of Jerusalem. Their ease is interrupted with a time marker of near agricultural collapse: vintage fails, fruit harvest does not come, and the very women who felt safe must strip down, tremble, beat their breasts, and lament for once-joyful fields and a jubilant city overgrown with thorn and brier. Palace and city noise give way to wasteland, animal haunt, and emptied stronghold. Yet the desolation is not the last word. The hinge comes when Spirit is poured upon the people from on high. Then the wilderness becomes fruitful field, fertile field is counted forest, justice settles even in the wilderness, and righteousness inhabits the orchard-land. Peace, quietness, and lasting security arise as the work and service of righteousness, and the people dwell in peaceful habitation, secure homes, and restful resting places. Even with the city's humbling and the forest's hail-storm collapse, the chapter closes with blessing upon those who sow beside abundant waters and send out ox and donkey freely. Taken together, righteous rule, restored perception, exposure of moral fraud, the shaking of complacent ease, agricultural and urban judgment, Spirit-poured transformation, and peaceful settlement form a prophetic vision in which society can only become habitable when God overturns false names and pours down life from above.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in j. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
II. 3–4 — And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them tha. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
III. 5–8 — The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said boun. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against YHWH, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl evil: he deviseth wicked.
IV. 9–11 — Rise up, you women that are at ease; hear my voice, you careless daughte. Rise up, you women that are at ease; hear my voice, you careless daughters; give ear to my speech. Many days and years shall you be troubled, you careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, you women that are at ease; be troubled, you careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird upon loins.
V. 12–14 — They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitf. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
VI. 15 — Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a. Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
VII. 16–18 — Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
VIII. 19–20 — When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low. When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed you that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the opening royal vision of righteous rule and sheltering leadership (vv. 1-2), the healing of perception together with the moral unmasking of fool and scoundrel and the contrast with the noble person (vv. 3-8), the address to complacent women and secure daughters whose agricultural confidence is about to fail (vv. 9-11), the lament over fields, vine, city, palace, and stronghold reduced to thorny desolation (vv. 12-14), the turning point when Spirit is poured from on high and justice, righteousness, peace, and security fill the transformed land (vv. 15-18), and the closing contrast of humbling judgment with blessing on those who sow beside all waters (vv. 19-20). Verse 1 should preserve the arresting הנה and the tight linkage of king and princes to righteousness and justice. It begins not with abstract ethics but with public rule rightly ordered. Verse 2 then shifts to singular shelter imagery and should retain each comparison distinctly: refuge from wind, cover from storm, channels of water in dryness, and heavy rock-shadow in weary land. Whether the focus is on the kingly figure or exemplary leadership more broadly, the protective force should remain concrete. Verses 3-4 move into restored faculties and should preserve their reversals: seeing eyes do not glaze over, hearing ears truly attend, hasty hearts understand, and stammering tongues speak clarity. The point is social and moral rehabilitation, not mere sensory improvement. Verses 5-8 depend on careful ethical naming. The fool is no longer called noble, and the scoundrel is no longer addressed as generous or distinguished; translation should keep the mismatch between public titles and real character visible. Verses 6-7 then explain those characters in concrete terms. The fool speaks folly, works iniquity, practices godlessness, speaks error concerning YHWH, empties the hungry, and withholds drink from the thirsty. The scoundrel's instruments are evil because he devises schemes to ruin the poor with lying words even when the needy speaks what is just. Verse 8 should retain the contrast cleanly: the noble person plans noble things and stands by noble things. Verses 9-11 turn abruptly to complacent women and should preserve both tone and timing. The imperative cluster - rise, hear, give ear, tremble, shudder, strip, make bare, and gird sackcloth - marks a deliberate breaking of false security. Verse 10's time reference is difficult but should clearly communicate that within a short horizon vintage and gathering fail. Verses 12-14 extend the lament from bodies to land and city. Beating upon the breasts should remain explicit, and the pleasant fields and fruitful vine must stay central to the loss. Verse 13's thorn and brier over my people's soil should connect the agricultural curse to the once-exultant houses of the joyous city. Verse 14 then widens to palace, city-noise, Ophel, and watchtower or lookout becoming caves and wild-animal joy forever; the collapse from human security to animal desolation should be preserved. Verse 15 introduces the decisive hinge and should keep the passive outpouring of Spirit from on high unmistakable. The resulting transformation from wilderness to orchard and orchard to forest should remain paradoxically abundant rather than over-smoothed. Verses 16-18 then articulate the moral and social result. Justice dwells in the wilderness, righteousness abides in the fruitful field, and the work of righteousness is peace while its service is quietness and security forever. These should remain tightly connected rather than diffused into vague blessing language. Verse 18's peaceful habitation, secure dwellings, and restful resting places should stay spatial and settled. Verses 19-20 close with a somewhat difficult contrast. Hail falls with the forest's descent and the city is deeply humbled, yet blessed are those who sow beside all waters and let ox and donkey range freely. Translation should preserve both judgment and renewed agrarian blessing without flattening the tension. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where righteous rule and truthful naming expose present corruption, complacent urban-agricultural security is shattered, and only the Spirit poured from above creates the just peace in which God's people can finally dwell securely. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 33 — ישעיהו 33

Theme. Woe upon the destroyer and betrayer who has not yet been destroyed or betrayed, the prayer that YHWH would be gracious and become the arm and salvation of his waiting people, the scattering of nations and gathering of spoil at the uproar of divine exaltation, Zion filled with justice and righteousness, the collapse of diplomatic peace and the mourning of roads and land, YHWH's resolve now to rise and consume the wicked like stubble in fire, the terror of sinners before everlasting burnings, the portrait of the righteous one who can dwell securely, the vision of the king in his beauty and Jerusalem as an unshaken tent, and the closing assurance that the people dwelling there are forgiven together make Isaiah 33 a siege-chapter that moves from threatened devastation to purified Zionic security. It opens by addressing the plunderer with a reversal principle already at work inside his career. Once he has finished destroying, he himself will be destroyed; once he finishes betraying, betrayal will be turned back upon him. That threat immediately draws out communal prayer. The people ask YHWH for grace because they have waited for him, and they ask him to be arm and salvation at every morning and in the time of distress. From there the chapter rises into divine intervention. At the noise of YHWH the peoples flee, at his rising nations are scattered, and the enemy's spoil is harvested as greedily as locusts sweep a field. Zion is then described not merely as spared ground but as a city filled by the exalted YHWH with justice and righteousness, while the stability of its times is named as a treasury of salvations, wisdom, knowledge, and the fear of YHWH. Yet this security is reached through acute historical crisis. Broken diplomacy is not hidden here: valiant ones cry in the street, peace envoys weep bitterly, highways lie desolate, treaty is broken, cities are despised, and the land itself languishes from Lebanon to Sharon, Bashan, and Carmel. Against that collapse stands YHWH's triple declaration that now he will arise, be exalted, and lift himself up. The enemy conceives chaff and gives birth to stubble, only to be consumed by its own breath under divine fire, while the peoples are burned like lime and thornbushes. The vision then turns inward to Zion's moral center. Sinners and hypocrites tremble at the question of who can dwell with devouring fire and everlasting burnings, and the answer is the one who walks righteously, rejects gain by oppression, refuses bribes, closes ears to bloodshed, and shuts eyes to evil. Such a person is given high refuge, secure bread, and reliable water. From that purified vantage the chapter expands into hope. Eyes see the king in his beauty and a far-stretched land, terror is remembered only as a vanished bookkeeping of siege, the harsh foreign tongue is no longer seen, and Zion appears as the city of appointed feasts, a peaceful habitation whose cords and pegs are never removed. YHWH himself becomes broad rivers and streams impossible for hostile ships to cross, while judge, lawgiver, and king are all gathered in him as savior. Even the image of slackened ropes and disabled mast gives way to abundant spoil in which even the lame take plunder. The closing assurance is one of Zion's tenderest: no inhabitant says, 'I am sick,' because the people dwelling there are forgiven their iniquity. Taken together, reversal upon the destroyer, prayer in distress, divine exaltation, broken diplomacy, purifying fire, ethical qualification for Zion, beautiful kingship, immovable Jerusalem, and forgiven inhabitance form a chapter where the Holy One turns siege-terror into a vision of holy civic life under his own immediate reign.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Woe to you that spoilest, and you not spoiled; and dealest treacherously. Woe to you that spoilest, and you not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with you! when you shall cease to spoil, you shall be spoiled; when you shall make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with you. O YHWH, be gracious to us; we have waited for you: be you their arm every morning, our salvation.
II. 3–6 — At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself. At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. And your spoil shall be gathered the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them. YHWH is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he has filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be.
III. 7–9 — Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace s. Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he regardeth no man. The earth mourneth languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off .
IV. 10–12 — Now will I rise, says YHWH; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up my. Now will I rise, says YHWH; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. You shall conceive chaff, you shall bring forth stubble: your breath, fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be the burnings of lime: thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
V. 13–16 — Hear, you far off, what I have done; and, you near, acknowledge my might. Hear, you far off, what I have done; and, you near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh.
VI. 17–19 — Your eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land t. Your eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. Your heart shall meditate terror. Where the scribe? where the receiver? where he that counted the towers? You shall not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than you canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, not understand.
VII. 20–22 — Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: your eyes shall see Jerusal. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: your eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious YHWH to us a place of broad rivers streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall.
VIII. 23–24 — Your tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, th. Your tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein forgiven iniquity.

Textual note. Eight linked movements shape the chapter: the opening woe against the destroyer-betrayer and the reversal promised upon him (v. 1), the communal plea for grace and morning-by-morning salvation (v. 2), the scattering of nations, gathering of spoil, and Zion's filling with justice and righteousness (vv. 3-6), the bitter description of failed diplomacy and land-wide desolation (vv. 7-9), YHWH's declaration that he will now rise and consume the wicked (vv. 10-12), the fear of sinners before devouring fire together with the portrait of the righteous person who can dwell securely (vv. 13-16), the vision of the king in beauty and Jerusalem as peaceful and unshaken (vv. 17-22), and the closing turn from disabled rigging to abundant spoil and forgiven inhabitants (vv. 23-24). Verse 1 should preserve the doubled characterization of the enemy as destroyer and betrayer together with the talionic reversal that awaits him. The force lies in timing: once he finishes his work, the same logic comes back upon him. Verse 2 moves into direct prayer and should remain compact but earnest. Waiting for YHWH is paired with the plea that he be their arm every morning and also salvation in the time of trouble; the daily rhythm and crisis moment should both remain visible. Verses 3-6 then lift the horizon from prayer to intervention. At the sound of tumult peoples flee, at YHWH's exalted rising nations are scattered, and spoil is gathered like locust-devastation. Verse 5 should keep the exalted transcendence of YHWH who dwells on high, while verse 6 is especially important for Zion's positive theology: stability of your times, wealth or treasure of salvations, wisdom, and knowledge, with the fear of YHWH as treasure. Translation should preserve the cluster rather than dissolving it into generic blessing. Verses 7-9 are deliberately grim and should retain their public-historical concreteness. The valiant cry outside, peace envoys weep bitterly, highways are deserted, travelers cease, covenant is broken, cities despised, and the land languishes from north to south. The named regions should remain geographic and poetic rather than being flattened into vague devastation. Verses 10-12 mark the divine turning point. YHWH's triple 'now' should remain emphatic: now I will arise, now I will be exalted, now I will lift myself up. Verse 11's conception-birth imagery for the enemy should retain its mockery, and the breath or spirit that consumes them like fire should remain vividly reciprocal. Verse 12 then compares the peoples to lime-burnings and cut thorns set ablaze, stressing consumability before divine judgment. Verses 13-16 bring near and far hearers into one summons and then ask the central Zion question: who can dwell with devouring fire and everlasting burnings? The answer in verse 15 should keep its ethical sequence intact - walking righteous deeds, speaking uprightness, despising gain from oppression, shaking hands from bribe-taking, stopping ears from bloodshed, shutting eyes from evil. Verse 16 should preserve the reward in concrete terms: heights as dwelling place, rock-fortresses as refuge, bread given, waters sure. Verses 17-19 then shift from qualification to vision. The king in his beauty should remain a direct sight, and the far-stretching land should keep its expansive quality. Verse 18's remembered terror with scribe, weigher, and tower-counter should remain somewhat enigmatic but concrete, as recollection of siege-administration now gone. Verse 19's fierce people of obscure speech should preserve the foreignness and unintelligibility of the oppressor. Verses 20-22 present Zion's settled security. Jerusalem is the city of our appointed feasts, a tranquil habitation, a tent not removed, with pegs never pulled up and cords never torn. Verse 21's broad rivers and streams should remain paradoxical, because Jerusalem is described as though possessing natural defenses without granting passage to hostile ships. Verse 22 gathers judge, lawgiver, and king in YHWH himself and should retain the triadic concentration. Verses 23-24 close with a difficult maritime image that should still communicate enemy disablement followed by abundant spoil, so abundant that even the lame plunder it. The last line must remain tender and theological: no inhabitant says 'I am sick,' because the people dwelling there are forgiven iniquity. The sequence binds bodily well-being to pardoned guilt. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where siege fear, diplomatic collapse, and the terror of divine holiness are all answered by YHWH's rising kingship, Zion's ethical purification, and a final secure civic life grounded in forgiveness. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 34 — ישעיהו 34

Theme. A universal summons for nations, peoples, earth, and world to hear, the announcement that YHWH's wrath lies against all the nations and their host, the grotesque battlefield image of corpses cast out while mountains melt with blood, the rolling up of the heavens and withering of the heavenly host, the declaration that YHWH's sword, drenched in heaven, descends specifically upon Edom, the sacrificial language that turns Bozrah and the land of Edom into an altar of slaughter, the transformation of its streams and dust into burning pitch and sulfur, the endless smoke and untraversable ruin inherited by desert creatures and uncanny night beings, and the final appeal to the book of YHWH whose word and spirit have assigned the land to those creatures together make Isaiah 34 one of the book's fiercest visions of cosmic judgment and irrevocable desolation. It opens by drawing the whole world into a courtroom-like hearing. Nations and peoples are summoned, but so too are earth and world in their fullness, because the coming judgment is not local news. YHWH's fury is directed against all nations and all their armies, and the first images stress the exposed shame of total defeat: slain bodies are thrown out, stench rises, and mountains themselves dissolve with blood. The vision then rises from battlefield to cosmos. The host of heaven decays, the heavens are rolled up like a scroll, and their army falls like leaves from vine and fig. Yet the oracle does not remain diffused in universal abstraction. It narrows with terrible specificity to Edom. YHWH's sword has become saturated in the heavens and now descends for judgment upon the people under his ban. What follows is described through sacrificial language so intense that history becomes liturgy of doom: the sword is fattened with blood and fat, lambs, goats, and rams give way to wild oxen and bulls, and Bozrah becomes the place of YHWH's great slaughter. The day is named as YHWH's vengeance and the year of recompense for Zion's cause. From there the land itself is transformed into a permanent anti-creation. Streams become pitch, dust sulfur, and the whole country blazing tar that is never quenched day or night. Smoke rises forever, generations pass over its desolation, and no traveler crosses it again. Human rule disappears, not because the land is empty, but because another population inherits it: pelican, hedgehog, owl, raven, jackals, ostriches, desert creatures, goat-demons, the night creature, nesting birds, and circling scavengers. The old political space is measured not by the architecture of a kingdom but by the line of chaos and stones of emptiness. The final movement insists that this is not poetic excess that may fail to happen. One is told to consult the book of YHWH and read: none of these creatures is missing its mate because YHWH's own mouth commanded and his Spirit gathered them. He has cast the lot for them and divided the land by line to them forever. Taken together, universal summons, heavenly dissolution, anti-Edom sword, sacrifice imagery, perpetual burning, de-created landscape, uncanny creaturely inheritance, and scriptural ratification form a chapter where divine judgment is not a passing military setback but a total reordering of a hostile land into an everlasting sign of wrath.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you people: let the earth. Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of YHWH upon all nations, and fury upon all their armies: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter.
II. 3–4 — Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling from the fig tree.
III. 5 — For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
IV. 6–8 — The sword of YHWH is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, wit. The sword of YHWH is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for YHWH has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust.
V. 9–10 — And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
VI. 11–15 — But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the. But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the.
VII. 16–17 — Seek you out of the book of YHWH, and read: no one of these shall fail,. Seek you out of the book of YHWH, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it has commanded, and his spirit it has gathered them. And he has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: the universal summons to hear and the announcement of YHWH's wrath against all nations and their armies (vv. 1-2), the battlefield and cosmic dissolution imagery of corpses, blood, and rolled-up heavens (vv. 3-4), the narrowing of judgment onto Edom through the descent of YHWH's heaven-drenched sword (v. 5), the sacrificial slaughter scene at Bozrah and in the land of Edom as YHWH's day of vengeance for Zion (vv. 6-8), the transformation of the land into perpetually burning pitch and sulfur with smoke rising forever (vv. 9-10), the inheritance of the ruined territory by desert and uncanny creatures under the measures of chaos (vv. 11-15), and the final appeal to the book of YHWH whose command and Spirit assign the land to them forever (vv. 16-17). Verse 1 should preserve the widening summons in full. Nations and peoples are called near, but the earth, its fullness, the world, and all its offspring are also commanded to hear, signaling that the oracle carries universal significance. Verse 2 states the reason and should keep both wrath and ban-language explicit: YHWH's indignation is against all the nations and his fury against all their host; he has devoted them and given them over to slaughter. Verses 3-4 then intensify the vision through grotesque and cosmic imagery. Corpses are cast out, stench rises, mountains melt with blood, the host of heaven rots or wastes away, the heavens are rolled like a scroll, and heavenly hosts fall like withered leaves or figs. Translation should preserve both the battlefield concreteness and the de-creation scale. Verse 5 marks the crucial narrowing to Edom and should retain the image of the sword made drunk or saturated in heaven before descending upon the people of YHWH's ban for judgment. The transition from all nations to Edom is deliberate: Edom becomes the representative target of divine vengeance. Verses 6-8 depend on sacrificial language and should be translated with liturgical seriousness. YHWH's sword is filled with blood, made fat with fat, and the slaughter is described through lambs, goats, rams, wild oxen, bulls, and mighty beasts. Bozrah and the land of Edom are thereby rendered as a sacrificial site. Verse 8 interprets the whole scene: this is a day of vengeance for YHWH and a year of recompenses for Zion's lawsuit or cause. The forensic dimension should remain audible. Verses 9-10 turn the land itself into an everlasting conflagration. Streams become pitch, dust sulfur, and land burning pitch; the fire is not quenched night or day, and its smoke rises forever. The perpetual desolation language should remain severe, with generation after generation and no traveler passing through it. Verses 11-15 then present the aftermath through creaturely occupation. The exact zoological identifications of some terms remain debated, and translation may preserve familiar conventional renderings while acknowledging the general force: unclean, desert, nocturnal, and uncanny beings inherit the space. The line of tohu and stones of bohu in verse 11 are crucial and should echo Genesis-like anti-creation language rather than being flattened into mere rubble. Verse 12's absence of kingdom and princes should remain politically explicit, because human order has failed altogether. The night creature in verse 14 and the nesting imagery in verse 15 should preserve the eerie settledness of the new occupants. Verses 16-17 close with a striking scriptural validation. The audience is told to seek from the book of YHWH and read, and none of these creatures is missing or without its mate because YHWH's mouth has commanded and his Spirit has gathered them. Verse 17's lot-casting and line-measuring should remain covenant-land language turned to an ironic end: the land is apportioned permanently to creatures of desolation. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where YHWH's universal wrath takes emblematic shape in Edom, cosmic collapse meets sacrificial slaughter, and the judged land becomes an everlasting wilderness testament ratified by the very word and Spirit of God. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 35 — ישעיהו 35

Theme. Wilderness joy, blossoming desert, strengthened weak hands and knees, the coming of God with vengeance that is at the same time saving deliverance, opened blind eyes and unstopped deaf ears, the lame leaping and the mute singing, waters breaking out across the waste, a holy highway free from uncleanness and predatory threat, and the redeemed returning to Zion with everlasting joy together make this chapter one of Isaiah's clearest visions of restorative transformation after judgment. It opens by reversing the emotional and ecological meaning of the wilderness itself. Desert and dry land do not merely survive; they rejoice, exult, and burst into bloom like a brilliant flower. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon lend their glory and splendor to what had been barren, so the once-sterile landscape becomes a theater for seeing the glory of YHWH and the majesty of Israel's God. The movement then turns from vision to exhortation. Weak hands are to be strengthened, failing knees made firm, and the hasty-hearted told not to fear because God is coming. Yet the coming is described in a deliberate paradox: he comes with vengeance and recompense, but that very advent is the salvation of his people. Divine retribution against all that opposes Zion becomes the ground of courage for the threatened and the frail. From there the oracle spills into bodily restoration. Blind eyes are opened, deaf ears unstopped, the lame leap like deer, and the mute tongue rings out in joy. These healings are not isolated marvels but signs that creation itself is being renewed, because waters split open in the wilderness and torrents course through the desert plain. Arid heat becomes a pool, thirsty ground turns into springs, and the former haunt of jackals is overgrown with reeds and papyrus. The closing movement gathers that transformed world into pilgrimage. A raised highway appears there, called the Holy Way, barred to uncleanness and safe for those who belong upon it. Folly does not send travelers astray there, no lion or ravenous beast threatens the route, and the redeemed walk it in security. The final picture is Zionward return: the ransomed of YHWH come with singing, everlasting joy rests upon their heads, gladness overtakes them, and sorrow and sighing flee away. Taken together, renewed creation, embodied healing, holy passage, and joyful homecoming form a chapter where divine coming turns the aftermath of judgment into a public, communal, and cosmic restoration.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the de. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of YHWH, the excellency of our God.
II. 3–4 — Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come vengeance, God a recompence; he will come and save you.
III. 5–7 — Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf sha. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each.
IV. 8–10 — And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err . No lion shall be there, nor ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk : And the ransomed of YHWH shall return, and come.

