Isaiah 29-30

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 29:1 tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see vv. 7-8).
2. Isaiah 29:1 tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
3. Isaiah 29:1 tn Heb “Add year to year; let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.
4. Isaiah 29:2 tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (ʾariʾel, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.
5. Isaiah 29:3 tc The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khaddur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (k^edavid, “like David”), which is supported by the LXX (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the LXX could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
6. Isaiah 29:3 tn The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
7. Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
8. Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
9. Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (ʾov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
10. Isaiah 29:4 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.
11. Isaiah 29:5 tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”
12. Isaiah 29:6 tn Heb “from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”] there will be visitation.” The third feminine singular passive verb form תִּפָּקֵד (tippaqed, “she/it will be visited”) is used here in an impersonal sense. See GKC 459 §144.b.
13. Isaiah 29:8 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
14. Isaiah 29:8 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
15. Isaiah 29:9 tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahm^ehu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittamm^ehu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.
16. Isaiah 29:9 tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (shaʿaʿ, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.
17. Isaiah 29:9 tc Some prefer to emend the last two verbs from their perfect form to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.
18. Isaiah 29:10 tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.
19. Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
20. Isaiah 29:11 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
21. Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
22. Isaiah 29:12 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
23. Isaiah 29:13 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
24. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
25. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
26. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
27. Isaiah 29:13 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
28. Isaiah 29:14 tn Heb “Therefore I will again do something amazing with these people, an amazing deed, an amazing thing.” This probably refers to the amazing transformation predicted in vv. 17-24, which will follow the purifying judgment implied in vv. 15-16.
29. Isaiah 29:14 tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”
30. Isaiah 29:15 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.
31. Isaiah 29:15 tn Heb “and their works are in darkness, and they say.”
32. Isaiah 29:15 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer: “No one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
33. Isaiah 29:16 tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.
34. Isaiah 29:16 tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is: “Of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (ʾim), see BDB 50 s.v.
35. Isaiah 29:16 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
36. Isaiah 29:17 tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
37. Isaiah 29:17 sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful; see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.
38. Isaiah 29:18 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
39. Isaiah 29:18 tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”sn Perhaps this depicts the spiritual transformation of the once spiritually insensitive nation (see vv. 10-12, cf. also 6:9-10).
40. Isaiah 29:19 tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).
41. Isaiah 29:19 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
42. Isaiah 29:20 tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”
43. Isaiah 29:21 tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khataʾ) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”
44. Isaiah 29:21 sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
45. Isaiah 29:21 tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
46. Isaiah 29:22 tn Heb “So this is what the Lord has said to the house of Jacob, the one who ransomed Abraham.” The relative pronoun must refer back to “the Lord.” It is uncertain to what event in Abraham’s experience this refers. Perhaps the name “Abraham” stands here by metonymy for his descendants through Jacob. If so, the Exodus is in view.
47. Isaiah 29:22 tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
48. Isaiah 29:23 tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
49. Isaiah 29:23 tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”
50. Isaiah 29:23 sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.
51. Isaiah 29:23 tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”
52. Isaiah 29:24 tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”
53. Isaiah 29:24 tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”
54. Isaiah 30:1 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
55. Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
56. Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
57. Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
58. Isaiah 30:1 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
59. Isaiah 30:2 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
60. Isaiah 30:2 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
61. Isaiah 30:4 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
62. Isaiah 30:4 sn Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta in the north; Hanes was located somewhere in southern region of lower Egypt, south of Memphis; the exact location is debated.
63. Isaiah 30:5 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
64. Isaiah 30:6 tn See note at Isa 13:1.
65. Isaiah 30:6 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
66. Isaiah 30:6 tn Heb “flying burning ones.” See the note at 14:29.
67. Isaiah 30:6 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
68. Isaiah 30:7 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
69. Isaiah 30:7 tn Heb “Rahab” (רַהַב, rahav), which also appears as a name for Egypt in Ps 87:4. The epithet is also used in the OT for a mythical sea monster symbolic of chaos. See the note at 51:9. A number of English versions use the name “Rahab” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) while others attempt some sort of translation (cf. CEV “a helpless monster”; TEV, NLT “the Harmless Dragon”).
