Yesaya 6:11-12

6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,

“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,

and houses are uninhabited,

and the land is ruined and devastated,

6:12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,

and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. ¹ 

Yesaya 24:3

24:3 The earth will be completely devastated

and thoroughly ransacked.

For the Lord has decreed this judgment. ² 

Yesaya 27:10

27:10 For the fortified city ³  is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the desert.

Calves ⁴  graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare. ⁵ 

Yesaya 32:13-14

32:13 Mourn ⁶  over the land of my people,

which is overgrown with thorns and briers,

and over all the once-happy houses ⁷ 

in the city filled with revelry. ⁸ 

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded ⁹  city is abandoned.

Hill ¹⁰  and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited. ¹¹ 

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there. ¹² 

[6:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and great is the abandonment in the midst of the land.”

[24:3]  ² tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”

[27:10]  ³ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

[27:10]  ⁴ tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.

[27:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.

[32:13]  ⁶ tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.

[32:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.

[32:13]  ⁸ sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.

[32:14]  ⁹ tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).

[32:14]  ¹⁰ tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.

[32:14]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.

[32:14]  ¹² tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”