Textual note. Four linked movements shape the chapter: the rejoicing and blossoming of the wilderness as a revelation of YHWH's glory (vv. 1-2), the exhortation to strengthen the weak because God is coming with recompense and salvation (vv. 3-4), the healing and watering transformation in which blindness, deafness, lameness, muteness, and desert barrenness are all reversed together (vv. 5-7), and the establishment of the Holy Way on which the redeemed return safely to Zion with everlasting joy (vv. 8-10). Verses 1-2 should preserve the doubled emphasis on joy and blossoming. Wilderness, dry land, and desert plain are personified as rejoicing participants in restoration, and the floral image should remain vivid rather than being reduced to generic fertility. Verse 2's repetition of blossoming and the sequence of joy, exultation, and ringing cry should be allowed to accumulate. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon should remain named, because the oracle borrows the most luxuriant landscapes of the land to describe what has happened to the once-barren waste. The climax of the opening unit is theological: they shall see the glory of YHWH, the splendor of our God. Translation should preserve that visual culmination. Verses 3-4 turn the scene into pastoral exhortation and should remain direct. Weak hands and failing knees are conventional bodily images for discouragement and collapse, and the command to strengthen them should not be softened into vague encouragement. Verse 4 is crucial because it joins fearlessness to the divine advent. The hasty or anxious of heart are told to be strong and not fear because their God is coming. The pair נָקָם and גְּמוּל should keep both vengeance and recompense audible, yet the line must also land on the saving purpose: he himself will come and save you. Salvation is not set against judgment here; God's judicial coming is presented as the means of rescue for his people. Verses 5-7 then unfold the result in two coordinated spheres, bodily and environmental. Verse 5's opening of blind eyes and unstopping of deaf ears should retain its sensory concreteness. Verse 6 extends that to mobility and speech: the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue cries out with joy. The causal clause beginning with כִּי matters: these healings belong to a wider new-creation setting because waters split open in the wilderness and torrents run in the desert plain. Verse 7 should preserve the reversal of the scorched land into pool and springs. The exact nuance of שָׁרָב and צִמָּאוֹן should remain tactile - burning heat and thirsty ground - while the closing image of jackal-haunt becoming grass, reed, and papyrus should keep the wetland transformation visible. Verses 8-10 describe the pilgrim result and should be translated with both holiness and safety in view. The raised road is both highway and way, and its title 'the Holy Way' should remain explicit. Verse 8's statement about the unclean not passing over it should preserve boundary language, while the phrase וְהוּא לָמוֹ is best heard as indicating that the way belongs to those for whom it is appointed. The following line should keep the strong promise that even fools will not wander off it. Verse 9 excludes lion and ravenous beast, so the journey is not merely sacred but secure. The ones who walk there are גְּאוּלִים, the redeemed. Verse 10 closes with one of Isaiah's great return formulas and should preserve both motion and emotional climax: the ransomed of YHWH return, come to Zion with singing, bear everlasting joy upon their heads, obtain gladness and joy, and leave sorrow and sighing in flight. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where divine advent heals bodies, renews creation, opens a holy road, and brings the redeemed home to Zion in irreversible joy. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 36 — ישעיהו 36

Theme. Assyrian advance, formal embassy, propaganda against political and theological trust, the public targeting of Jerusalem's defenders, surrender dressed up as peace, the equating of YHWH with defeated national gods, and the disciplined silence of Hezekiah's servants together make this chapter the abrupt narrative turn from Isaiah's promises of holy return into the historical siege crisis that tests those promises. It opens with hard chronology and immediate loss. In Hezekiah's fourteenth year Sennacherib takes the fortified cities of Judah, so the threat to Jerusalem emerges not as distant rumor but as the culmination of visible Assyrian success. The Rabshakeh is then sent from Lachish with a heavy force and stands by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller's field, a setting that makes water, exposure, and public memory part of the scene from the outset. Judah's senior officials come out, and the encounter becomes a contest over the meaning of trust. The Rabshakeh attacks every possible ground of resistance. He dismisses Judah's words as empty talk, mocks reliance on Egypt as leaning on a splintered reed, and then twists Hezekiah's own reform into evidence that trust in YHWH is misplaced. Most sharply, he claims Assyria has come with YHWH's own authorization, trying to collapse resistance from within the language of divine purpose. The speech then becomes openly public. When the Judean officials ask for Aramaic, the Rabshakeh refuses and insists on speaking in Judean before the people on the wall, making fear, hunger, and humiliation part of the argument. He warns against Hezekiah, warns against trusting YHWH, offers apparent domestic peace and later deportation to a land like Judah's, and casts surrender as life rather than death. The theological climax is a blasphemous analogy: just as the gods of other lands, even Samaria's, failed before Assyria, so YHWH will fail to save Jerusalem. Yet the chapter does not end with Assyria's voice triumphant in any uncomplicated sense. The people remain silent according to the king's command, and the officials return with torn garments to report the words. Taken together, military pressure, strategic location, anti-Egypt taunt, anti-reform distortion, public propaganda, false peace, anti-YHWH challenge, and disciplined silence form a chapter where imperial speech seeks to redefine reality itself while Judah's first faithful act is simply to refuse its terms.

Outline.

I. 1 — Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib. Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
II. 2–3 — And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. Then came forth to him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.
III. 4–10 — And Rabshakeh said to them, Say you now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great. And Rabshakeh said to them, Say you now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence this wherein you trustest? I say, , (but vain words) counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost you trust, that you rebellest against me? Lo, you trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into.
IV. 11–15 — Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah to Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray you, t. Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah to Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray you, to your servants in the Syrian language; for we understand : and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that on the wall. But Rabshakeh said, Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words? not to the men that sit upon the wall, that they.
V. 16–20 — Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria, Make with me. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria, Make with me a present, and come out to me: and eat you every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink you every one the waters of his own cistern; Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. lest Hezekiah.
VI. 21–22 — But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's c. But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: Sennacherib's capture of Judah's fortified cities and the arrival of the Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem's water source (vv. 1-3), the first assault on Judah's grounds of trust through mockery of counsel, Egypt, reform, and even appeal to YHWH (vv. 4-10), the shift into direct public propaganda in Judean against Hezekiah and against trusting YHWH (vv. 11-15), the seductive offer of surrender together with the imperial theology that no national god has withstood Assyria (vv. 16-20), and the people's silence followed by the torn-garment report to Hezekiah (vv. 21-22). Verse 1 should preserve both the precise regnal dating and the blunt military result: Sennacherib comes up against Judah's fortified cities and captures them. Jerusalem's crisis is meant to be heard as standing downstream from real Assyrian success, not from empty boasting alone. Verses 2-3 stage the confrontation with careful public detail. The Rabshakeh comes from Lachish with a heavy force and stands by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller's field; the location should remain exact because it ties the scene to Jerusalem's vulnerable infrastructure and to the wider Hezekiah narrative. The named Judean officials should also remain distinct, since the encounter is administrative and diplomatic before it becomes popular and theological. Verses 4-10 open the speech and should be translated with close attention to its layered strategy. Verse 4 questions the nature of Hezekiah's trust itself. Verse 5 treats Judah's plans as lip-talk rather than real counsel and power. Verse 6's broken-reed image for Egypt should remain vivid, because the point is not mere weakness but injury to those who lean there. Verse 7 is especially important: Hezekiah's centralizing reform is maliciously misread as impiety, so covenant obedience is rebranded as cultic offense. Verse 10 sharpens the propaganda further by claiming YHWH has commissioned the Assyrian advance. The line should retain that audacity. Verses 11-15 turn to audience and medium. The Judean officials ask for Aramaic rather than Judean because they understand what is happening: the speech is aimed at the people's morale. Verse 12's grotesque siege imagery should not be softened away, because bodily degradation is part of the intimidation. Verse 13's loud public speech in Judean must remain prominent, and verses 14-15 should preserve the double warning not to let Hezekiah deceive them and not to let him make them trust in YHWH. Verses 16-20 continue with alternating seduction and blasphemy. Verse 16's call to make peace and come out should preserve the immediate domestic imagery of vine, fig tree, and cistern water. Verse 17 then recasts deportation as transfer to a land like their own; the terms grain, wine, bread, and vineyards should remain concrete so the deception is felt. Verses 18-20 shift back to theological argument. National gods are invoked, Hamath, Arpad, and Sepharvaim are named, Samaria is cited, and the closing question explicitly asks why YHWH should be different from the gods of conquered lands. Translation should preserve the imperial logic without dulling its blasphemous edge. Verses 21-22 close with silence and report. The people's refusal to answer according to the king's command should remain terse and disciplined. The torn garments of Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah then mark the gravity of the speech as they bring its words to Hezekiah. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where Assyrian power attempts to conquer Jerusalem first by rhetoric, by redefining trust, reform, and divine agency, while Judah's first response is restrained silence under pressure. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 37 — ישעיהו 37

Theme. Temple lament, prophetic reassurance, renewed Assyrian threat by letter, Hezekiah's spread-out prayer before YHWH, Zion's answering mockery of imperial pride, remnant and sign promises, the categorical denial that Assyria will enter the city, the overnight slaughter of the besieging camp, and the later death of Sennacherib in his own god's house together make this chapter the great reversal to the propaganda assault of Isaiah 36. It opens not with counter-boasting but with grief and worship. Hezekiah tears his garments, covers himself in sackcloth, and goes into the house of YHWH, while his officials and the elders of the priests are sent to Isaiah. The crisis is named as distress, rebuke, and contempt, and the childbirth proverb sharpens the helplessness: children have come to the breaking point, but there is no strength to give birth. Judah is not pretending strength; it is asking whether YHWH may hear the blasphemy leveled against the living God and whether prayer may yet avail for the surviving remnant. The first answer comes quickly through Isaiah: do not fear the words of the Assyrian servants, for YHWH will put a spirit in Sennacherib, send him home, and bring him down there by the sword. Yet the danger is not over. The threat returns in written form after Assyria hears of Tirhakah, and the letter intensifies the same lie: do not let your God deceive you. Hezekiah's response is one of the chapter's theological centers. He takes the letter into the house of YHWH and spreads it before him, then prays to the enthroned God of Israel who alone is God over all the kingdoms of the earth and maker of heaven and earth. His prayer is lucid and restrained. Assyria really has devastated nations, but their gods were wood and stone, the work of human hands. Therefore the request is not merely for survival but for revelation: save us, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are YHWH. Isaiah's long answer then turns the whole rhetoric of Assyria backward. Daughter Zion mocks the king who mocked her, and the offense is named exactly: he has reproached the Holy One of Israel. His boasts of ascent, felling, digging, drinking, and trampling waters are answered by YHWH's sovereignty over history itself. What Assyria imagines as autonomous conquest was shaped by God long ago, and now the raging conqueror will be led back by hook and bridle. Judah, meanwhile, receives both sign and future: disrupted agriculture will recover in stages, and the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will root downward and bear fruit upward. The closing movement is stark and unforgettable. Assyria will not shoot here, shield here, or build a siege ramp here, because YHWH himself will defend the city for his own sake and for David's. In the night the angel of YHWH strikes the Assyrian camp, Sennacherib departs to Nineveh, and later he is killed while bowing in the house of Nisroch his god. Taken together, mourning, prayer, prophetic answer, anti-imperial taunt, remnant hope, and sudden judgment form a chapter where YHWH answers blasphemous imperial speech not by matching its noise but by defending Zion, humbling Assyria, and vindicating his own name before the nations.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard , that he rent his clothes. And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard , that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of YHWH. And he sent Eliakim, who over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day a.
II. 5–7 — So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall you say to your master, Thus says YHWH, Be not afraid of the words that you have heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to.
III. 8–20 — So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Lib. So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with you. And when he heard , he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not your God, in.
IV. 21–35 — Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says YHWH God. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says YHWH God of Israel, Whereas you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: This the word which YHWH has spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, has despised you, laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. Whom have you reproached and.
V. 36–38 — Then the angel of YHWH went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrian. Then the angel of YHWH went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that.

Textual note. Four major movements shape the chapter: Hezekiah's mourning appeal to Isaiah and the prophet's first reassurance (vv. 1-7), the renewed Assyrian threat by message and Hezekiah's prayer before YHWH (vv. 8-20), Isaiah's long answer oracle of humiliation for Assyria and preservation for Jerusalem (vv. 21-35), and the narrative fulfillment in the Assyrian camp together with Sennacherib's later death (vv. 36-38). Verses 1-4 should be translated with close attention to grief language and theological focus. Hezekiah tears his garments, dons sackcloth, and enters the house of YHWH, while his officials and priestly elders go to Isaiah in the same mourning posture. Verse 3's cluster of distress, rebuke, and contempt should remain sharp, and the childbirth proverb should preserve the sense of life brought to crisis without power for delivery. Verse 4 is especially important because the issue is not merely military threat but blasphemy against the living God; prayer is sought on behalf of the surviving remnant. Verses 5-7 give the first prophetic answer and should remain compact and forceful. Fear is to be refused because the Assyrian words are blasphemy against YHWH. The promised spirit, report, return, and sword in the king's own land should all remain visible, since the whole arc of the chapter is already compressed there. Verses 8-20 reopen the crisis and deepen the prayer. The movement from Lachish to Libnah, the report concerning Tirhakah, and the sending of another message should remain narratively clear. Verses 10-13 repeat and widen the imperial argument: Jerusalem should not imagine itself exempt from the fate of other lands, kings, and gods. Verse 14 then becomes a key liturgical action. Hezekiah receives and reads the letters, goes up to the house of YHWH, and spreads them before YHWH; the threatening document is placed into divine presence. Verses 15-20 should preserve the prayer's theological structure. YHWH of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, is confessed as the one true God over all kingdoms and maker of heaven and earth. The petitions to incline the ear, open the eyes, and hear the blasphemous words against the living God should remain concrete and reverent. Hezekiah does not deny Assyria's historical success; he explains it by the impotence of the nations' gods, which are only wood and stone made by human hands. The closing request should preserve its missionary horizon: save us so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are YHWH. Verses 21-35 are Isaiah's answering oracle and should be translated with full rhetorical force. Verse 21 ties the answer directly to heard prayer. Verse 22 begins Zion's counter-mockery, and daughter Zion's derision should remain vivid. Verse 23 names the true target of Assyria's reproach as the Holy One of Israel. Verses 24-25 preserve the conqueror's boasts of ascent, forest-felling, water-digging, and trampling. Verses 26-29 answer those boasts by asserting YHWH's prior sovereignty over the events themselves: what Assyria has done was formed long ago by God, and now the raging king will be turned back by hook and bridle. Verses 30-32 give Hezekiah a sign and Judah a future. The sequence of volunteer growth, second-year growth, and third-year sowing and planting should stay concrete, while the remnant image of rooting downward and fruiting upward should remain strong. Verse 32 grounds it in the zeal of YHWH of hosts. Verses 33-35 then state the city's inviolability in emphatic negatives: the Assyrian king will not come into this city, shoot there, advance shield-first, or pour up a siege ramp. YHWH's defense of Jerusalem for his own sake and for David's sake should remain explicit. Verses 36-38 narrate fulfillment with stark simplicity. The angel of YHWH strikes one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp by night, Sennacherib departs to Nineveh, and later he is killed in the house of Nisroch his god while his sons escape and Esar-haddon succeeds him. The irony of the blaspheming king's death in his own god's temple should remain fully visible. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where Judah's grief becomes prayer, prayer is heard, Assyrian arrogance is answered by Zion and by YHWH, and the living God vindicates his name by defending Jerusalem and cutting down the emperor in his own land. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 38 — ישעיהו 38

Theme. Mortal illness, prayer heard in tears, added years, a sign that reverses the shadow, and the inserted royal thanksgiving poem together make this chapter a meditation on life restored at the edge of death. It opens with the same stark crisis known from Kings: Hezekiah is sick unto death, Isaiah tells him to set his house in order, and the king turns from public rule toward the wall in private prayer. Yet the answer is immediate. YHWH hears, sees, and adds fifteen years, joining personal healing to renewed protection from Assyria and to the defense of Jerusalem itself. Time then becomes part of the sign, as the shadow returns backward on the steps of Ahaz, marking divine reversal in visible form. What distinguishes Isaiah 38 most sharply from the Kings parallel is the long writing of Hezekiah that follows. The movement slows into first-person lament, where cut-off years, gates of Sheol, dismantled tent, severed weaving, crushed bones, birdlike crying, and failing eyes give language to the king's encounter with mortality. But the poem does not remain in despair. Bitterness becomes peace, sins are cast behind God's back, and the contrast between the silence of Sheol and the praise of the living turns survival into renewed obligation for worship and truth-telling from father to children. The closing return to the fig-cake remedy and the sign request binds poem and narrative back together. Taken as a whole, illness, oracle, sign, lament, forgiveness, and temple-directed praise form a chapter where healing is not merely the extension of biological life but the recovery of praise, memory, and public witness before YHWH.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, Thus says YHWH, Set your house in order: for you shall die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to YHWH, And said, Remember now, O YHWH, I beseech you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect.
II. 4–6 — Then came the word of YHWH to Isaiah, saying. Then came the word of YHWH to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus says YHWH, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will add to your days fifteen years. And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
III. 7–8 — And this a sign to you from YHWH, that YHWH will do this thing that he h. And this a sign to you from YHWH, that YHWH will do this thing that he has spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
IV. 9–20 — The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was re. The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see YHWH, YHWH, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Mine age is.
V. 21–22 — For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay for a plaiste. For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What the sign that I shall go up to the house of YHWH?