70. Isaiah 30:7 tn The MT reads “Rahab, they, sitting.” The translation above assumes an emendation of הֵם שָׁבֶת (hem shavet) to הַמָּשְׁבָּת (hammashbat), a Hophal participle with prefixed definite article, meaning “the one who is made to cease,” i.e., “destroyed,” or “silenced.” See HALOT 444-45 s.v. ישׁב.
71. Isaiah 30:8 tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.
72. Isaiah 30:8 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
73. Isaiah 30:8 sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.
74. Isaiah 30:9 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
75. Isaiah 30:10 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
76. Isaiah 30:10 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
77. Isaiah 30:10 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
78. Isaiah 30:11 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
79. Isaiah 30:11 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
80. Isaiah 30:12 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
81. Isaiah 30:12 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
82. Isaiah 30:12 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
83. Isaiah 30:13 tn The verse reads literally, “So this sin will become for you like a breach ready to fall, bulging on a high wall, the breaking of which comes suddenly, in a flash.” Their sin produces guilt and will result in judgment. Like a wall that collapses their fall will be swift and sudden.
84. Isaiah 30:14 tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”
85. Isaiah 30:14 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
86. Isaiah 30:14 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
87. Isaiah 30:14 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
88. Isaiah 30:15 tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).
89. Isaiah 30:15 tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).
90. Isaiah 30:17 tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (g^eʿarah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.
91. Isaiah 30:17 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
92. Isaiah 30:17 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
93. Isaiah 30:18 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
94. Isaiah 30:18 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
95. Isaiah 30:19 tn Heb “For people in Zion will live; in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”
96. Isaiah 30:19 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
97. Isaiah 30:20 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
98. Isaiah 30:20 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread—distress, and water—oppression.”
99. Isaiah 30:20 tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden; your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.
100. Isaiah 30:21 tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
101. Isaiah 30:21 tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.
102. Isaiah 30:22 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
103. Isaiah 30:22 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
104. Isaiah 30:23 tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed that you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”
105. Isaiah 30:23 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
106. Isaiah 30:24 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
107. Isaiah 30:24 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
108. Isaiah 30:25 tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).
109. Isaiah 30:26 sn Light here symbolizes restoration of divine blessing and prosperity. The number “seven” is used symbolically to indicate intensity. The exact meaning of the phrase “the light of seven days” is uncertain; it probably means “seven times brighter” (see the parallel line).
110. Isaiah 30:26 tn Heb “the fracture of his people” (so NASB). sn The Lord is here compared to a physician setting a broken bone in a bandage or cast.
111. Isaiah 30:26 tn Heb “the injury of his wound.” The joining of synonyms emphasizes the severity of the wound. Another option is to translate, “the wound of his blow.” In this case the pronominal suffix might refer to the Lord, not the people, yielding the translation, “the wound which he inflicted.”
112. Isaiah 30:27 sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests—he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.
113. Isaiah 30:27 tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (massaʾah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masaʾ, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.
114. Isaiah 30:27 tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).
115. Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.
116. Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shav^eʾ, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.
117. Isaiah 30:28 tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to a horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.
118. Isaiah 30:29 tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).
119. Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
120. Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
121. Isaiah 30:30 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
122. Isaiah 30:31 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
123. Isaiah 30:32 tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).
124. Isaiah 30:32 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
125. Isaiah 30:32 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
126. Isaiah 30:32 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uv^emilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.
127. Isaiah 30:33 tn Or “indeed.”
128. Isaiah 30:33 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tofteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final he (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).
129. Isaiah 30:33 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final he (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tofteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”
130. Isaiah 30:33 tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood, one makes abundant.”sn Apparently this alludes to some type of funeral rite.