Textual note. Four linked movements shape the chapter: the death sentence, prayer, and immediate promise of added years and deliverance (vv. 1-6), the sign of the returning shadow on the steps of Ahaz (vv. 7-8), Hezekiah's written thanksgiving that moves from near-death lament to restored praise and filial testimony (vv. 9-20), and the closing prose notice about the fig-cake remedy and the sign request (vv. 21-22). Verses 1-3 should be translated with full force on the mortality crisis and on the king's intimate reply. Verse 1's command to set the house in order and the doubled finality that he will die and not live should remain plain. Verse 2's turning to the wall should also stay concrete rather than being dissolved into vague interiority. Verse 3 joins remembered faithfulness, whole-hearted walking, and great weeping; the appeal should retain covenantal resonance without implying sinless perfection. Verses 4-6 are the chapter's first reversal and should preserve both their swiftness and their breadth. The answer comes as the word of YHWH to Isaiah, and verse 5 should keep the threefold assurance that the prayer has been heard, the tears have been seen, and fifteen years will be added. Verse 6 must also retain the continued Assyrian and Jerusalem promise, because healing here is joined to the city's preservation rather than isolated from it. Verses 7-8 present the sign and should keep the imagery of the steps and the returning shadow fully visible. The movement backward on the steps of Ahaz is not incidental embellishment but a concrete temporal reversal that makes the promise perceptible in royal space. Verses 9-20 are the chapter's most distinctive material and should be translated with poetic density rather than flattened summary. Verse 9 labels the poem as a writing of Hezekiah after his sickness and recovery, and the following lines move through the gates of Sheol, the loss of the land of the living, the dismantled shepherd's tent, the cut web, the lion-like crushing of bones, birdlike cries, failing eyes, and embittered soul. These metaphors should remain vivid and varied, because the poem gives the inward experience of nearing death rather than merely restating the prose narrative. Verse 17's turn is especially important: bitterness becomes peace, the soul is loved away from the pit of destruction, and sins are cast behind God's back. Verses 18-19 then contrast the silence of Sheol with the praise of the living, and verse 19 should preserve the father-to-children transmission of divine truth. Verse 20 gathers the whole recovery into liturgical response, where string-music and lifelong praise belong in the house of YHWH. Verses 21-22 return to prose and should be translated simply while allowing the structural tension to remain. The fig-cake laid on the boil gives embodied means to the healing, while the sign request about going up to the house of YHWH restates the restored future toward which the whole chapter has been moving. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where added years are interpreted through poetry of mortal extremity, forgiveness, and renewed praise, so that healing becomes a testimony wrested from the edge of Sheol. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 39 — ישעיהו 39

Theme. Babylonian curiosity, royal self-display, prophetic interrogation, and the first explicit exile oracle naming Babylon together make this short chapter the decisive hinge between Hezekiah's deliverance narratives and Isaiah's later horizon of judgment and restoration. It opens with what looks benign: letters and a gift arrive because the king of Babylon has heard of Hezekiah's illness and recovery. But the danger here is subtler than the Assyrian crisis. Hezekiah rejoices over the envoys and exposes everything: silver, gold, spices, precious oil, armory, treasuries, house, and dominion. Nothing is withheld. What Assyria could not seize by siege is voluntarily displayed before the future imperial power that will one day carry it away. Isaiah then enters not as court diplomat but as prophetic examiner. His questions force the scene into the light, and Hezekiah's answers confirm the full scope of what has happened. The judgment that follows is severe precisely because it is so measured. Days are coming when all the accumulated treasures of the Davidic house will be carried to Babylon, and even royal sons will become eunuchs in a foreign palace. This oracle therefore shifts the threat-axis of the book from immediate Assyrian pressure to the longer shadow of Babylonian exile. Hezekiah's closing response is submissive yet troubling, since he receives the word as good so long as peace and truth remain in his own days. Taken together, diplomatic courtesy, royal exposure, prophetic scrutiny, announced plunder, dynastic humiliation, and deferred disaster form a chapter where present relief gives way to the future cost of self-display and where Babylon first steps fully onto Isaiah's stage as the named destination of Judah's coming loss.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent. At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all.
II. 3–4 — Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What sai. Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What said these men? and from whence came they to you? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country to me, from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All that in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not.
III. 5–7 — Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of YHWH of hosts:. Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of YHWH of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that in your house, and which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says YHWH. And of your sons that shall issue from you, which you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the.
IV. 8 — Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good the word of YHWH which you have spoke. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good the word of YHWH which you have spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.

Textual note. Four linked movements shape the chapter: the arrival of Babylon's letters and gift after news of Hezekiah's illness and recovery (v. 1), Hezekiah's delighted exposure of all his wealth and resources to the envoys (v. 2), Isaiah's interrogation about the visitors and about what they have seen (vv. 3-4), and the announced Babylonian removal of treasures and royal offspring together with Hezekiah's uneasy acceptance (vv. 5-8). Verse 1 should preserve the diplomatic courtesy of the opening without allowing it to lose its ominous force. Merodach-baladan is named as king of Babylon, and the sending of letters and a gift because he heard of the king's sickness and recovery should remain plain. The line introduces Babylon not yet as conqueror but as interested foreign power, and that distinction matters because the chapter's danger enters through prestige and attention rather than through siege. Verse 2 turns the whole scene and should be translated with the full breadth of the display. Hezekiah rejoices over them and shows the envoys the treasure house, silver, gold, spices, good oil, all the house of his vessels, and all that is found in his treasuries. The repeated comprehensiveness of the verse should remain audible. Nothing is left unseen in house or dominion. Translation should not abbreviate the catalog too aggressively, because the totality of exposure is the point. Verses 3-4 move into prophetic examination. Isaiah's questions about what the men said, where they came from, and what they saw should remain sharp and judicial in tone. Hezekiah's answer that they came from a far country, from Babylon, and that they saw all that is in his house should preserve both distance and totality. The repetition here functions as evidentiary confirmation before judgment. Verses 5-7 then introduce the exile oracle and should be rendered with restrained weight. Verse 5's command to hear the word of YHWH of hosts should remain solemn. Verse 6 explicitly names the coming transport of all that is in the house and all that the fathers stored up until this day to Babylon; not a thing shall be left. The recently displayed wealth becomes the future spoil. Verse 7 presses further by naming royal sons who will come from Hezekiah and become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Translation should preserve both dynastic descent and humiliating court service, since the oracle reaches into David's own line. Verse 8 closes with one of the chapter's most morally difficult notes. Hezekiah calls the word of YHWH good because peace and truth will remain in his own days. The response should not be softened into uncomplicated piety. It holds submission to prophetic truth together with a narrowing of relief to the king's own lifetime. Taken together, the chapter should therefore be translated as a brief but crucial movement where Babylon enters the narrative as admired visitor and leaves it as named destination of Judah's future plunder and dynastic abasement. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 40 — ישעיהו 40

Theme. Comfort announced, guilt declared answered, the wilderness way prepared, the herald commanded to proclaim God's arrival, the nations and idols reduced to nothing before the Creator, and faint Jacob called back into trusting hope together make this chapter the great threshold into Isaiah's consolatory horizon. It opens not with accusation but with doubled imperative tenderness: comfort my people. Jerusalem is addressed to the heart, her warfare is completed, her iniquity has been accepted, and the chapter immediately turns from penalty remembered to restoration spoken. Yet the comfort is not vague sentiment. A voice commands the preparation of YHWH's way through the wilderness, valleys are lifted, mountains lowered, roughness leveled, and the glory of YHWH is to be revealed before all flesh. Human frailty is then named with brutal clarity: all flesh is grass and its beauty like the flower of the field. But precisely against that perishability, the word of our God stands forever. From there the chapter rises into heraldic proclamation. Zion is told to ascend a high mountain and say without fear, 'Behold your God.' The Lord YHWH comes in strength, yet he also shepherds, gathers lambs, carries them in his bosom, and gently leads the nursing. The second half expands that Godward vision through a series of incomparable questions and contrasts. Waters, heavens, dust, mountains, forests, nations, coastlands, princes, and stars are all measured, weighed, named, or brought to nothing by the Creator who is taught by no counselor and compared to no image. The closing movement turns the argument personally toward Jacob and Israel, whose complaint of being hidden from God is met by the everlasting God's unwearied sovereignty. He gives power to the faint, and those who wait for YHWH exchange strength, rise like eagles, run without exhaustion, and walk without collapse. Taken together, comfort, highway, proclamation, creator incomparability, anti-idol mockery, and renewed strength form a chapter where exilic desolation is answered by the unexhausted God whose word, presence, and shepherding power reopen the future for his people.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Comfort you, comfort you my people, says your God. Comfort you, comfort you my people, says your God. Speak you comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she has received of YHWH's hand double for all her sins.
II. 3–5 — The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of Y. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of YHWH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of YHWH shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together: for the.
III. 6–8 — The voice said, Cry. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of YHWH bloweth upon it: surely the people grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
IV. 9–11 — O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get you up into the high mountain; O. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get you up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up your voice with strength; lift up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, YHWH YHWH will come with strong , and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward with him, and his work before him. He shall feed.
V. 12–17 — Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out hea. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of YHWH, or his counsellor has taught him? With whom took he counsel, and instructed him, and taught him in the path of.
VI. 18–26 — To whom then will you liken God? or what likeness will you compare to hi. To whom then will you liken God? or what likeness will you compare to him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that so impoverished that he has no oblation chooseth a tree will not rot; he seeketh to him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, shall not be moved. Have you not.
VII. 27–31 — Why sayest you, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from YHWH. Why sayest you, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from YHWH, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast you not known? have you not heard, the everlasting God, YHWH, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to no might he increaseth strength..

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: the opening comfort-oracle to Jerusalem with the declaration that her service is fulfilled and her guilt answered (vv. 1-2), the wilderness voice preparing YHWH's way and the revelation of his glory (vv. 3-5), the contrast between perishing flesh and the enduring word of God (vv. 6-8), the herald to Zion announcing the coming of the Lord YHWH as both ruler and shepherd (vv. 9-11), the creator-hymn and incomparability sequence in which the nations are dust and God is taught by none (vv. 12-17), the anti-idol and anti-human-power polemic culminating in the star-host ruled by name (vv. 18-26), and the closing answer to Israel's complaint through the promise of renewed strength for those who wait for YHWH (vv. 27-31). Verses 1-2 should be translated with full tenderness and declarative force. The doubled imperative 'Comfort, comfort' should remain as such, and the address to 'my people' should preserve covenantal intimacy. Verse 2's directive to speak to the heart of Jerusalem should remain idiomatic but visible, since consolation is here persuasive speech entering the center of the personified city. The three כי clauses are crucial: her warfare or hard service is complete, her iniquity is accepted or paid off, and she has received from YHWH's hand double for all her sins. The line should not be flattened into mere emotional soothing; it is a judicial and covenantal declaration of altered status. Verses 3-5 are among Isaiah's programmatic lines and should preserve both topography and theophany. Whether the wilderness modifies the voice or the way-preparation, the command itself is clear: prepare the way of YHWH and level a highway for our God. Valleys lifted, mountains lowered, crooked made straight, and rough places plain should remain concrete. Verse 5 climaxes in the revelation of the glory of YHWH to all flesh and should keep the final ratification that the mouth of YHWH has spoken. Verses 6-8 turn to human transience and should retain their rhetorical sharpness. All flesh is grass, all its beauty like the flower of the field, and the withering comes when YHWH's breath blows upon it. Verse 8 must preserve the contrast exactly: grass withers, flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Verses 9-11 move into heraldic announcement and should remain high and fearless. Zion is addressed as bearer of good news and told to ascend a high mountain; Jerusalem likewise is to lift up the voice strongly and say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God.' Verse 10 should preserve both coming strength and recompense language, while verse 11 must remain pastorally concrete: he shepherds the flock, gathers lambs with his arm, carries them in his bosom, and gently leads nursing ones. The same God who comes in rule comes in tender nearness. Verses 12-17 shift into creator incomparability through a cascade of measurements and negations. Waters in the hollow of the hand, heavens spanned, dust measured, mountains weighed, Spirit unadvised, and the nations counted as drop and dust should all remain vivid. These verses should not be over-smoothed, because their rhetorical accumulation is part of the chapter's force. Verse 15's nation-language, verse 16's Lebanon insufficiency, and verse 17's nothingness before him all press the hearer beyond political scale into theological astonishment. Verses 18-26 deepen the argument through anti-idol satire and anti-ruler diminution. Verse 18's opening question about likeness should remain direct. The craftsman passages in verses 19-20 should preserve their materiality precisely because the idols are manufactured objects. Verses 21-24 then pivot back to the one enthroned above the circle of the earth, reducing inhabitants to grasshoppers and rulers to near nothing. Verse 26 culminates in the star-host commanded and counted by name. Translation should retain both the cosmic scale and the personal authority implied by naming. Verses 27-31 close by answering Israel's complaint and should be translated as consolation through theology rather than through sentiment alone. Jacob's claim that his way is hidden and his justice ignored is met by the confession that YHWH is the everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth, who neither faints nor grows weary and whose understanding is unsearchable. Verse 29's gift of power to the faint and abundance of might to the powerless should remain compact and strong. The closing movement gives the famous waiting promise; those who wait for YHWH exchange or renew strength, rise on wings like eagles, run without weariness, and walk without fainting. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the overture to Isaiah's consolation, where forgiveness announced, divine advent proclaimed, human frailty exposed, creator sovereignty exalted, and weary Israel strengthened all belong to one renewed word from God. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 41 — ישעיהו 41

Theme. Summoned coastlands, the mysterious conqueror from the east, terrified nations shoring each other up, Israel addressed as chosen servant, worm Jacob transformed into a threshing tool, wilderness turned into watered abundance, and idols exposed as wind and emptiness together make this chapter the first full forensic confrontation of Isaiah's consolation section. It opens like a world-trial. The coastlands are commanded to be silent and renew strength so that they may approach for judgment, and immediately the question is raised: who has stirred up the one from the east and handed nations and kings over before him? The answer is not the conqueror himself but YHWH, the first and with the last, who calls the generations from the beginning. The nations react in fear, yet their answer is not repentance but mutual encouragement in the manufacture of idols. Against that frantic religiosity, Israel is addressed in wholly different terms. Jacob is not merely one more frightened nation. He is the servant taken from the ends of the earth, chosen and not rejected, told not to fear because God is with him, upheld by righteous right hand, and promised that enemies will become as nothing. The comfort then intensifies in startling images. Worm Jacob and men of Israel are redeemed and turned into a sharp threshing instrument, while the poor and needy seeking water are met by the God who opens rivers, fountains, pools, and springs, and plants the wilderness with trees as an enacted revelation that YHWH alone has done this. The final movement returns to the lawsuit form and presses the idols to prove themselves through knowledge of past and future. They cannot answer. Their works are nothing, their images are emptiness, and the chapter closes by naming Zion's heralded good news over against the false gods' silence. Taken together, cosmic summons, imperial instrument, covenant reassurance, anti-fear exhortation, remnant empowerment, new-creation water, and anti-idol trial form a chapter where consolation advances not by sentiment alone but by demonstrating that YHWH governs history, sustains his servant people, and exposes every rival claim to divinity as void.

Outline.

I. 1 — Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew strength: le. Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
II. 2–4 — Who raised up the righteous from the east, called him to his foot, gave. Who raised up the righteous from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made rule over kings? he gave as the dust to his sword, as driven stubble to his bow. He pursued them, passed safely; by the way he had not gone with his feet. Who has wrought and done , calling the generations from the beginning? I YHWH, the first, and with.
III. 5–7 — The isles saw , and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near. The isles saw , and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. They helped every one his neighbour; and said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, he that smootheth the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, it should not be moved.
IV. 8–13 — But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abrah. But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called you from the chief men thereof, and said to you, You my servant; I have chosen you, and not cast you away. Fear you not; for I with you: be not dismayed; for I your God: I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you;.
V. 14–20 — Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you, says YHWH. Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you, says YHWH, and your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: you shall thresh the mountains, and beat small, and shall make the hills as chaff. You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter.
VI. 21–24 — Produce your cause, says YHWH; bring forth your strong , says the King o. Produce your cause, says YHWH; bring forth your strong , says the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they , that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you gods: yea, do.
VII. 25–29 — I have raised up from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of t. I have raised up from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, righteous? yea, none that sheweth, yea, none that declareth, yea, none that heareth your.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: the summons of coastlands and peoples into a scene of judgment (v. 1), the raising of the eastward conqueror under YHWH's historical sovereignty (vv. 2-4), the fearful nations strengthening one another in idol manufacture (vv. 5-7), the address to Israel as chosen servant not rejected but upheld and defended by God (vv. 8-13), the transformation of lowly Jacob together with the wilderness gift for the poor and needy (vv. 14-20), the legal challenge to the idols to declare the former and latter things (vv. 21-24), and the closing contrast between YHWH's own raised herald and the emptiness of idol oracles and makers (vv. 25-29). Verse 1 should preserve the courtroom tone. The coastlands are called to silence before YHWH, peoples renew strength, approach, speak, and draw near for judgment. The language is formal and adversarial rather than merely poetic. Verses 2-4 should be translated with close attention to both military movement and theological authorship. The figure from the east is stirred up, righteousness is called to his foot, nations are given before him, and kings are subdued. Dust, stubble, pursuit, and untraveled paths all intensify his irresistible advance. Yet the controlling question is who has done this, and verse 4 answers decisively: YHWH, the first and with the last, he is the one. Translation should preserve that shift from agent on the stage to Lord over the whole sequence of generations. Verses 5-7 then describe the nations' reaction and should keep their irony. Fear spreads to coastlands and earth's edges, but instead of turning to the true God, craftsmen, goldsmith, hammerer, and anvil-worker encourage one another and fasten the idol so that it will not totter. The scene should remain almost tactile in its absurdity. Verses 8-13 pivot sharply toward Israel and must preserve the language of election and reassurance. Israel, Jacob, and seed of Abraham my friend are named as servant, chosen one, and people taken from earth's ends. Verse 9's declaration 'I have chosen you and not rejected you' is especially important and should remain direct. The repeated 'do not fear' and 'I am with you' language in verses 10 and 13 should retain its personal force, as should the right-hand imagery of strengthening, helping, upholding, and taking hold. Verses 11-12 also promise the vanishing of hostile litigants and combatants; the vocabulary of striving and warring should remain visible. Verses 14-20 intensify the comfort through lowliness and transformation. Worm Jacob and men of Israel are not flattering titles and should not be blunted. Their force is precisely that the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, pledges help to the weak. Verse 15's new sharp threshing sledge with many teeth should remain concrete, since the point is not general encouragement but empowered reversal. Verses 17-18 then turn to the poor and needy seeking water; the opening of rivers on heights, fountains in valleys, wilderness pools, and dry land springs should remain materially vivid. The tree list in verse 19 should also remain itemized where possible, because the accumulated planting serves verse 20's purpose: all may see, know, consider, and understand together that YHWH's hand has done this. Verses 21-24 reopen the lawsuit directly against the idols and should preserve the forensic challenge. They are summoned to bring their case, declare former things, announce what is to come, or do good or evil so that observers may be startled together. The inability of the idols is the point, so verse 24's verdict must remain sharp: they are nothing, their work is nothing, and whoever chooses them is an abomination. Verses 25-29 close by contrasting YHWH's own effective declaration with the silence of the false gods. The one stirred up from the north and east is under YHWH's control, Zion receives first good news and a herald, and when YHWH looks among the idols there is no counselor and no answer. The final verdict that they are all vanity, their works nothing, and their molten images wind and emptiness should remain terse and devastating. Taken together, the chapter should therefore be translated as a consolatory lawsuit in which YHWH alone proves able to govern history, sustain Israel his servant, renew creation for the needy, and speak truth about former and latter things. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 42 — ישעיהו 42

Theme. The servant upheld by YHWH, gentle yet unbroken in bringing justice to the nations, creator-commissioned as covenant and light, a new song rising from sea and wilderness, YHWH advancing like a warrior, and blind Israel exposed under deserved judgment together make this chapter one of Isaiah's most intricate juxtapositions of mission, praise, and rebuke. It opens with the servant-song that sets the tone for a new kind of power. YHWH presents his servant, delights in him, puts his Spirit upon him, and appoints him to bring justice to the nations. Yet his manner is marked by restraint and tenderness: he does not shout in the street, does not break a bruised reed, does not quench a dim wick, and still does not fail until justice is set in the earth. Creator speech then grounds that mission in YHWH's own authority. The God who made heaven, earth, and breath calls the servant in righteousness, gives him as covenant for a people and light for nations, and assigns him to open blind eyes and release prisoners from darkness. From there the chapter surges outward into praise. A new song is demanded from sea, coastlands, deserts, villages of Kedar, Sela, and mountain heights, because YHWH is going forth in zeal and victorious cry. But praise is not the whole story. The same God who long kept silence now acts decisively, both laying waste and leading the blind by a way they did not know. Idols are turned back in shame, while those summoned to hear are themselves blind and deaf. Its final movement is especially severe because the servant-language darkens into indictment: who is blind but my servant, deaf like the messenger I send? Israel had much to see but did not keep it, much to hear but did not listen. So the Lord, pleased for the sake of his righteousness to magnify the law, gave the plundered people over to snare, prison, and fire. Yet even in that severe close, the rebuke prepares the logic of later redemption by naming the blindness, deafness, and covenant contradiction that only YHWH can finally heal. Taken together, servant gentleness, world-mission, creator authority, new song, warrior advent, anti-idol shame, and Israel's judicial blindness form a chapter where consolation is inseparable from vocation and where election without listening becomes judgment.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, my soul delighteth; I have. Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment to truth. He shall not fail.
II. 5–9 — Thus says God YHWH, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out;. Thus says God YHWH, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I YHWH have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a.
III. 10–12 — Sing to YHWH a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you that. Sing to YHWH a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up , the villages Kedar does inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to YHWH, and.
IV. 13–17 — YHWH shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a ma. YHWH shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, refrained myself: will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I.
V. 18–21 — Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see. Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see. Who blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger I sent? who blind as perfect, and blind as YHWH's servant? Seeing many things, but you observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. YHWH is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make honourable.
VI. 22–25 — But this a people robbed and spoiled; all of them snared in holes, and t. But this a people robbed and spoiled; all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none says, Restore. Who among you will give ear to this? will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not YHWH, he against whom we have.

Textual note. Seven linked movements shape the chapter: the presentation of YHWH's servant who brings justice gently yet unfailingly (vv. 1-4), the Creator's commissioning speech that gives the servant as covenant and light (vv. 5-9), the summons to a new song from sea, desert, Kedar, and mountain peoples (vv. 10-12), YHWH's warrior-like emergence after long silence together with judgment and guiding mercy (vv. 13-17), the call to hear addressed to the blind and deaf (vv. 18-20), the righteousness of YHWH in magnifying instruction while his people fail to heed it (v. 21), and the closing description of Jacob-Israel as plundered under covenant judgment yet still unperceiving its meaning (vv. 22-25). Verses 1-4 should be translated with close attention to both royal-public vocation and unusual gentleness. Verse 1's 'Behold my servant' should remain direct, and the clustering of support, election, delight, Spirit-gift, and justice-for-the-nations should be preserved. The servant's mission is juridical and international from the beginning. Verses 2-3 are especially important because they describe the manner of that mission through negations and fragile images: he does not cry out or raise his voice in the street; he does not break the bruised reed or quench the dim flax. These should not be paraphrased into bland niceness. The point is disciplined, non-crushing fidelity in the handling of what is weak. Verse 4 balances that gentleness with endurance: he himself will not grow dim or be crushed until he sets justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his instruction. Translation should keep the lexical echo between the dim wick of verse 3 and the servant's own refusal to grow dim in verse 4. Verses 5-9 then ground the servant's role in the Creator's authority and should remain high and solemn. YHWH is named as creator of heavens, earth, and breath, and verse 6 should preserve the language of calling in righteousness, grasping by the hand, guarding, and giving as covenant of a people and light of nations. Verse 7's opening of blind eyes and release of prisoners from dungeon and darkness should remain concrete, because the servant's work is emancipatory and perceptual, not only doctrinal. Verse 8's refusal to give glory to another or praise to idols is also crucial; it anchors the servant mission in YHWH's unique deity. Verses 10-12 should be translated with expansive energy. The 'new song' of verse 10, the sea and its fullness, coastlands and inhabitants, wilderness and cities, Kedar's villages, Sela's dwellers, and mountain tops all broaden the sphere of praise. The geography matters because the chapter imagines the servant's significance radiating outward into the world. Verses 13-17 introduce YHWH as warrior and guide and should preserve their startling combination. Verse 13's warrior cry, verse 14's long silence broken by laboring outcry, verse 15's devastation of mountains and waters, and verse 16's guidance of the blind by unknown ways all belong together. Translation should resist smoothing the tension: the same divine intervention that judges and overturns also leads the blind and turns darkness into light for them. Verse 17 then turns the contrast sharply toward the idol-trusters, who are put to shame. Verses 18-21 shift from nations and idols back to Israel's own deafness and blindness. The imperatives to hear and look should remain pointed, and verse 19's painful paradoxes must be preserved: who is blind but my servant, deaf like my messenger, blind like the one at peace, blind like the servant of YHWH? These are not easy lines and should not be prematurely solved in translation. Their sting lies in the contradiction between vocation and perception. Verse 20 continues the indictment through seeing much without keeping it and hearing with open ears without truly listening. Verse 21 then states that YHWH was pleased for the sake of his righteousness to magnify torah and make it glorious; the line should remain affirmative about divine instruction even as the people fail it. Verses 22-25 close with plunder, imprisonment, and uncomprehending judgment. The people are snared, hidden in prison-houses, made spoil, and no one rescues. Verse 24 explicitly names YHWH as the one who gave Jacob to plunder because they would not walk in his ways or obey his law. Verse 25's poured fury, war, and surrounding fire should remain severe, but so should the tragic final note: it burned him, yet he did not know; it kindled against him, yet he did not take it to heart. Taken together, the chapter should therefore be translated as a servant-and-judgment composition in which gentle world-mission and Israel's hard deafness are held side by side under the sovereign righteousness of YHWH. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 43 — ישעיהו 43

Theme. Creator language, redemption language, regathering from the ends of the earth, a courtroom challenge to the nations, Babylon named for downfall, exodus memory reworked into a new thing in the wilderness, and a closing return to Israel's guilt and God's self-grounded pardon make Isaiah 43 one of the most concentrated chapters in the book's consolatory argument. It opens by speaking directly to Jacob-Israel as the one created and formed by YHWH. Fear is forbidden not because danger is imaginary, but because the people have been redeemed, named, and claimed. Waters, rivers, fire, and flame are all allowed their full threatening force, yet none of them can annul the divine with-you promise. The reassurance then widens through remarkable exchange imagery: Egypt, Cush, and Seba are given as ransom, peoples are placed in Israel's stead, and the reason given is starkly personal - Israel is precious, honored, and loved. From there the horizon expands outward into a regathering from east, west, north, and south, until everyone called by YHWH's name is gathered as a people created for his glory. From there the oracle pivots into a forensic scene. Blind and deaf peoples are summoned, the nations are asked to produce witnesses and prior predictions, and Israel itself is declared to be YHWH's witness and servant. The central theological claims arrive here with unusual directness: before YHWH no god was formed, after him none will be, and besides him there is no savior. Historical declaration, saving action, and public testimony all belong to his identity. The next movement presses that identity into history by naming Babylon. Israel's Redeemer and Holy One acts for his people's sake against the imperial power, and the chapter immediately follows that declaration with exodus recollection: YHWH made a way in the sea and extinguished horse, chariot, and army. Yet the rhetoric does not stop with memory. Former things are not to be the controlling measure now, because a new thing is springing up. Wilderness receives a road, desert places receive rivers, even the wild animals honor YHWH for the water he gives, and the people formed for him are meant to recount his praise. That bright future is then interrupted by a necessary accusation. Jacob has not truly called on YHWH, has not honored him in worship, and has instead burdened him with sins and wearied him with iniquities. The close therefore holds mercy and judgment in deliberate tension. YHWH alone blots out transgressions for his own sake and does not remember sins, yet he also invites a lawsuit-style reckoning, recalls ancestral and representative guilt, and explains how Jacob came under ban and Israel under reviling. Taken together, redemption assurance, monotheistic witness, anti-Babylonian declaration, new-exodus promise, covenant accusation, and self-grounded forgiveness form a chapter where consolation is real precisely because YHWH alone has both the right to judge his people and the sovereign freedom to restore them.

Outline.

I. 1–7 — But now thus says YHWH that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you. But now thus says YHWH that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called by your name; you mine. When you passest through the waters, I with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walkest through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you..
II. 8–13 — Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, truth. You my witnesses, says YHWH, and my servant whom I.
III. 14–15 — Thus says YHWH, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I h. Thus says YHWH, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry in the ships. I YHWH, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
IV. 16–21 — Thus says YHWH, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty. Thus says YHWH, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. Remember you not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall.
V. 22–24 — But you have not called upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me. But you have not called upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel. You have not brought me the small cattle of your burnt offerings; neither have you honoured me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with an offering, nor wearied you with incense. You have bought me no sweet cane with money, neither have you filled me with the.
VI. 25–28 — I, I, he that blotteth out your transgressions for mine own sake, and wi. I, I, he that blotteth out your transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare you, that you mayest be justified. Your first father has sinned, and your teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse,.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: YHWH the Creator-Redeemer addresses Jacob without fear and promises preservation through danger together with regathering from the ends of the earth (vv. 1-7), the nations are assembled into a witness-trial where Israel is named as YHWH's chosen witness to his unique deity and saving action (vv. 8-13), Babylon is marked out for judgment under the word of Israel's Redeemer and Holy One (vv. 14-15), the former exodus is both recalled and relativized before the announcement of a new thing in wilderness and desert (vv. 16-21), Israel is sharply accused of wearying God with sins rather than honoring him with worship (vv. 22-24), and the close joins self-grounded pardon, courtroom challenge, ancestral guilt, and the profanation of holy leaders (vv. 25-28). Verses 1-7 should preserve the dense cluster of creation, redemption, naming, possession, and gathering language. Verse 1 binds creator and former imagery to the command not to fear, and the paired verbs of redemption and naming should remain audible as covenantal claims of ownership. Verse 2's waters, rivers, fire, and flame should be translated concretely rather than dissolved into abstraction, because the promise concerns divine presence in actual overwhelm. Verses 3-4 require careful handling of exchange language. Egypt, Cush, and Seba are given as ransom or substitute imagery, and verse 4's gift of human beings and peoples in Israel's place intensifies how precious and honored the people are in YHWH's sight. Verses 5-7 widen the promise into a four-direction regathering scene and should preserve both the familial terms sons and daughters and the climactic sequence created, formed, and made. Verses 8-13 shift into forensic mode. Verse 9 should retain the challenge to the nations to produce witnesses and former predictions, while verses 10-12 must preserve the emphatic identity formulas: you are my witnesses, I am he, before me no god was formed, and besides me there is no savior. Verse 13's difficult opening is best kept in its broad force of enduring divine identity and irreversible action. Verses 14-15 turn from courtroom declaration to historical intervention. Verse 14's language about sending to Babylon and bringing down the bars or fleeing ones together with the Chaldeans in ships of rejoicing is compressed and debated, so the translation should stay close to the Hebrew's force without pretending away the density of the line. Verses 16-21 are decisive for the chapter's rhetoric. The sea-way and drowned military power deliberately evoke the exodus tradition, but verses 18-19 insist that the former things are not the final measure of what God is about to do. The new thing should therefore be translated with real freshness, not as mere repetition. Wilderness road and desert rivers in verses 19-20 answer exile with a new creation route, and verse 21 gathers the purpose in praise. Verses 22-24 reverse the consolatory register by exposing Israel's failure in invocation, sacrifice, gift, and cultic honor. Verse 24's bold complaint that Israel has made God serve with sins and wearied him with iniquities should remain striking. Verses 25-28 then hold mercy and indictment in deliberate tension. Verse 25 grounds pardon in God's own sake, verse 26 invites a lawsuit-style remembrance and speaking, verse 27 reaches back to first father and mediating spokesmen, and verse 28 closes with the profanation of holy princes and the giving over of Jacob and Israel to ban and reviling. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where consolation is inseparable from divine exclusivity, new-exodus promise, covenant lawsuit, and a forgiveness that arises from YHWH's own name rather than from Israel's cultic success. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 44 — ישעיהו 44

Theme. Jeshurun addressed as chosen servant, Spirit poured like water on thirsty ground, public self-identification with YHWH, the divine claim to be first and last, the long and merciless exposure of idol-making absurdity, the renewed call for Jacob to remember redemption, and the startling naming of Cyrus as shepherd for Jerusalem's restoration make Isaiah 44 one of the book's richest chapters for binding consolation, anti-idolatry polemic, and historical promise together. It opens by carrying forward the tender register of the previous chapter. Jacob is told to hear as servant and chosen one, and YHWH is described again as maker and former from the womb. The promise that follows is one of abundance and animation: water on thirst, streams on dry ground, Spirit on offspring, blessing on descendants. The result is pictured in vegetal flourishing and in communal confession, as different voices claim belonging to YHWH, call themselves by Jacob's name, inscribe allegiance to YHWH, and honor the name Israel. Consolation here is not merely inward relief; it is the public reconstitution of identity under divine possession. From there the chapter turns to one of Isaiah's strongest self-declarations from YHWH: Israel's King and Redeemer, YHWH of hosts, is first and last, and besides him there is no God. The challenge to any rival is again forensic. Let another power announce and arrange history as YHWH does. Israel need not fear, because it has already been told and made witness, and no other Rock is known. That monotheistic claim then widens into the chapter's most extended anti-idol satire. Makers of images are called emptiness, their cherished things are useless, and the whole manufacturing process is narrated with deliberate irony. The blacksmith grows hungry and faint while forging; the carpenter measures, shapes, and beautifies wood; trees are planted and grown by rain; then the same material becomes fuel for warmth, bread-baking, and meat-roasting, while the remnant becomes a god before which the maker bows and prays for rescue. The force of the section lies not only in mockery but in epistemic judgment. Eyes are smeared shut, hearts cannot understand, and the idolater never stops to reckon with the contradiction that one half of the wood fed the fire while the rest became an abomination. Remembering and redemption answer that blindness in the next movement. Jacob-Israel is summoned to remember, because the servant has been formed by YHWH and will not be forgotten by him. Transgressions are blotted out like cloud and mist, the people are called to return, and then heaven, depths, mountains, forest, and trees are summoned into praise because YHWH has redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel. The closing movement tightens redemption into history. The same maker-from-the-womb who stretched out heaven and earth alone frustrates liars, overturns diviners, and makes wise men retreat. By contrast, he confirms the word of his servant and completes the counsel of his messengers by declaring that Jerusalem will be inhabited and Judah's cities rebuilt. Even the deep is dried at his word, and the climax names Cyrus as shepherd who will fulfill YHWH's pleasure by saying that Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the temple founded. Taken together, Spirit-given renewal, exclusive deity, idol satire, remembered redemption, cosmic praise, and the naming of a foreign ruler for Zion's restoration form a chapter where YHWH proves his singular godhood not only by mocking false worship but by giving life, redeeming sin, and directing the future rebuilding of his people.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:. Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus says YHWH that made you, and formed you from the womb, will help you; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and you, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your.
II. 6–8 — Thus says YHWH the King of Israel, and his redeemer YHWH of hosts; I the. Thus says YHWH the King of Israel, and his redeemer YHWH of hosts; I the first, and I the last; and beside me no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew to them. Fear you not, neither be afraid: have not I told you.
III. 9–20 — They that make a graven image all of them vanity; and their delectable t. They that make a graven image all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who has formed a god, or molten a graven image is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they of men: let them all be gathered together,.
IV. 21–23 — Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for you my servant: I have formed yo. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for you my servant: I have formed you; you my servant: O Israel, you shall not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return to me; for I have redeemed you. Sing, O you heavens; for YHWH has done : shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into.
V. 24–28 — Thus says YHWH, your redeemer, and he that formed you from the womb, I Y. Thus says YHWH, your redeemer, and he that formed you from the womb, I YHWH that maketh all ; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; That confirmeth the word of his servant, and.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: Jacob-Jeshurun is addressed as chosen servant and promised Spirit-poured fertility and public belonging to YHWH (vv. 1-5), YHWH the King and Redeemer declares himself first and last and challenges any rival deity to match his sovereign telling of history (vv. 6-8), the fabrication and worship of idols is exposed in an extended satire that moves from human labor to spiritual blindness (vv. 9-20), Jacob-Israel is summoned to remember redemption and to return while the cosmos is called to sing (vv. 21-23), and the closing oracle presents YHWH as creator who frustrates false signs, confirms his servants' word, rebuilds Jerusalem and Judah, dries the deep, and names Cyrus as shepherd for the restoration project (vv. 24-28). Verses 1-5 should preserve the warm covenantal naming of the opening. Verse 2's cluster of maker, former from the womb, helper, servant Jacob, and Jeshurun should remain dense rather than overly simplified, because the rhetoric fuses creation, election, and affectionate address. Verse 3's water imagery and Spirit-pouring should stay parallel and concrete: fertility of land and vitality of descendants interpret one another. Verse 5 is especially important and should retain its multiple public gestures of belonging, naming, inscription, and honorary self-designation, since the chapter imagines renewed identity as something openly confessed. Verses 6-8 return to the divine self-declaration and should preserve their emphatic exclusivity. 'I am first and I am last' and 'besides me there is no God' are central formulations, while verse 7's challenge about declaring what has been and what is to come should retain its forensic edge. Verse 8's closing claim about the Rock should remain vivid, because it grounds Israel's fearlessness in a stable divine reality YHWH alone knows. Verses 9-20 form one continuous satire and should be translated with narrative clarity rather than flattened summary. The makers are emptiness, their witnesses are blind, and the craftsmanship details matter. The blacksmith's tools, heat, strength, hunger, thirst, and fatigue in verse 12; the carpenter's measuring, marking, shaping, and anthropomorphic beautifying in verse 13; the felling or planting of trees in verse 14; and the practical uses of the wood in verses 15-17 all build the argument. Verse 17 should keep the scandal of prayer to the residue of the same material used for ordinary fire. Verses 18-20 then explain the blindness beneath the absurdity. The language of eyes smeared shut, heart deceived, and feeding on ashes should remain severe and memorable, and verse 20's final question about the lie in the right hand is a crucial close to the satire. Verses 21-23 shift from blindness to remembrance and should preserve the logic of covenant return. Verse 21's reassurance that Israel will not be forgotten by YHWH answers the prior inability to think rightly. Verse 22's cloud and mist imagery makes forgiveness atmospheric and sweeping, while verse 23's summons to heaven, depths, mountains, forest, and trees should remain expansive and exuberant. Verses 24-28 then translate theology into history. Verse 24 gathers redemption, womb-formation, and sole-creatorship. Verse 25 sets YHWH over against liars, diviners, and worldly wise men, while verse 26 contrasts them with servant and messenger whose word he confirms. Verse 27's address to the deep or watery abyss should remain direct and exodus-colored. Verse 28 culminates the chapter by naming Cyrus and giving him the role of shepherd who fulfills YHWH's pleasure in saying Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the temple founded. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where renewal of Israel, exposure of idols, and the forecast of restoration under Cyrus all serve the same end: demonstrating that YHWH alone creates, remembers, redeems, and directs history. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 45 — ישעיהו 45

Theme. Cyrus addressed as YHWH's anointed, gates opened before an unwitting instrument, the declaration that YHWH alone forms light and creates darkness, the woe against the clay contending with its potter, the promise that Cyrus will rebuild the city without price, the confession that God is truly hidden yet saving, the summons for all the ends of the earth to turn and be saved, and the oath that every knee will bow together make Isaiah 45 one of Isaiah's most sweeping chapters for joining particular historical agency to universal theological claim. It opens with the astonishing address to Cyrus as YHWH's anointed. His victories, opened doors, broken bronze gates, and access to hidden treasures are all presented as divinely prepared, yet the deeper reason is not Persian greatness. Cyrus is named and girded for the sake of Jacob and Israel, even though he has not known YHWH. That asymmetry matters because the chapter is showing that divine sovereignty can use an unknowing ruler without ceasing to be covenantally ordered toward the people of Israel. The declarations that follow widen from Cyrus to creation itself. YHWH alone is God; there is no other. From east to west this is to be known. Light and darkness, well-being and calamity alike stand under his creative rule, and the heavens and earth are summoned to shower and sprout righteousness and salvation together. From there the chapter pivots sharply into rebuke. Creatures must not litigate their maker. Clay does not interrogate the potter, and children do not reproach father or mother for their begetting. The point is not anti-rationalism but creaturely proportion: the God who made earth, humanity, heavens, and host has the right to order history, including the rise of Cyrus, without answering to human pride. That same sovereignty then returns to concrete restoration. Cyrus is stirred up in righteousness, his ways are leveled, Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and the exiles will be released without payment or bribe. Yet the restoration horizon immediately expands beyond Judah alone. Egypt, Cush, and Seba come over in acknowledgment, confessing that God is with Israel and that there is no other god. Its theological center then takes on a remarkable tension. The God of Israel is confessed as one who hides himself, yet he is also Savior. Idol-makers are shamed, while Israel is saved with an everlasting salvation. Creation theology deepens the point: the God who created the heavens and formed the earth did not make it a waste, but for inhabitation, and he has not spoken in secret or invited Jacob's seed to seek him in emptiness. The final movement assembles the nations for decision. The survivors of the nations are summoned to gather, idols are exposed again as powerless, and YHWH is declared the only righteous God and Savior. Therefore all the ends of the earth are commanded to turn to him and be saved. The closing movement contains one of Isaiah's most universal oaths: every knee will bow, every tongue will swear, and all who were enraged against YHWH will come ashamed, while all the seed of Israel will be justified and boast in him. Taken together, Cyrus-oracle, creator confession, anti-complaint woe, restoration promise, hidden-God theology, anti-idol summons, and universal homage form a chapter where the God who directs imperial history is also the sole source of righteousness and salvation for Israel and for the ends of the earth.

Outline.

I. 1–7 — Thus says YHWH to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden. Thus says YHWH to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before you, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I.
II. 8–10 — Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteou. Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I YHWH have created it. Woe to him that striveth with his Maker! the potsherd with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest you? or your.
III. 11–13 — Thus says YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things. Thus says YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command you me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he.
IV. 14–17 — Thus says YHWH, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of. Thus says YHWH, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be your: they shall come after you; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down to you, they shall make supplication to you, , Surely God in you; and none else, no God. Verily you a God that hidest thyself,.
V. 18–19 — For thus says YHWH that created the heavens; God himself that formed the. For thus says YHWH that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I YHWH; and none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not to the seed of Jacob, Seek you me in vain: I YHWH speak righteousness, I declare things that.
VI. 20–25 — Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you escaped of the nat. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray to a god cannot save. Tell you, and bring near; yea, let them take counsel together: who has declared this from ancient time? has told it from that time? not I YHWH? and no God else beside me; a just God.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: Cyrus is addressed as YHWH's anointed instrument whose conquests, opened gates, and acquired treasures serve Israel's calling and reveal the sole deity of YHWH (vv. 1-7), heaven and earth are summoned to generate righteousness and salvation while creaturely protest against the maker is rebuked (vv. 8-10), YHWH the Holy One and Former of Israel asserts creator rights and announces that Cyrus will rebuild the city and release the exiles without price (vv. 11-13), the wealth and peoples of Egypt, Cush, and Seba are pictured coming over in acknowledgment that God is truly with Israel while idol-makers are shamed and Israel is everlastingly saved (vv. 14-17), creation theology and plain divine speech reaffirm that YHWH alone made the world for inhabitation and speaks righteousness, not emptiness (vv. 18-19), and the nations are summoned into final recognition that there is no righteous God and Savior besides YHWH, so that all the ends of the earth must turn to him and all knees will bow (vv. 20-25). Verses 1-7 should preserve both the shock and the theological precision of the Cyrus address. Verse 1's use of 'his anointed' for Cyrus should remain explicit, and the imagery of grasped right hand, subdued nations, loosened royal loins, opened doors, and unshut gates should retain its imperial force. Verses 3-4 are especially important because they explain the purpose of Cyrus's success: he is called by name for the sake of Jacob and Israel, even though he has not known YHWH. Verses 5-7 then move into one of Isaiah's strongest declarations of comprehensive sovereignty. The repeated 'there is no other' should remain emphatic, and verse 7's pairings of light and darkness, peace or well-being and calamity, should be translated with enough directness to preserve the totalizing claim. Verses 8-10 bring together fertility imagery and woe-speech. Verse 8 should preserve the joined descent and emergence of righteousness and salvation, while verses 9-10 should retain the potter-clay and parent-child analogies in their full rebuking edge. Verses 11-13 return to direct speech from the Holy One and Former of Israel. The verse 11 syntax is difficult and can sound ironic or invitational depending on handling, so the translation should stay close while allowing the larger movement of divine prerogative to govern. Verse 13 should make plain that the stirred-up figure rebuilds the city and sends out the exiles without commercial negotiation. Verses 14-17 then widen the horizon toward the nations. Verse 14's procession language, fetters, bowing, and prayer should remain vivid, as should the confession that surely God is in Israel and there is no other. Verse 15's hidden God formula should remain memorable and not be over-explained away. Verses 16-17 contrast idol-makers' shame with Israel's everlasting salvation; the lastingness of the salvation should remain clear. Verses 18-19 are crucial for the chapter's theology of revelation. YHWH created the world not as chaos but for inhabitation, and he has not spoken in secret or told Jacob to seek him in vain. These lines should preserve both creation purpose and revelatory openness. Verses 20-25 close the chapter in courtroom-summons and universal oath. Verse 20 should keep the irony of escaped nations carrying wooden idols that cannot save. Verse 21 states the heart of the case: there is no other God besides YHWH, a righteous God and Savior. Verse 22's command to all the ends of the earth to turn and be saved should remain global and urgent. Verse 23's oath that every knee will bow and every tongue swear should retain its solemn, unqualified universality. Verses 24-25 then bring the response to completion in confession, shame for the enraged, and justification and boasting for all Israel's seed. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where YHWH's use of Cyrus, his rule over creation and history, his rebuttal of creaturely complaint, and his worldwide claim to worship all converge in a single argument for his unique righteousness and saving power. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 46 — ישעיהו 46

Theme. Bel stooping, Nebo collapsing, idols loaded onto weary beasts, Israel addressed as the remnant carried from womb to old age by YHWH, the challenge to compare any manufactured god with the one who declares the end from the beginning, and the closing assurance that salvation is being brought near to Zion make Isaiah 46 a compact but powerful contrast chapter in the anti-idol sequence. It opens with a scene of humiliation for Babylon's gods. Bel bends down, Nebo collapses, and the images once treated as mighty now become burdens laid on animals and cattle. Far from delivering their worshipers, they themselves must be hauled away, and even then they cannot rescue the load or their own life from captivity. That spectacle establishes the chapter's controlling irony. False gods must be carried. Israel's God carries. The address to the house of Jacob and the remnant of the house of Israel develops that contrast with unusual tenderness. From the belly and from the womb YHWH has borne this people, and he promises to do so still into old age and gray hair. He made, he will carry, he will bear, and he will deliver. In a book so full of creator language, this chapter gives that theme a strongly pastoral form. Divine sovereignty is not only cosmic or imperial. It is sustaining, weight-bearing fidelity toward a worn remnant. From there the oracle turns back to mockery of idols. Gold is poured from the bag, silver is weighed, a smith is hired, and the product is called a god before which people bow and prostrate themselves. Yet once the image is lifted to its place, it can only stand there. It does not move. People cry to it and it does not answer; it cannot save from distress. The ridicule is severe, but its aim is moral awakening. Transgressors are told to remember this, to take courage, and to bring it back to heart. The remembering demanded here is not nostalgia but theological sanity. The former things of old must be recalled because YHWH alone is God and there is none like him. That uniqueness is then defined through sovereign foretelling and effective purpose. He declares the end from the beginning and from ancient time what has not yet been done, and what he says about his counsel and his pleasure he also accomplishes. The call of a bird of prey from the east, the man of his counsel from a far land, shows that history itself is being summoned into alignment with the divine plan. The closing movement turns that certainty toward the present spiritual problem. The stouthearted who are far from righteousness are told to listen, because YHWH is bringing his righteousness near and his salvation will not delay. Zion will receive salvation, and Israel will receive YHWH's beauty or glory. Taken together, toppled Babylonian gods, the carrying care of YHWH, the impotence of crafted idols, the demand to remember, the declaration of end-from-beginning sovereignty, and the nearness of saving righteousness form a chapter where the true God is known precisely by the fact that he does not need to be borne but instead bears his people and brings his purpose unfailingly to pass.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and up. Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages heavy loaden; a burden to the weary . They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
II. 3–4 — Hearken to me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Isr. Hearken to me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And to old age I he; and to hoar hairs will I carry : I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver .
III. 5–7 — To whom will you liken me, and make equal, and compare me, that we may b. To whom will you liken me, and make equal, and compare me, that we may be like? They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea,.
IV. 8–11 — Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring again to mind, O you trans. Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring again to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old: for I God, and none else; God, and none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times that are not done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man.
V. 12–13 — Hearken to me, you stouthearted, that far from righteousness:. Hearken to me, you stouthearted, that far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

Textual note. Four linked movements shape the chapter: Babylon's great gods Bel and Nebo are pictured stooping and collapsing while their images become burdens on animals and cannot save themselves from captivity (vv. 1-2), the house of Jacob and the remnant of Israel are contrasted with those idols as a people borne by YHWH from womb to old age and delivered by him (vv. 3-4), idol manufacture and worship are ridiculed again through the language of weighed metals, hired smiths, carried images, and unanswered cries (vv. 5-7), transgressors are commanded to remember the former things and to recognize YHWH alone as the God who declares the end from the beginning and calls his purpose into effect from afar (vv. 8-11), and the close addresses the stouthearted who are far from righteousness with the assurance that YHWH is bringing near his righteousness and setting salvation in Zion for Israel his glory (vv. 12-13). Verses 1-2 should preserve the vivid reversal of the opening. Bel and Nebo, chief Babylonian deities, are not enthroned but stooping and collapsing. Their images become loads for animals, and the line about burdens for the weary should retain its heaviness. Verse 2 is especially pointed: they cannot rescue the burden and even their own life goes into captivity. Verses 3-4 then turn from satire to tender covenant speech and should be translated with full force on the bearing imagery. The remnant has been loaded upon or carried by YHWH from belly and womb onward, and the sequence in verse 4 - I am he, I will bear, I made, I will carry, I will bear, I will deliver - should remain audible in its repetitive reassurance. Verses 5-7 re-enter the anti-idol polemic and should keep the concrete details of manufacture and transport. Gold poured from a purse, silver weighed on scales, the hired smith, the completed image, the bowing worshiper, and the carried god who can only stand motionless in one place all build the case. Verse 7's unanswered cry is crucial, because the contrast with YHWH's actual saving activity is the chapter's theological center. Verses 8-11 move from mockery to exhortation and should preserve the moral urgency. Verse 8's combination of remembering, taking courage or showing manliness, and bringing the issue back to heart addresses transgressors directly. Verses 9-10 define divine uniqueness through foreknowledge and effective counsel: YHWH declares the end from the beginning and says that his purpose will stand and all his pleasure will be done. Verse 11's bird of prey from the east and man of counsel from a far land should remain concrete without overloading the translation with identification beyond the text's own force. The emphasis is on the summoning power of divine decree. Verses 12-13 close with a stern but hopeful address. The hearers are stouthearted and far from righteousness, yet YHWH's righteousness is being brought near and his salvation will not delay. Zion and Israel remain the goal, so the universal sovereignty language of the earlier material is finally focused into imminent saving action for God's own people. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where the humiliating burden of idols is set against the lifelong bearing power of YHWH, and where the God who alone declares history's outcome also brings his saving righteousness near to Zion. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 47 — ישעיהו 47

Theme. Virgin daughter Babylon brought down to the dust, the luxurious lady of kingdoms reduced to grinding meal and crossing rivers in exposed shame, the announcement of vengeance by Israel's Redeemer, the exposure of Babylon's merciless treatment of YHWH's people, the city's delusion that she will sit forever and never know widowhood or childlessness, and the total failure of sorcery, enchantment, and astral counsel make Isaiah 47 one of Isaiah's fiercest taunt oracles against imperial arrogance. It opens with a descent scene. Daughter Babylon is commanded to come down from the throne into dust and earth, and daughter Chaldea is told that the titles soft and delicate will no longer belong to her. Royal hauteur gives way to servile humiliation: millstones, ground grain, uncovered veil, bared leg, ford-crossing, nakedness exposed, disgrace seen. The movement is deliberately public. Babylon's fall is not merely political loss but unveiled dishonor under divine vengeance. The abrupt confessional word about Israel's Redeemer interrupts that humiliation just long enough to identify who stands behind it: YHWH of hosts, the Holy One of Israel. From there the oracle resumes by consigning Babylon to silence and darkness. She will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms. The rationale then reaches backward into Judah's own suffering. YHWH had been angry with his people, profaned his inheritance, and handed them into Babylon's power, but Babylon showed no mercy. Even on the aged she made the yoke exceedingly heavy. That recollection matters because the coming judgment is not a denial of Judah's prior punishment; it is the judgment of the punishing empire for its arrogant excess and pitiless abuse. The center of the chapter exposes Babylon's theology of self. She said, I shall be mistress forever, and she did not lay these things to heart or remember the end of them. Then the oracle quotes her inner creed in even starker form: I am, and there is none besides me; I shall not sit as widow, nor know loss of children. What belongs to YHWH's own uniqueness language in earlier chapters is here mimicked by the empire, and that counterfeit absolutism becomes the ground of her fall. Therefore widowhood and bereavement will come suddenly in one day, and all her accumulated sorceries and spells will not avert them. The indictment deepens by tying ruin to both wickedness and false wisdom. Babylon trusted in evil because she thought no one saw her, and her wisdom and knowledge led her astray into another self-deifying claim. Disaster therefore comes that she cannot charm away, atone for, or foresee. The close turns mocking and devastating at once. Let her stand with her enchantments, with the many sorceries she has practiced from youth, perhaps they will help, perhaps they will terrify. But the counselors are exhausted. Astrologers, star-gazers, and monthly prognosticators are reduced to stubble before fire, unable even to save themselves, let alone her. In the end the merchants and associates with whom she labored from youth wander each to his own quarter, and there is no savior for Babylon. Taken together, dethronement, exposed shame, recollected cruelty, imperial self-deification, sudden bereavement, and the collapse of occult expertise form a chapter where Babylon is judged not only for power but for pretending to permanence, omniscience, and immunity in the face of the God who redeems Israel and strips the nations' illusions bare.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the. Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover your locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, your shame shall be seen: I.
II. 5–7 — Sit you silent, and get you into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans:. Sit you silent, and get you into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into your hand: you didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient have you very heavily laid your yoke. And you saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: that you.
III. 8–9 — Therefore hear now this, given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, t. Therefore hear now this, given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in your heart, I , and none else beside me; I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: But these two shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon you in their perfection for the multitude of your.
IV. 10–11 — For you have trusted in your wickedness: you have said, None seeth me. For you have trusted in your wickedness: you have said, None seeth me. Your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you; and you have said in your heart, I , and none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon you; you shall not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon you; you shall not be able to put it off: and desolation shall.
V. 12–15 — Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceri. Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, wherein you have laboured from your youth; if so be you shall be able to profit, if so be you mayest prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from that shall come upon.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: daughter Babylon and daughter Chaldea are brought down from throne and delicacy into dust, servile labor, exposed shame, and vengeance under the hand of Israel's Redeemer (vv. 1-4), Babylon is consigned to silence and darkness and reminded that her former rule over YHWH's people became merciless abuse rather than disciplined restraint (vv. 5-7), the city's self-deifying security is quoted and answered with sudden widowhood and bereavement despite all sorceries and spells (vv. 8-9), wicked trust, unseen evil, and self-deceived wisdom are exposed as the inner logic of the coming disaster (vv. 10-11), and the close taunts Babylon to stand with her enchantments and counselors only to show that astrologers, star-gazers, merchants, and lifelong allies cannot save her from the fire or from final abandonment (vv. 12-15). Verses 1-4 should preserve the taunt's downward movement and bodily concreteness. Verse 1's descent to dust and earth, together with the loss of the titles tender and delicate, should remain sharp. Verse 2's commands to take millstones, grind meal, uncover the veil, strip the train, uncover the leg, and cross rivers should be rendered in a way that preserves both servile humiliation and public exposure. Verse 3 intensifies that exposure into nakedness, shame, and divine vengeance, while verse 4's brief confession of the Redeemer should remain distinct and weighty rather than blended into the taunt. Verses 5-7 explain why the judgment is deserved. Silence and darkness replace imperial voice and splendor, and Babylon's title as mistress of kingdoms is revoked. Verse 6 is crucial because it ties the oracle to Judah's history: YHWH gave his people into Babylon's hand, but Babylon did not show mercy and made even the old carry a crushing yoke. Verse 7 then exposes the empire's failure to reckon with the end of its conduct. Verses 8-9 turn to Babylon's inner speech and should preserve the self-exalting formulas. The repeated claim 'I am, and there is none besides me' deliberately echoes divine uniqueness language elsewhere in Isaiah, and the boasts about never sitting as widow or knowing bereavement should remain direct. Verse 9's sudden arrival of both childlessness and widowhood in one day should be set against the many sorceries and the great power of Babylon's spells. Verses 10-11 then uncover the moral and intellectual delusion behind the boast. Babylon trusted in wickedness because she imagined herself unseen; her wisdom and knowledge turned her aside; and the coming evil cannot be charmed away, covered over, or anticipated. Verse 11 should retain the layered language of disaster, calamity, and desolation, because the point is total helplessness before the judgment. Verses 12-15 close with sustained irony. The imperative to stand with enchantments and sorceries is not real counsel but exposure. Verse 13's exhausted multitude of counselors, together with astrologers, star-observers, and monthly predictors, should be kept concrete, because the chapter means to disgrace Babylon's prestigious knowledge systems. Verse 14's fire leaves them like stubble, unable even to warm themselves properly at the coals, and verse 15 extends the failure outward to merchants and longtime associates, each wandering to his own side with none to save. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where imperial luxury, cruelty, and self-deifying confidence are stripped away, and where Babylon's famed occult and advisory networks collapse helplessly before the vengeance of Israel's Redeemer. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 48 — ישעיהו 48

Theme. House of Jacob summoned for covenant-name hypocrisy, old predictions recalled so idols cannot claim credit, new hidden things announced to a treacherous people, refinement in the furnace of affliction for YHWH's own name, the self-declaration of the First and the Last whose hand founded earth and spread out heaven, and the call to go out from Babylon with the final warning that there is no peace for the wicked make Isaiah 48 a chapter where consolation and rebuke remain inseparably entwined. It opens by addressing a people who bear Israel's name, emerge from Judah's waters, swear by YHWH, and invoke the God of Israel, yet do so neither in truth nor in righteousness. They claim the holy city and lean on Israel's God, but the chapter immediately exposes the mismatch between liturgical identity and covenant fidelity. From there YHWH explains why he has declared former things long beforehand and then suddenly brought them to pass: Israel is stubborn, iron-necked, and bronze-browed, so advance prophecy prevents the people from crediting idols or images with what only YHWH has done. Yet the chapter does not stop with the old proofs. It adds that new things are now being announced, guarded matters not previously known, created now and not from of old, precisely so that Israel cannot pretend prior mastery of them. This revelatory strategy arises from a bleak diagnosis. The people neither heard nor knew, and their ear was not opened from the beginning, because YHWH knew that they would deal treacherously and be called rebels from the womb. The center of the chapter therefore turns on divine restraint for the sake of the divine name. Anger is deferred, praise restrains destruction, and Israel is refined not as silver in the ordinary sense but chosen in the furnace of affliction. The motive is stated with unusual concentration: for my own sake, for my own sake, I act, because YHWH will not give his glory to another. That name-centered mercy leads into another majestic self-presentation. Jacob and Israel are summoned to hear the one who is he, the first and also the last, whose hand founded earth and whose right hand spread out the heavens. When he calls them, they stand together. The nations are challenged again, and the one whom YHWH loves is said to perform his pleasure against Babylon and among the Chaldeans. From there the oracle moves into a striking speaker turn about not having spoken in secret from the beginning and being sent by the Lord YHWH and his Spirit, before returning to the Redeemer's speech. YHWH teaches for profit and leads in the way to walk. The lament that follows is deeply poignant: if Israel had listened to the commandments, peace would have flowed like a river and righteousness like the waves of the sea, while descendants would have multiplied beyond counting. Nevertheless the chapter ends not in paralysis but in exodus command. The people are told to go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans, and proclaim with ringing joy to the ends of the earth that YHWH has redeemed his servant Jacob. Wilderness thirst is answered as in older saving acts when water flows from the split rock. Yet the final word refuses easy sentimentality. No peace belongs to the wicked. Taken together, covenant hypocrisy, prophetic proof, newly announced things, refinement for the sake of the divine name, creator sovereignty, lament over missed obedience, exodus-from-Babylon summons, and the closing denial of peace to the wicked form a chapter where restoration is real but is granted only through the God who exposes false religion, disciplines treachery, and acts for his own glory.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Hear you this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel. Hear you this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of YHWH, and make mention of the God of Israel, not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; YHWH of hosts his name.
II. 3–8 — I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went fort. I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did suddenly, and they came to pass. Because I knew that you obstinate, and your neck an iron sinew, and your brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared to you; before it came to pass I shewed you: lest you shouldest say, Mine idol has.
III. 9–11 — For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I ref. For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for you, that I cut you not off. Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do : for how should be polluted? and I will not give my glory to another.
IV. 12–15 — Hearken to me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I he; I the first, I also. Hearken to me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I he; I the first, I also the last. Mine hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spanned the heavens: I call to them, they stand up together. All you, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them has declared these ? YHWH has loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his.
V. 16 — Come you near to me, hear you this; I have not spoken in secret from the. Come you near to me, hear you this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there I: and now YHWH YHWH, and his Spirit, has sent me.
VI. 17–19 — Thus says YHWH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I YHWH your God w. Thus says YHWH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I YHWH your God which teacheth you to profit, which leadeth you by the way you shouldest go. O that you had hearkened to my commandments! then had your peace been as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea: Your seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of your bowels like the.
VII. 20–22 — Go you forth of Babylon, flee you from the Chaldeans, with a voice of si. Go you forth of Babylon, flee you from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare you, tell this, utter it to the end of the earth; say you, YHWH has redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. no peace, says.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the house of Jacob is accused of invoking YHWH and Israel's God without truth or righteousness despite its holy-city identity (vv. 1-2), YHWH explains that former things were declared and suddenly done to prevent stubborn Israel from crediting idols while new guarded things are now announced to a treacherous people who could not claim prior knowledge (vv. 3-8), divine anger is deferred and Israel is refined in affliction for the sake of YHWH's own name and glory (vv. 9-11), Jacob-Israel is summoned to hear the First and the Last whose hand founded earth and heaven and whose loved instrument will perform his pleasure against Babylon (vv. 12-15), a significant speaker declaration about not speaking in secret and being sent by the Lord YHWH and his Spirit leads into the Redeemer's teaching, lament over missed obedience, and promise of peace and fruitfulness had Israel listened (vv. 16-19), and the close commands departure from Babylon with proclamation of redemption, recalls wilderness water from the rock, and ends by denying peace to the wicked (vv. 20-22). Verses 1-2 should preserve the chapter's opening irony. The people are truly called by Israel's name, come from Judah, swear by YHWH, and invoke the God of Israel, yet the denial that this is done in truth or righteousness must remain sharp. Verse 2's appeal to the holy city and to reliance on the God of Israel should sound like real covenant language precisely so that the exposure of hollow religiosity lands properly. Verses 3-8 explain the logic of predictive revelation. Former things were declared and then suddenly enacted because the people are hard, iron-necked, and bronze-browed; verse 5's warning against attributing events to an idol should remain explicit. Verses 6-7 then move to newly announced and guarded things, and the distinction between what had long been foretold and what is now freshly created or disclosed should be preserved. Verse 8 closes that unit by naming the people as treacherous and rebellious from the womb. Verses 9-11 form one of the chapter's theological centers and should retain the repetition of motive language. The delay of anger and restraint of praise are for YHWH's name. Verse 10's refining in the furnace of affliction should keep both the metallurgical and disciplinary force, and verse 11's repeated 'for my own sake' should remain emphatic because it grounds mercy wholly in divine honor. Verses 12-15 gather identity and sovereignty language again. The formulas 'I am he,' 'I am first,' and 'I am also last' should remain concentrated, as should the creator imagery of founding earth and spreading out heavens. Verse 14's statement about the one whom YHWH loves doing his pleasure against Babylon should stay close to the text's force without over-explication beyond the chapter's context. Verse 16 is notably dense and should preserve both the insistence on non-secret speech and the line about the Lord YHWH and his Spirit sending the speaker. Verses 17-19 then return to the Redeemer's speech. The teaching-for-profit and leading-in-the-way language of verse 17 should remain practical and covenantal. Verse 18's unrealized peace like a river and righteousness like sea waves, together with verse 19's lost multiplication of offspring, make the lament concrete and should not be flattened. Verses 20-22 close with command and contrast. The imperatives to go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans, and proclaim redemption to the end of the earth should be energetic and public. Verse 21's wilderness water recalls earlier saving patterns and should remain vivid. Verse 22's final statement that there is no peace for the wicked must stand without softening, because it qualifies the whole restoration message. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where YHWH exposes false covenant speech, vindicates his prophetic word, disciplines his people for the sake of his own name, and still leads them out of Babylon, while refusing to grant peace to wickedness. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 49 — ישעיהו 49

Theme. Coastlands summoned to hear the servant called from the womb, a mouth made like a sharp sword, the servant's cry that labor seemed empty, the expansion of his mission from restoring Jacob alone to becoming light for the nations, the covenant work of releasing prisoners and feeding the restored on the way, Zion's lament that YHWH has abandoned and forgotten her, the maternal answer that she is inscribed on divine palms, and the final assurance that even the prey of the mighty will be taken back make Isaiah 49 one of Isaiah's richest chapters for joining servant vocation, international salvation, and Zion's restoration. It opens in the mode of a servant address to distant peoples. The servant is called from the womb, named from his mother's body, armed in speech like a sharp sword and a polished arrow, and hidden for God's appointed use. Yet the chapter does not treat vocation as untroubled triumph. After YHWH names the servant Israel, the servant voices the anguish of apparently wasted effort: labor spent for emptiness and vanity. Even there, however, the complaint resolves not into cynicism but into trust that his justice and recompense remain with God. From that tension the chapter turns outward into one of the book's decisive mission statements. Restoring the tribes of Jacob and bringing back the preserved of Israel is said to be too small a task by itself. The servant is therefore given as light to the nations so that YHWH's salvation may reach to the end of the earth. The one despised by the soul and abhorred by the nation will yet be acknowledged by kings and princes because YHWH is faithful and the Holy One of Israel has chosen him. The following restoration oracle deepens that mission by describing a favorable time and a day of salvation in which the servant is preserved and given as a covenant for the people. Desolate inheritances are reestablished, prisoners and those in darkness are summoned out, and the redeemed are led, fed, and shepherded through a transformed landscape where mountains become roads and distant exiles stream home. Cosmic rejoicing answers that promise because YHWH has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. Yet the chapter refuses to leave restoration at the level of proclamation alone. Zion herself speaks, and her speech is bleak: YHWH has abandoned me; the Lord has forgotten me. The answer is one of the most intimate in Isaiah. Even if a nursing mother could forget her infant, YHWH will not forget Zion. Her walls are continually before him, and she is engraved on his palms. What looks like ruin is already being reversed, as children hurry back, destroyers depart, and the once-desolate city becomes crowded with returning sons. The oracle then presses further into restoration's social and political reversal. Zion will scarcely believe the abundance of new children or the nations' role in carrying sons and daughters home. Kings and princesses become attendants, and those who wait for YHWH will not be ashamed. The closing exchange raises the objection that prey is not simply taken from a mighty captor, but YHWH answers it directly: even the captive of the mighty will be taken away. He himself will contend with Zion's contender and save her children, and the oppressors will be made to consume themselves so that all flesh may know that YHWH is Zion's Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Taken together, servant calling, disappointed labor, worldwide mission, covenant restoration, Zion's abandonment cry, maternal remembrance, and the violent rescue of children from oppressors form a chapter where divine salvation moves from personal vocation to global light to the concrete rebuilding and vindication of the forsaken city.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Listen, O isles, to me; and hearken, you people, from far; YHWH has call. Listen, O isles, to me; and hearken, you people, from far; YHWH has called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother has he made mention of my name. And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he hid me; And said to me, You my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be.
II. 5–6 — And now, says YHWH that formed me from the womb his servant, to bring Ja. And now, says YHWH that formed me from the womb his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of YHWH, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that you shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you.
III. 7–13 — Thus says YHWH, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man de. Thus says YHWH, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of YHWH that is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose you. Thus says YHWH, In an acceptable time have I heard you, and in a day of salvation.
IV. 14–16 — But Zion said, YHWH has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. But Zion said, YHWH has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget you. Behold, I have graven you upon the palms of hands; your walls continually before me.
V. 17–21 — Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and they that made you w. Your children shall make haste; your destroyers and they that made you waste shall go forth of you. Lift up your eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, come to you. I live, says YHWH, you shall surely clothe you with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them , as a bride . For your waste and your desolate places, and the land.
VI. 22–23 — Thus says YHWH YHWH, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, a. Thus says YHWH YHWH, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring your sons in arms, and your daughters shall be carried upon shoulders. And kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers: they shall bow down to you with face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of.
VII. 24–26 — Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus says YHWH, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with you, and I will save your children. And I will feed them that oppress you with their own flesh; and they shall be.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the servant addresses distant coastlands, recounts his womb-calling, sharpened mouth, hidden preparation, named identity, and apparently futile labor entrusted back to God (vv. 1-4), YHWH declares that restoring Jacob alone is too small a task and appoints the servant as light to the nations and salvation to earth's end, leading into a covenant-restoration oracle for prisoners, exiles, and ruined inheritances (vv. 5-13), Zion voices abandonment and forgetfulness, but YHWH answers with the stronger-than-maternal assurance that she is not forgotten and is engraved on his palms (vv. 14-16), Zion is promised returning children, departing destroyers, crowding abundance, and astonishment at unexpected restoration (vv. 17-21), the nations and their rulers are enlisted to carry Zion's sons and daughters home and to acknowledge YHWH without shame (vv. 22-23), and the chapter closes with the question of whether prey can be taken from the mighty, answered by YHWH's promise to contend with Zion's oppressors, save her children, and reveal himself as Savior, Redeemer, and Mighty One of Jacob (vv. 24-26). Verses 1-4 should preserve the servant's strong first-person address and the tension within it. The womb-calling and name-remembering in verse 1, the sharp sword and polished arrow imagery of verse 2, and the declaration in verse 3 that the servant is Israel in whom YHWH will glorify himself all need to remain vivid. Verse 4 is crucial because it introduces servant discouragement without dissolving vocation. The language of laboring for emptiness and spending strength for vanity should remain direct, while the servant's confidence that justice and recompense remain with God should also stay audible. Verses 5-6 then widen the horizon decisively. The servant is formed from the womb to bring Jacob back, but that task is declared too light by itself, and the servant is given as light to the nations. The line about salvation reaching the end of the earth should be preserved in its full scope. Verses 7-13 combine humiliation, election, and restoration. Verse 7's despised, abhorred, and ruled servant should remain concrete, because the later homage of kings and princes depends on that earlier lowliness. Verse 8's favorable time and day of salvation, together with being given as covenant for the people, should be translated with clear covenantal force. Verses 9-12 portray released prisoners, safe pasture, no hunger or thirst, merciful leading, water sources, raised roads, and arrivals from far regions; these should be kept concrete and pastoral. Verse 13's summons to heaven, earth, and mountains should remain exuberant and tied to YHWH's compassion for the afflicted. Verses 14-16 turn to Zion's complaint and should preserve both the rawness of the lament and the warmth of the answer. The maternal image in verse 15 should remain unsoftened, and verse 16's engraving on the palms together with the walls continually before YHWH should remain strikingly embodied. Verses 17-21 then unfold the repopulation of Zion. Builders or sons hurrying back, destroyers departing, the city dressing itself with gathered children like ornaments, and the later astonishment at finding so many children after bereavement and barrenness all make the promise socially visible. Verses 22-23 heighten the reversal by drawing kings and princesses into service for Zion's children and by ending in the assurance that those who wait for YHWH will not be ashamed. Verses 24-26 finally confront the apparent impossibility of rescue from a powerful captor. The question should retain its force, and YHWH's answer should remain equally forceful: he will contend with Zion's contender, save her children, and make oppressors consume their own flesh and blood. The closing purpose clause, that all flesh may know YHWH as Savior, Redeemer, and the Mighty One of Jacob, should remain climactic. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where servant vocation, worldwide mission, pastoral restoration, maternal remembrance, and forceful vindication of Zion are held together in a single movement of divine salvation. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 50 — ישעיהו 50

Theme. The challenge about a nonexistent divorce writ and an unpaid creditor, the insistence that Zion's estrangement came from her own sins rather than from divine inability, the servant's taught tongue and awakened ear, the offered back and cheeks before smiting and spitting, the confidence that the Lord YHWH helps and vindicates, and the final split between those who trust YHWH in darkness and those who walk by their own fire make Isaiah 50 a compact but searching chapter of covenant controversy, servant obedience, and moral decision. It opens with forensic questions. If Zion imagines herself dismissed like an unwanted wife, where is the document of divorce? If the children think they were sold away to satisfy some creditor, which creditor was that? The answer is immediate and severe: the exile came from Israel's own iniquities and transgressions. Divine abandonment is denied as the fundamental cause. Yet the chapter does not stop at guilt. It moves into a second question about response. Why, when YHWH came, was no one there? Why, when he called, was no one answering? The issue is not divine weakness. The hand is not too short to redeem, and there is no lack of power to deliver. Sea, rivers, fish, heavens, darkness, and sackcloth all remain under his rebuking command. The problem lies with the people who did not answer the divine summons. From there the chapter turns into one of Isaiah's most memorable servant speeches. The Lord YHWH gives a tongue of disciples so that the weary may be sustained with a word, and he awakens the servant morning by morning to hear like one taught. Crucially, the awakened ear does not recoil. The servant is not rebellious and does not turn backward. Instead he gives his back to strikers and his cheeks to pluckers; he does not hide his face from humiliation and spitting. This passage therefore links obedient hearing directly to suffering endurance. This is not passive resignation but disciplined fidelity rooted in confidence that the Lord YHWH helps. Because of that help the servant is not disgraced, sets his face like flint, and knows he will not be ashamed. Judicial language then returns. The one who justifies is near; accusers may stand together and bring their case, but they will wear out like a garment consumed by moth. The closing exhortation divides the hearers in two. Those who fear YHWH and listen to the voice of his servant may find themselves walking in darkness without visible light, yet they are told to trust in YHWH's name and lean on their God. Over against them stand those who kindle their own fire and gird themselves with sparks. They may walk by the light they have made, but that self-made brightness ends in sorrow and in lying down under pain from YHWH's hand. Taken together, the denial of divine abandonment, the exposure of Israel's own guilt, the servant's taught obedience under suffering, the nearness of divine vindication, and the contrast between God-trusting darkness and self-lit ruin form a chapter where hearing rightly becomes the decisive issue: whether one will answer the redeeming God, endure under his word, and trust his help, or instead fashion one's own light and receive only grief.

Outline.

I. 1–3 — Thus says YHWH, Where the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have. Thus says YHWH, Where the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have you sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. Wherefore, when I came, no man? when I called, none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or.
II. 4–5 — YHWH YHWH has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how. YHWH YHWH has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. YHWH YHWH has opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
III. 6–9 — I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off th. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For YHWH YHWH will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who mine.
IV. 10–11 — Who among you that feareth YHWH, that obeyeth the voice of his servant,. Who among you that feareth YHWH, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh darkness, and has no light? let him trust in the name of YHWH, and stay upon his God. Behold, all you that kindle a fire, that compass about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks you have kindled. This shall you have of mine hand; you shall lie down.

Textual note. Four linked movements shape the chapter: YHWH denies that he divorced Zion or sold his children to a creditor and instead locates their estrangement in their own sins while challenging their failure to answer his redeeming summons and affirming his undiminished cosmic power (vv. 1-3), the servant speaks of receiving a disciple's tongue and awakened ear from the Lord YHWH in order to sustain the weary and obey without rebellion (vv. 4-5), the servant's obedience is shown in willing exposure to beating, plucking, humiliation, and spitting together with unshaken confidence that the Lord YHWH helps and vindicates him against every accuser (vv. 6-9), and the close addresses the hearers directly by contrasting those who fear YHWH and trust him in darkness with those who light their own fire and end in sorrow (vv. 10-11). Verses 1-3 should preserve the chapter's legal sharpness. The question about the certificate of divorce and the question about the creditor should remain plain, because both deny that YHWH has cast Zion off arbitrarily or sold her away under compulsion. The explanatory line that exile came through Israel's iniquities and transgressions must stay direct. Verse 2 then turns the issue from cause to response: YHWH came and called, but no one answered. The rhetorical question about whether his hand has become too short to redeem should preserve the contrast between divine ability and human refusal. Verses 2-3 end with creator-exodus power imagery - drying sea, making rivers wilderness, darkening heavens - and should keep that sweep visible. Verses 4-5 are central for the servant material and should be translated with care for both pedagogy and obedience. The servant receives a tongue of disciples or the learned in order to know how to sustain the weary with a word, and the repeated morning-by-morning awakening of the ear should remain rhythmic. Verse 5's refusal to rebel or turn back is the hinge into the suffering that follows. Verses 6-9 should preserve both concreteness and confidence. The servant gives back, cheeks, and face to abuse, yet the repeated line that the Lord YHWH helps him means disgrace and shame do not have the final word. Verse 7's set face like flint should remain vivid. Verses 8-9 move into lawsuit language, with the justifier near, opponents invited to stand and contend, and the final image of accusers wearing out like a moth-eaten garment. Verses 10-11 then transfer the chapter's issues to the hearers. Verse 10 should preserve the paradox of fearing YHWH and obeying the servant's voice while walking in darkness without brightness; the answer is trust in YHWH's name and reliance on God. Verse 11 then warns those who kindle their own fire and surround themselves with sparks. The line about walking by the light of their own fire should remain ironic, because it culminates in lying down in sorrow from YHWH's hand. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where covenant estrangement is exposed as human fault rather than divine abandonment, the servant models obedient suffering under divine help, and the hearer is forced to choose between trusting God in darkness and manufacturing a light that ends in grief. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 51 — ישעיהו 51

Theme. Isaiah 51 (23 verses in the MT) opens: Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, you that seek YHWH: look to the rock you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit you are digged. The middle of the chapter continues: I, I, he that comforteth you: who you, that you shouldest be afraid of a man shall die, and of the son of man shall be made grass; It closes: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict you; which have said to your soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and you have laid your body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, you that seek YHWH:. Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, you that seek YHWH: look to the rock you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit you are digged. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For YHWH shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness.
II. 6–10 — Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for t. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken to me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose.
III. 11–15 — Therefore the redeemed of YHWH shall return, and come with singing to Zi. Therefore the redeemed of YHWH shall return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, I, he that comforteth you: who you, that you shouldest be afraid of a man shall die, and of the son of man shall be made grass; And forgettest YHWH your maker, that has.
IV. 16–20 — And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the sha. And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, You my people. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which have drunk at the hand of YHWH the cup of his fury; you have drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, wrung out. none to.
V. 21–23 — Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:. Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord YHWH, and your God pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; you shall no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict you; which have said to your soul,.

Textual note. Isaiah 51 comprises 23 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-5) — Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, you that seek YHWH:. Hearken to me, you that follow after righteousness, you that seek YHWH: look to the rock you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit you are digged. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For YHWH shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness. Movement II (vv. 6-10) — Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for t. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken to me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose. Movement III (vv. 11-15) — Therefore the redeemed of YHWH shall return, and come with singing to Zi. Therefore the redeemed of YHWH shall return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, I, he that comforteth you: who you, that you shouldest be afraid of a man shall die, and of the son of man shall be made grass; And forgettest YHWH your maker, that has. Movement IV (vv. 16-20) — And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the sha. And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, You my people. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which have drunk at the hand of YHWH the cup of his fury; you have drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, wrung out. none to. Movement V (vv. 21-23) — Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:. Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord YHWH, and your God pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; you shall no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict you; which have said to your soul,. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 52 — ישעיהו 52

Theme. Awake-awake imperatives to Zion and Jerusalem, the shaking off of dust and unfastening of captivity, redemption without silver, the memory of Egypt and Assyria as paradigms of oppressive seizure, YHWH's insistence that his blasphemed name will again be known by his people, the herald on the mountains announcing peace, good, salvation, and the reign of God, the watchmen and ruined places of Jerusalem breaking into song because YHWH returns and redeems, the summons to depart in purity as bearers of YHWH's vessels under a guarded exodus, and finally the startling turn to the servant who is exalted only after marred humiliation and whose effect reaches many nations together make Isaiah 52 a chapter of awakening, public redemption, and holy departure that opens directly into the servant vision of chapter 53. It opens with a doubled cry for Zion to wake and clothe herself with strength and beauty. Jerusalem is named the holy city again, and the promise that the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer invade her gives the dress imagery a covenantal and cultic edge. The next command deepens the reversal: the city is to shake herself from dust, rise, sit enthroned, and loose the bonds from her neck. Captivity is not denied; it is broken by summons. That summons is grounded in YHWH's own reading of Israel's history. The people were sold for nothing and will be redeemed without money. Egypt marked the first descent into oppressive sojourning, Assyria later crushed without right, and now YHWH asks what he has here when his people are taken for nothing and his name is constantly despised. Therefore the redemption to come is not merely social rescue. It is the moment when the people will know the divine name because the speaker himself will stand forth and say, Here I am. From there the poem turns outward into proclamation. A herald's feet are lovely on the mountains because he carries not vague inspiration but specific good news: peace, good, salvation, and the royal announcement that Zion's God reigns. The watchmen lift their voice together because they will see with their own eyes YHWH returning to Zion, and even Jerusalem's ruins are called to burst into song because comfort and redemption are arriving in public view. YHWH bares his holy arm before all nations, so the ends of the earth see the salvation of Israel's God. From there the poem shifts from announcement to procession. Those who bear YHWH's vessels must depart from impurity, but this departure will not look like a panicked flight. Unlike an escape driven by fear, the coming exodus is ordered by YHWH's presence before and behind his people. The final movement changes tone again and reaches beyond immediate restoration. YHWH's servant will act wisely and be lifted very high, yet the path to that exaltation passes through a disfigurement that astonishes the many who once recoiled. In turn, many nations and their kings are brought into silence before what they had never been told. Taken together, enthronement language, exodus language, heraldic joy, public redemption, cultic purity, and the servant's shocking exaltation form a chapter where Zion's restoration becomes the stage on which YHWH reveals his reign and prepares the reader for a deeper account of redemption through the servant.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garmen. Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
II. 3 — For thus says YHWH, You have sold yourselves for nought; and you shall b. For thus says YHWH, You have sold yourselves for nought; and you shall be redeemed without money.
III. 4–6 — For thus says YHWH YHWH, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to soj. For thus says YHWH YHWH, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, says YHWH, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, says YHWH; and my name continually every day blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name:.
IV. 7–10 — How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that says to Zion, Your God reigneth! Your watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when YHWH shall bring again Zion. Break.
V. 11–12 — Depart you, depart you, go you out from thence, touch no unclean ; go yo. Depart you, depart you, go you out from thence, touch no unclean ; go you out of the midst of her; be you clean, that bear the vessels of YHWH. For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for YHWH will go before you; and the God of Israel your rereward.
VI. 13–15 — Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolle. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at you; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for which had not been told them shall they see; and which they had not.

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: the wake-up call to Zion and Jerusalem as the holy city restored from dust and bonds (vv. 1-2), the declaration that Israel was sold for nothing and will be redeemed without money together with the recollection of Egypt and Assyria and the promise that YHWH's name will again be known (vv. 3-6), the heraldic good news, the watchmen's song, and the worldwide revelation of YHWH's saving arm (vv. 7-10), the command to depart in purity under YHWH's escort rather than in panic (vv. 11-12), and the servant's wise exaltation through marred suffering before the astonished nations (vv. 13-15). Verses 1-2 should preserve the density of imperatives. Zion must awake, clothe herself with strength, and Jerusalem with beautiful garments; the restoration is both royal and cultic, since the holy city will no longer be entered by the uncircumcised and unclean. Verse 2's commands to shake off dust, rise, sit, and loose the bonds of the neck should remain vivid and sequential, because humiliation is being reversed into enthronement. Verse 3 states the economic paradox sharply and should retain it: sold for nothing, redeemed not with silver. The point is not commercial negotiation but divine reclamation beyond ordinary ransom. Verses 4-6 interpret Israel's condition historically and theologically. Egypt is the first paradigm of oppressive descent, Assyria adds later gratuitous crushing, and verse 5's difficult rhetorical question should still communicate YHWH's protest that his people are taken for nothing while his name is continually despised. Verse 6 then gives the purpose: the people will know the divine name because the speaking God will stand forth in their midst. Verses 7-10 are among Isaiah's most famous proclamation lines and should preserve their public, audible character. The herald announces peace, good, salvation, and God's kingship to Zion; the watchmen raise their voice together because they see YHWH returning to Zion eye to eye; and even the ruins of Jerusalem are summoned to sing because YHWH has comforted and redeemed his people. Verse 10 should keep the image of YHWH baring his holy arm before the nations so that the ends of the earth see salvation. Verses 11-12 recast redemption as a new exodus and should be translated with care for purity and pace. The repeated departure command, the ban on touching the unclean thing, and the instruction to purify yourselves as bearers of YHWH's vessels all give the departure priestly seriousness. Yet verse 12 explicitly distinguishes this exodus from panicked flight: the people do not leave in haste or go by fleeing, because YHWH goes before them and the God of Israel gathers their rear guard. Verses 13-15 must retain the tension between exaltation and disfigurement that prepares the servant song. The servant acts wisely or prospers, and he is raised, lifted up, and made very high; yet many were appalled because his appearance was more marred than that of a man. Verse 15's verb is disputed in interpretation, but the line should preserve the effect on many nations and the stunned silence of kings. What they had never been told they now see, and what they had never heard they now understand. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where Zion is awakened and enthroned, redemption is proclaimed as a new exodus under YHWH's reign, and the servant is introduced as the astonishing means by which that redemption will confront and silence the nations. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 53 — ישעיהו 53

Theme. The unbelieving question over the report and the unveiled arm of YHWH, the servant's growth like a shoot from dry ground without visible majesty, his rejection as the man of pains acquainted with sickness, the reversal by which others finally confess that he bore their illnesses and sorrows, the piercing and crushing tied to transgressions and iniquities not his own, the sheep-like wandering of all contrasted with YHWH's laying of collective guilt upon him, the lamb-like silence before oppression, judgment, and slaughter, the grave assigned with the wicked despite a life without violence or deceit, YHWH's will to crush only in order that the servant become a guilt offering who sees seed and prolongs days, and the final vindication in which he justifies the many, bears their iniquities, and intercedes for transgressors together make Isaiah 53 the climactic exposition of the servant introduced at the end of Isaiah 52. It opens with astonishment rather than applause. The report has not been readily believed, and the arm of YHWH has not been recognized where it appeared. That failure of recognition is immediately explained by the servant's form. He rose like tender growth from parched ground, lacking the obvious beauty, stature, and splendor that would naturally draw human desire. Rejection followed appearance: despised, forsaken, full of pains, and familiar with sickness, he became one from whom faces turned away. Yet the center of the song lies in the confession that this judgment was wrong. What was first treated as divine striking for his own sake is reinterpreted as substitutionary burden-bearing. He carried illnesses, bore sorrows, was pierced because of transgressions, crushed because of iniquities, and wounded so that peace and healing might come to others. The community's guilt is summarized in the wandering-sheep image: all have turned to their own way, but YHWH caused the iniquity of all to meet upon him. The poem then lingers over his posture under suffering. Oppressed and afflicted, he did not open his mouth. Lamb and ewe imagery stress not passivity alone but sacrificial innocence and quiet endurance. Taken away through coercion and judgment, cut off from the land of the living for the rebellion of YHWH's people, he nevertheless remains morally singular: no violence, no deceit. From there the song moves into its deepest paradox. YHWH was pleased to crush him, yet not as meaningless destruction. When his life is made a guilt offering, the servant sees offspring, prolongs days, and becomes the successful instrument of YHWH's pleasure. Out of the travail of his soul comes satisfaction, and by his knowledge the righteous servant justifies the many because he bears their iniquities. The final verse therefore turns from humiliation to division of spoil and royal reward. Numbered with transgressors, pouring out his life unto death, and carrying the sin of the many, he also intercedes for those same transgressors. Taken together, misrecognition, vicarious suffering, silent endurance, guilt-offering logic, and final vindication form a chapter where the deepest work of YHWH's saving arm is accomplished through the servant's rejected suffering and where the many receive healing, justification, and peace precisely through the one they had despised.

Outline.

I. 1 — Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of YHWH revealed?. Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of YHWH revealed?
II. 2–3 — For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
III. 4–6 — Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did este. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and YHWH has laid.
IV. 7–9 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he.
V. 10–12 — Yet it pleased YHWH to bruise him; he has put to grief: when you shall m. Yet it pleased YHWH to bruise him; he has put to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the pleasure of YHWH shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities..

Textual note. Five linked movements shape the chapter: the unbelieving question over the report together with the servant's unimpressive growth and rejected appearance (vv. 1-3), the confession that his suffering was in fact borne for others and tied to their peace and healing (vv. 4-6), the servant's silent submission under oppression and his being cut off from the land of the living despite innocence (vv. 7-9), YHWH's purpose in crushing him through the logic of a guilt offering that leads to life, offspring, and successful mission (vv. 10-11a), and the final vindication in which the servant justifies the many, bears their iniquities, and receives the portion of the victorious (vv. 11b-12). Verse 1 should preserve the force of shocked questioning: who has believed the report, and to whom has the arm of YHWH been revealed? The parallel links proclamation and divine power, showing that the saving arm is present precisely where it is not naturally recognized. Verses 2-3 explain that failure through the servant's appearance and reception. The images of a tender shoot and a root from dry ground should remain concrete, because frailty, obscurity, and unlikely growth are central. The lines about lacking form, majesty, and desirable appearance should not be softened. Verse 3's cluster of despised, forsaken, pains, and sickness should likewise stay cumulative, while the line about hiding faces should preserve the social recoil built into the verse. Verses 4-6 carry the chapter's central reversal and must be translated with unusual care. The opening אָכֵן should retain its force of correction or dawning realization. The servant bears illnesses and sorrows, yet the observers had misread him as stricken by God for himself. Verse 5 then tightens the vicarious logic: pierced because of transgressions, crushed because of iniquities, disciplined for peace, wounded for healing. Verse 6's sheep image should remain universal and confessional, and the closing line should preserve the strong sense that YHWH caused the iniquity of all to meet upon him. Verses 7-9 portray the servant under affliction and death. Verse 7's sequence of oppression, affliction, silence, lamb, and ewe should remain stark and unembellished. Verse 8 is compressed and difficult in places, but the translation should preserve coercive removal, judicial distortion, and the servant's cutting off from the land of the living on account of the rebellion of YHWH's people. Verse 9's grave line is also syntactically challenging, yet the contrast between the wicked, the rich, and the servant's innocence should remain visible, especially the final statement that he had done no violence and had no deceit in his mouth. Verses 10-12 move from crushing to vindication without reducing the severity of either side. Verse 10 should keep the scandal and the purpose together: YHWH was pleased to crush him, yet when his life is made an אָשָׁם, a guilt offering, he sees seed, prolongs days, and causes YHWH's pleasure to prosper in his hand. Verse 11 is textually discussed at the phrase about seeing from the travail of his soul, but the overall sense of satisfied vindication should remain explicit. The servant is called righteous, and by his knowledge or through knowledge of him he justifies the many while bearing their iniquities. Verse 12 concludes with royal and priestly overtones at once. The servant receives a portion among the many or the great, divides spoil with the strong, poured out his life unto death, was numbered with transgressors, bore the sin of many, and intercedes for transgressors. Translation should preserve that these final lines interpret the whole song rather than merely decorate it. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as the chapter where the servant's rejected suffering is re-read as YHWH's appointed means of bearing guilt, securing peace, justifying the many, and moving from deathlike humiliation to victorious vindication. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 54 — ישעיהו 54

Theme. The barren woman commanded to sing, the tent widened for overflowing descendants, shame of youth and widowhood forgotten, YHWH named as husband, maker, redeemer, and God of all the earth, the brief abandonment answered by everlasting compassion, the Noah-like oath against renewed wrath, the covenant of peace that outlasts mountains, the storm-tossed city rebuilt with jeweled stones, children taught by YHWH in great peace, righteousness as the city's stability, and the final promise that no forged weapon or accusing tongue will prevail together make Isaiah 54 the great restoration oracle that follows the servant song with an expansive vision of Zion's fruitful security. It opens by addressing the woman who had not borne children and telling her to break into jubilant song. Barrenness and desolation are not denied, but they are overturned by a promised fecundity greater than that of the apparently married woman. The next image widens the promise spatially: tent curtains, cords, and pegs must be extended because the coming increase will overflow to right and left, dispossess nations, and repopulate desolate cities. Shame therefore gives way to memory's healing. Zion is told not to fear, because the reproach of youth and the disgrace of widowhood will no longer define her. That assurance is grounded in divine identity. Her husband is her maker, her redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, and the one reclaiming her is named the God of the whole earth. The abandoned wife image is thus not the last word; YHWH calls her back as the wife of youth once rejected only for a moment. The temporal contrast is crucial: a small instant of abandonment, a gush of wrath with a hidden face for a moment, but great mercies and everlasting covenant love in return. From there the chapter reaches for one of Isaiah's strongest covenant comparisons. As with the waters of Noah, YHWH swears that the old flood pattern of wrath will not return against Zion. Mountains may depart and hills be shaken, yet his steadfast love will not depart, and his covenant of peace will not totter. The oracle then turns architectural. The afflicted, storm-driven, unconsoled city is promised foundations and battlements of precious stones, while her children will be disciples of YHWH and therefore live in great peace. Righteousness will establish her, oppression and terror will be kept far away, and even if hostile gathering occurs, it does not come from YHWH and cannot stand. The final lines universalize the promise without sentimentalizing conflict. YHWH is the creator both of the smith who fashions weapons and of the destroyer who ruins, which means hostile tools remain creaturely and limited. Therefore every weapon formed against Zion fails, every accusing tongue in judgment is condemned, and the whole future is named as the inheritance of the servants of YHWH whose vindication comes from him. Taken together, fertility after barrenness, marital restoration, everlasting mercy, Noahic oath, jeweled rebuilding, taught children, covenant peace, and the nullification of weapons and accusations form a chapter where the servant's work flowers into a publicly secured, covenantally beloved, and permanently defended Zion.

Outline.

I. 1 — Sing, O barren, you didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry al. Sing, O barren, you didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you didst not travail with child: for more the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says YHWH.
II. 2–3 — Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; For you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and your seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
III. 4–8 — Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be you confounded; for y. Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be you confounded; for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more. For your Maker your husband; YHWH of hosts his name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For.
IV. 9–10 — For this the waters of Noah to me: for I have sworn that the waters of N. For this the waters of Noah to me: for I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says YHWH that has mercy on.
V. 11–12 — O you afflicted, tossed with tempest, not comforted, behold, I will lay. O you afflicted, tossed with tempest, not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with fair colours, and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones.
VI. 13–14 — And all your children taught of YHWH; and great the peace of your childr. And all your children taught of YHWH; and great the peace of your children. In righteousness shall you be established: you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you.
VII. 15–17 — Behold, they shall surely gather together, not by me: whosoever shall ga. Behold, they shall surely gather together, not by me: whosoever shall gather together against you shall fall for your sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the barren and desolate woman is summoned to sing and enlarge her tent for the coming multitude of children and inhabited cities (vv. 1-3), Zion is told not to fear shame because YHWH the maker and husband calls back the abandoned wife of youth (vv. 4-8), the promise is compared to the waters of Noah and secured by an unshakable covenant of peace that outlasts mountains (vv. 9-10), the storm-tossed city is rebuilt with precious stones (vv. 11-12), Zion's children are taught by YHWH and the city is established in righteousness free from terror (vv. 13-14), and the close promises that hostile gatherings, forged weapons, and accusing tongues will not prevail because Zion's vindication is from YHWH (vv. 15-17). Verse 1 should preserve the shock of rejoicing addressed to the barren woman who has not borne and has not travailed. The point is not to erase barrenness but to reverse it through a promise of astonishing fecundity. Verses 2-3 extend that reversal through tent imagery and should retain the imperatival energy: widen, stretch, do not spare, lengthen cords, strengthen pegs. The promise of spreading to right and left, inheriting nations, and settling desolate cities should remain expansive and concrete. Verses 4-8 turn to shame, marriage, and compassion and should be translated with care for emotional sequence. The shame of youth and reproach of widowhood are real pasts, but they are displaced by the one who is simultaneously maker, husband, redeemer, Holy One of Israel, and God of the whole earth. Verse 6's wife of youth imagery and verses 7-8's contrast between a brief abandonment and everlasting mercy must both remain vivid. The temporal disproportion is central to the chapter's consolation. Verses 9-10 provide covenantal grounding through the Noah comparison. The line about the waters of Noah should stay explicit, and the oath not to be angry or rebuke Zion again should be rendered with the same solemnity as the flood memory. Verse 10's mountains and hills may move, but steadfast love and the covenant of peace do not; both the instability of creation and the permanence of mercy should remain sharp. Verses 11-12 move into jeweled architecture and should not be flattened into generic beauty language. Antimony-set stones, sapphire foundations, battlements or pinnacles of glowing stone, gates of precious material, and borders of delightful stones all express stability, honor, and radiant reconstruction. Verses 13-14 tie the rebuilt city to teaching and righteousness. The children are taught by YHWH, and their peace is great. Zion is established in righteousness, kept far from oppression, fear, and terror. Translation should preserve that righteousness here is both moral and civic foundation. Verses 15-17 conclude with conflict language under divine sovereignty. Verse 15 allows for hostile gathering but explicitly denies YHWH as its source; those who gather fall because of Zion rather than over her. Verse 16 should preserve the point that YHWH made both the smith and the destroyer, placing destructive capacities under creaturely limits. Verse 17 then states the chapter's memorable inheritance promise: no weapon formed against Zion will succeed, and every tongue rising in judgment is condemned. The final line should remain explicit that this is the heritage of the servants of YHWH and that their righteousness or vindication is from him. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where post-servant restoration is pictured as fruitful enlargement, renewed marital bond, sworn covenant peace, jewel-like rebuilding, instructed children, righteous stability, and a future in which neither violence nor accusation can overturn Zion's divinely given vindication. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 55 — ישעיהו 55

Theme. The thirsty summoned to free water, wine, and milk, the question about spending for what does not satisfy, the call to incline the ear and live under an everlasting covenant identified with the faithful mercies of David, the promise that nations once unknown will run toward the one glorified by the Holy One of Israel, the urgent command to seek YHWH while he is near, the call for the wicked and unjust man to abandon way and thought because God abundantly pardons, the declaration that divine thoughts and ways exceed human ones as heaven exceeds earth, the rain-and-snow comparison that makes YHWH's word effective and unfailing, and the closing vision of joyful exodus in which mountains sing, trees clap, and curse-growth is replaced by cypress and myrtle together make Isaiah 55 a chapter of invitation, repentance, and certain fulfillment that gathers the servant-shaped restoration into an openly offered covenant summons. It opens with abundance directed toward need. Everyone thirsty is called to the waters, and even the person without money is invited to buy and eat, to receive wine and milk without price. The paradox is deliberate: what cannot be secured by ordinary purchase is freely given by divine generosity. That invitation is sharpened by a question. Why spend silver for what is not bread or labor for what does not satisfy? The answer is not technique but listening. To hear YHWH is to eat what is good and delight in rich food, because life itself is tied to hearing the divine voice. From there the oracle names the gift more explicitly. The hearers are to come, listen, and live, and YHWH will cut an everlasting covenant with them, the faithful covenant mercies promised to David. David then functions not merely as memory but as pattern and witness to the nations. A people previously unknown will be summoned, and nations that did not know Zion's kingly line will run toward her because YHWH and the Holy One of Israel have glorified her. The oracle then turns from invitation to urgent response. YHWH is to be sought while he may be found and called upon while he is near. Wicked way and iniquitous thought must be abandoned so that return may be made to YHWH, whose mercy is not meager but multiplied in pardon. The reason this return is possible yet also unsettling lies in the divine-human disproportion. YHWH's thoughts are not human thoughts, nor his ways human ways; they stand above them as heavens stand above earth. That transcendence does not distance the promise from history. Instead it guarantees effectiveness. Rain and snow come down, water the earth, make it fruitful, and provide seed and bread; so YHWH's word goes out and does not return empty, but accomplishes what he desires and succeeds in the purpose for which he sent it. The closing picture therefore joins certainty and joy. The people go out with gladness and are led with peace, while mountains and hills break into song and the trees clap their hands. Thorn and briar give way to cypress and myrtle, and the transformation itself becomes an everlasting sign bearing YHWH's name. Taken together, free provision, covenant hearing, Davidic outreach, urgent repentance, transcendent yet effective speech, and creation-wide rejoicing form a chapter where the saving future is not merely described but publicly offered, and where YHWH's word guarantees that those who return will find pardon, peace, and a remade world.

Outline.

I. 1–2 — Ho, every one that thirsteth, come you to the waters, and he that has no. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come you to the waters, and he that has no money; come you, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money for not bread? and your labour for satisfieth not? hearken diligently to me, and eat you good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
II. 3–5 — Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I. Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, you shall call a nation you knowest not, and nations knew not you shall run to you because of YHWH your God, and for the.
III. 6–7 — Seek you YHWH while he may be found, call you upon him while he is near:. Seek you YHWH while he may be found, call you upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to YHWH, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
IV. 8–9 — For my thoughts not your thoughts, neither your ways my ways, says YHWH. For my thoughts not your thoughts, neither your ways my ways, says YHWH. For the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
V. 10–11 — For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper.
VI. 12–13 — For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountain. For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to YHWH for a name, for an everlasting sign shall not be.

Textual note. Six linked movements shape the chapter: the thirsty and moneyless are invited to free, satisfying provision (vv. 1-2), the hearers are called to life under an everlasting covenant identified with the faithful mercies of David and widened toward nations (vv. 3-5), YHWH is to be sought while near and the wicked are called to abandon way and thought because God abundantly pardons (vv. 6-7), divine thoughts and ways are declared higher than human ones as heaven is above earth (vv. 8-9), the rain-and-snow comparison explains why YHWH's word always accomplishes its purpose (vv. 10-11), and the chapter closes with a joyful exodus in which creation rejoices and curse-growth is replaced by restorative vegetation as an everlasting sign (vv. 12-13). Verses 1-2 should preserve both the generosity and the paradox of the opening summons. The thirsty are called to water, the moneyless to buy and eat, and wine and milk are received without silver or price. Verse 2's question about spending for what is not bread and laboring for what does not satisfy should remain sharp, because the chapter opposes futile human expenditure with free divine sufficiency. The commands to listen and eat what is good should also retain their fusion of hearing and nourishment. Verses 3-5 connect that nourishment to covenant and mission. The hearers are to incline the ear, come, listen, and live, and YHWH will make an everlasting covenant with them, the faithful mercies of David. The David language should remain explicit rather than generalized away, because it grounds the covenant historically while extending it outward. Verse 4 identifies David as witness, leader, and commander for peoples, and verse 5 should preserve the surprise that nations previously unknown will run because of YHWH's glorifying action. Verses 6-7 are among the chapter's most urgent imperatives and should keep that urgency. YHWH must be sought while he may be found and called upon while near. The wicked person's way and the unjust man's thoughts should both be named, because the call reaches conduct and imagination alike. The promise of mercy and abundant pardon should remain lavish rather than minimal. Verses 8-9 explain that promise by contrasting divine and human perspective. The difference between thoughts and ways should stay parallel, and the heaven-earth comparison should remain maximal, because transcendence here supports trust rather than abstraction. Verses 10-11 then ground the certainty of fulfillment in an agricultural image. Rain and snow descend, do not return without watering, and produce seed and bread; YHWH's word likewise goes out and does not return empty. The verbs of accomplishing and prospering should remain strong, because the chapter presents divine speech as effective mission. Verses 12-13 conclude with one of Isaiah's most celebratory restoration scenes and should preserve its breadth. The people go out in joy and are led in peace, mountains and hills break forth into song, and trees clap their hands. The replacement of thorn with cypress and brier with myrtle should remain concrete, because the imagery signals a reversal of curse and desolation. The final line should stay explicit that this transformed world becomes for YHWH a name, an everlasting sign that will not be cut off. Taken together, the passage should therefore be translated as a chapter where free covenant invitation, repentance, divine transcendence, and the unfailing efficacy of YHWH's word converge to promise a joyful, creation-wide restoration for those who hear and return. Versification follows the MT. Cruxes. | Verse | Issue | | --- | --- | | none | none of note |

Isaiah 56 — ישעיהו 56

Theme. Isaiah 56 (12 verses in the MT) opens: Thus says YHWH, Keep you judgment, and do justice: for my salvation near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. The middle of the chapter continues: Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all. It closes: Come you, , I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, much more abundant.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Thus says YHWH, Keep you judgment, and do justice: for my salvation near. Thus says YHWH, Keep you judgment, and do justice: for my salvation near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed the man doeth this, and the son of man layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that has joined himself to YHWH, speak, saying,.
II. 5–8 — Even to them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a. Even to them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to YHWH, to serve him, and to love the name of YHWH, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,.
III. 9–12 — All you beasts of the field, come to devour, , all you beasts in the for. All you beasts of the field, come to devour, , all you beasts in the forest. His watchmen blind: they are all ignorant, they all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, greedy dogs can never have enough, and they shepherds cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come.

Textual note. Isaiah 56 comprises 12 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-4) — Thus says YHWH, Keep you judgment, and do justice: for my salvation near. Thus says YHWH, Keep you judgment, and do justice: for my salvation near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed the man doeth this, and the son of man layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that has joined himself to YHWH, speak, saying,. Movement II (vv. 5-8) — Even to them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a. Even to them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to YHWH, to serve him, and to love the name of YHWH, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,. Movement III (vv. 9-12) — All you beasts of the field, come to devour, , all you beasts in the for. All you beasts of the field, come to devour, , all you beasts in the forest. His watchmen blind: they are all ignorant, they all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, greedy dogs can never have enough, and they shepherds cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 57 — ישעיהו 57

Theme. Isaiah 57 (21 verses in the MT) opens: The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth to heart: and merciful men taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil . The middle of the chapter continues: And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have not remembered me, nor laid to your heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and you fearest me not? It closes: no peace, says my God, to the wicked.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth to heart: and merciful men ta. The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth to heart: and merciful men taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil . He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, walking his uprightness. But draw near hither, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. Against whom do you sport yourselves?.
II. 6–10 — Among the smooth of the stream your portion; they, they your lot: even t. Among the smooth of the stream your portion; they, they your lot: even to them have you poured a drink offering, you have offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? Upon a lofty and high mountain have you set your bed: even thither wentest you up to offer sacrifice. Behind the doors also and the posts have you set up your remembrance: for.
III. 11–15 — And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have. And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have not remembered me, nor laid to your heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and you fearest me not? I will declare your righteousness, and your works; for they shall not profit you. When you criest, let your companies deliver you; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity.
IV. 16–20 — For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts to.
V. 21 — no peace, says my God, to the wicked. no peace, says my God, to the wicked.

Textual note. Isaiah 57 comprises 21 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-5) — The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth to heart: and merciful men ta. The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth to heart: and merciful men taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil . He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, walking his uprightness. But draw near hither, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. Against whom do you sport yourselves?. Movement II (vv. 6-10) — Among the smooth of the stream your portion; they, they your lot: even t. Among the smooth of the stream your portion; they, they your lot: even to them have you poured a drink offering, you have offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? Upon a lofty and high mountain have you set your bed: even thither wentest you up to offer sacrifice. Behind the doors also and the posts have you set up your remembrance: for. Movement III (vv. 11-15) — And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have. And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have not remembered me, nor laid to your heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and you fearest me not? I will declare your righteousness, and your works; for they shall not profit you. When you criest, let your companies deliver you; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity. Movement IV (vv. 16-20) — For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts to. Movement V (vv. 21) — no peace, says my God, to the wicked. no peace, says my God, to the wicked. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 58 — ישעיהו 58

Theme. Isaiah 58 (14 verses in the MT) opens: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. The middle of the chapter continues: Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of YHWH shall be your rereward. It closes: Then shall you delight thyself in YHWH; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of YHWH has spoken .

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and shew my peo. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore.
II. 5–8 — Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his sou. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes ? will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to YHWH? not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break.
III. 9–12 — Then shall you call, and YHWH shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall. Then shall you call, and YHWH shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here I . If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness as the noonday: And YHWH shall guide.
IV. 13–14 — If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, doing your pleasure on my h. If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of YHWH, honourable; and shall honour him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking words: Then shall you delight thyself in YHWH; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you.

Textual note. Isaiah 58 comprises 14 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-4) — Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and shew my peo. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore. Movement II (vv. 5-8) — Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his sou. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes ? will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to YHWH? not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break. Movement III (vv. 9-12) — Then shall you call, and YHWH shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall. Then shall you call, and YHWH shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here I . If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness as the noonday: And YHWH shall guide. Movement IV (vv. 13-14) — If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, doing your pleasure on my h. If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of YHWH, honourable; and shall honour him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking words: Then shall you delight thyself in YHWH; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 59 — ישעיהו 59

Theme. Isaiah 59 (21 verses in the MT) opens: Behold, YHWH's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: The middle of the chapter continues: We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but none; for salvation, it is far off from us. It closes: As for me, this my covenant with them, says YHWH; My spirit that upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — Behold, YHWH's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his e. Behold, YHWH's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered.
II. 6–10 — Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselve. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works works of iniquity, and the act of violence in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and no judgment in.
III. 11–15 — We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but none; for salvation, it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions with us; and our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against YHWH, and departing away from our God, speaking.
IV. 16–20 — And he saw that no man, and wondered that no intercessor: therefore his. And he saw that no man, and wondered that no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to deeds, accordingly he will.
V. 21 — As for me, this my covenant with them, says YHWH; My spirit that upon yo. As for me, this my covenant with them, says YHWH; My spirit that upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed's seed, says YHWH, from henceforth and for ever.

Textual note. Isaiah 59 comprises 21 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-5) — Behold, YHWH's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his e. Behold, YHWH's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered. Movement II (vv. 6-10) — Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselve. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works works of iniquity, and the act of violence in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and no judgment in. Movement III (vv. 11-15) — We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but none; for salvation, it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions with us; and our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against YHWH, and departing away from our God, speaking. Movement IV (vv. 16-20) — And he saw that no man, and wondered that no intercessor: therefore his. And he saw that no man, and wondered that no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to deeds, accordingly he will. Movement V (vv. 21) — As for me, this my covenant with them, says YHWH; My spirit that upon yo. As for me, this my covenant with them, says YHWH; My spirit that upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed's seed, says YHWH, from henceforth and for ever. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 60 — ישעיהו 60

Theme. Isaiah 60 (22 verses in the MT) opens: Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of YHWH is risen upon you. The middle of the chapter continues: For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yea, nations shall be utterly wasted. It closes: A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I YHWH will hasten it in his time.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of YHWH is risen upo. Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of YHWH is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but YHWH shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all.
II. 6–10 — The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and E. The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of YHWH. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will.
III. 11–15 — Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut d. Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that may bring to you the forces of the Gentiles, and their kings brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yea, nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to.
IV. 16–20 — You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast. You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings: and you shall know that I YHWH your Saviour and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness. Violence shall.
V. 21–22 — Your people also all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, th. Your people also all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I YHWH will hasten it in his time.

Textual note. Isaiah 60 comprises 22 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-5) — Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of YHWH is risen upo. Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of YHWH is risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but YHWH shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all. Movement II (vv. 6-10) — The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and E. The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of YHWH. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will. Movement III (vv. 11-15) — Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut d. Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that may bring to you the forces of the Gentiles, and their kings brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yea, nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to. Movement IV (vv. 16-20) — You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast. You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings: and you shall know that I YHWH your Saviour and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness. Violence shall. Movement V (vv. 21-22) — Your people also all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, th. Your people also all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I YHWH will hasten it in his time. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 61 — ישעיהו 61

Theme. Isaiah 61 (11 verses in the MT) opens: The Spirit of YHWH YHWH upon me; because YHWH has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to bound; The middle of the chapter continues: But you shall be named the Priests of YHWH: shall call you the Ministers of our God: you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall you boast yourselves. It closes: For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so YHWH YHWH will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — The Spirit of YHWH YHWH upon me; because YHWH has anointed me to preach. The Spirit of YHWH YHWH upon me; because YHWH has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of YHWH, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint to them that mourn in.
II. 5–8 — And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alie. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the Priests of YHWH: shall call you the Ministers of our God: you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall you boast yourselves. For your shame double; and confusion they shall rejoice in their portion:.
III. 9–11 — And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring am. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they the seed YHWH has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in YHWH, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom.

Textual note. Isaiah 61 comprises 11 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-4) — The Spirit of YHWH YHWH upon me; because YHWH has anointed me to preach. The Spirit of YHWH YHWH upon me; because YHWH has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of YHWH, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint to them that mourn in. Movement II (vv. 5-8) — And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alie. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the Priests of YHWH: shall call you the Ministers of our God: you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall you boast yourselves. For your shame double; and confusion they shall rejoice in their portion:. Movement III (vv. 9-11) — And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring am. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they the seed YHWH has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in YHWH, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 62 — ישעיהו 62

Theme. Isaiah 62 (12 verses in the MT) opens: For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp burneth. The middle of the chapter continues: And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. It closes: And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of YHWH: and you shall be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I wil. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp burneth. And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory: and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of YHWH shall name. You shall also be a crown.
II. 5–8 — For a young man marrieth a virgin, shall your sons marry you: and the br. For a young man marrieth a virgin, shall your sons marry you: and the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, shall your God rejoice over you. I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, shall never hold their peace day nor night: you that make mention of YHWH, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise.
III. 9–12 — But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise YHWH; and they t. But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise YHWH; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates; prepare you the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, YHWH has proclaimed to the end of the world, Say.

Textual note. Isaiah 62 comprises 12 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-4) — For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I wil. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp burneth. And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory: and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of YHWH shall name. You shall also be a crown. Movement II (vv. 5-8) — For a young man marrieth a virgin, shall your sons marry you: and the br. For a young man marrieth a virgin, shall your sons marry you: and the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, shall your God rejoice over you. I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, shall never hold their peace day nor night: you that make mention of YHWH, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise. Movement III (vv. 9-12) — But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise YHWH; and they t. But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise YHWH; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates; prepare you the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, YHWH has proclaimed to the end of the world, Say. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 63 — ישעיהו 63

Theme. Isaiah 63 (19 verses in the MT) opens: Who this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. The middle of the chapter continues: But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, he fought against them. It closes: We are : you never barest rule over them; they were not called by your name.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Who this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this glo. Who this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore red in your apparel, and your garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people none with me: for I will tread.
II. 5–8 — And I looked, and none to help; and I wondered that none to uphold: ther. And I looked, and none to help; and I wondered that none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation to me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. I will mention the lovingkindnesses of YHWH, the praises of YHWH, according to all.
III. 9–12 — In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, he fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, his people, ,.
IV. 13–16 — That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, they shou. That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of YHWH caused him to rest: so didst you lead your people, to make thyself a glorious name. Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory: where your zeal and your strength, the.
V. 17–19 — O YHWH, why have you made us to err from your ways, hardened our heart f. O YHWH, why have you made us to err from your ways, hardened our heart from your fear? Return for your servants' sake, the tribes of your inheritance. The people of your holiness have possessed but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary. We are : you never barest rule over them; they were not called by your name.

Textual note. Isaiah 63 comprises 19 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-4) — Who this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this glo. Who this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore red in your apparel, and your garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people none with me: for I will tread. Movement II (vv. 5-8) — And I looked, and none to help; and I wondered that none to uphold: ther. And I looked, and none to help; and I wondered that none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation to me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. I will mention the lovingkindnesses of YHWH, the praises of YHWH, according to all. Movement III (vv. 9-12) — In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, he fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, his people, ,. Movement IV (vv. 13-16) — That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, they shou. That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of YHWH caused him to rest: so didst you lead your people, to make thyself a glorious name. Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory: where your zeal and your strength, the. Movement V (vv. 17-19) — O YHWH, why have you made us to err from your ways, hardened our heart f. O YHWH, why have you made us to err from your ways, hardened our heart from your fear? Return for your servants' sake, the tribes of your inheritance. The people of your holiness have possessed but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary. We are : you never barest rule over them; they were not called by your name. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 64 — ישעיהו 64

Theme. Isaiah 64 (11 verses in the MT) opens: Is kindled fire melting water cause fire I know your name narrow from before you nations and shall tremble. The middle of the chapter continues: And there is no and he called in your name awake be strong among you for I will hide your face from it melt away by the hand of the iniquity of. It closes: On these and he restrained himself YHWH keeping silent and you shall afflict until very.

Outline.

I. 1–4 — Is kindled fire melting water cause fire I know your name narrow from be. Is kindled fire melting water cause fire I know your name narrow from before you nations and shall tremble. He did fear not let be gathered and went down from before you hills a glutton. Perpetuity not his hearing not give ear eye not she saw God except he shall do and to him. And it touched he rejoiced and make just on the way and you shall remember behold.
II. 5–8 — And we were unclean all of us his garments filthy all righteousness and. And we were unclean all of us his garments filthy all righteousness and he scorned leaves of all of us the iniquity of a spirit of lifts up. And there is no and he called in your name awake be strong among you for I will hide your face from it melt away by the hand of the iniquity of. And now YHWH our father you we with mortar and you formed the work of.
III. 9–11 — The cities of your holy were the wilderness of Zion the wilderness of wa. The cities of your holy were the wilderness of Zion the wilderness of was Jerusalem a desolation. The house of holy and for beauty that and they praised our fathers was the burning fire and all beloved was a ruin. On these and he restrained himself YHWH keeping silent and you shall afflict until very.

Textual note. Isaiah 64 comprises 11 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-4) — Is kindled fire melting water cause fire I know your name narrow from be. Is kindled fire melting water cause fire I know your name narrow from before you nations and shall tremble. He did fear not let be gathered and went down from before you hills a glutton. Perpetuity not his hearing not give ear eye not she saw God except he shall do and to him. And it touched he rejoiced and make just on the way and you shall remember behold. Movement II (vv. 5-8) — And we were unclean all of us his garments filthy all righteousness and. And we were unclean all of us his garments filthy all righteousness and he scorned leaves of all of us the iniquity of a spirit of lifts up. And there is no and he called in your name awake be strong among you for I will hide your face from it melt away by the hand of the iniquity of. And now YHWH our father you we with mortar and you formed the work of. Movement III (vv. 9-11) — The cities of your holy were the wilderness of Zion the wilderness of wa. The cities of your holy were the wilderness of Zion the wilderness of was Jerusalem a desolation. The house of holy and for beauty that and they praised our fathers was the burning fire and all beloved was a ruin. On these and he restrained himself YHWH keeping silent and you shall afflict until very. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 65 — ישעיהו 65

Theme. Isaiah 65 (25 verses in the MT) opens: I am sought of asked not ; I am found of sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, to a nation was not called by my name. The middle of the chapter continues: Therefore thus says YHWH YHWH, Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed: It closes: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says YHWH.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — I am sought of asked not ; I am found of sought me not: I said, Behold m. I am sought of asked not ; I am found of sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, to a nation was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, which walketh in a way not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense.
II. 6–10 — Behold, written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense. Behold, written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, says YHWH, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. Thus says YHWH, As the new wine is.
III. 11–15 — But you they that forsake YHWH, that forget my holy mountain, that prepa. But you they that forsake YHWH, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering to that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, you did not answer; when I spake, you did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose.
IV. 16–20 — That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God. That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be you.
V. 21–25 — And they shall build houses, and inhabit ; and they shall plant vineyard. And they shall build houses, and inhabit ; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they.

Textual note. Isaiah 65 comprises 25 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-5) — I am sought of asked not ; I am found of sought me not: I said, Behold m. I am sought of asked not ; I am found of sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, to a nation was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, which walketh in a way not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense. Movement II (vv. 6-10) — Behold, written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense. Behold, written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, says YHWH, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. Thus says YHWH, As the new wine is. Movement III (vv. 11-15) — But you they that forsake YHWH, that forget my holy mountain, that prepa. But you they that forsake YHWH, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering to that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, you did not answer; when I spake, you did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose. Movement IV (vv. 16-20) — That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God. That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be you. Movement V (vv. 21-25) — And they shall build houses, and inhabit ; and they shall plant vineyard. And they shall build houses, and inhabit ; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.

Isaiah 66 — ישעיהו 66

Theme. Isaiah 66 (24 verses in the MT) opens: Thus says YHWH, The heaven my throne, and the earth my footstool: where the house that you build to me? and where the place of my rest? The middle of the chapter continues: As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. It closes: And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh.

Outline.

I. 1–5 — Thus says YHWH, The heaven my throne, and the earth my footstool: where. Thus says YHWH, The heaven my throne, and the earth my footstool: where the house that you build to me? and where the place of my rest? For all those has mine hand made, and all those have been, says YHWH: but to this will I look, to poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, he.
II. 6–10 — A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of YHWH. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of YHWH that rendereth recompence to his enemies. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who has heard such a thing? who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? shall a nation be born at once? for as.
III. 11–15 — That you may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations. That you may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that you may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus says YHWH, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall you suck, you shall be borne upon sides, and be dandled upon knees. As one whom.
IV. 16–20 — For by fire and by his sword will YHWH plead with all flesh: and the sla. For by fire and by his sword will YHWH plead with all flesh: and the slain of YHWH shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, says YHWH. For I their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather.
V. 21–24 — And I will also take of them for priests for Levites, says YHWH. And I will also take of them for priests for Levites, says YHWH. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says YHWH, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says YHWH. And they.

Textual note. Isaiah 66 comprises 24 verses in MT order. Movement I (vv. 1-5) — Thus says YHWH, The heaven my throne, and the earth my footstool: where. Thus says YHWH, The heaven my throne, and the earth my footstool: where the house that you build to me? and where the place of my rest? For all those has mine hand made, and all those have been, says YHWH: but to this will I look, to poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, he. Movement II (vv. 6-10) — A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of YHWH. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of YHWH that rendereth recompence to his enemies. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who has heard such a thing? who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? shall a nation be born at once? for as. Movement III (vv. 11-15) — That you may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations. That you may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that you may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus says YHWH, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall you suck, you shall be borne upon sides, and be dandled upon knees. As one whom. Movement IV (vv. 16-20) — For by fire and by his sword will YHWH plead with all flesh: and the sla. For by fire and by his sword will YHWH plead with all flesh: and the slain of YHWH shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, says YHWH. For I their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather. Movement V (vv. 21-24) — And I will also take of them for priests for Levites, says YHWH. And I will also take of them for priests for Levites, says YHWH. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says YHWH, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says YHWH. And they. Where English printed Bibles divide verses differently, this annotation follows MT versification throughout.