Yesaya 6:11-13

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 

6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, ²  like one of the large sacred trees ³  or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. ⁴  That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” ⁵ 

Yesaya 7:16-24

7:16 Here is why this will be so: ⁶  Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land ⁷  whose two kings you fear will be desolate. ⁸  7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time ⁹  unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” ¹⁰ 

7:18 At that time ¹¹  the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. ¹²  7:19 All of them will come and make their home ¹³  in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. ¹⁴  7:20 At that time ¹⁵  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ¹⁶  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ¹⁷  it will also shave off the beard. 7:21 At that time ¹⁸  a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats. 7:22 From the abundance of milk they produce, ¹⁹  he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey. 7:23 At that time ²⁰  every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun ²¹  with thorns and briers. 7:24 With bow and arrow ²²  men will hunt ²³  there, for the whole land will be covered ²⁴  with thorns and briers.

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

[6:13]  ² tn Or “be burned” (NRSV); NIV “laid waste.”

[6:13]  ³ tn Heb “like a massive tree or like a big tree” (perhaps, “like a terebinth or like an oak”).

[6:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “which in the felling, a sacred pillar in them.” Some take מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) as “stump,” and translate, “which, when chopped down, have a stump remaining in them.” But elsewhere מַצֶּבֶת refers to a memorial pillar (2 Sam 18:18) and the word resembles מַצֶּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”). בָּם (bam, “in them”) may be a corruption of בָּמָה (bamah, “high place”; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has במה). אֳשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) becomes a problem in this case, but one might emend the form to וּכְּאֲשֵׁרָה (ukÿ’asherah, “or like an Asherah pole”) and translate, “like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole.” Though the text is difficult, the references to sacred trees and a sacred pillar suggest that the destruction of a high place is in view, an apt metaphor for the judgment of idolatrous Judah.

[6:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “a holy offspring [is] its sacred pillar.” If מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) is taken as “stump,” one can see in this statement a brief glimpse of hope. The tree (the nation) is chopped down, but the stump (a righteous remnant) remains from which God can restore the nation. However, if מַצֶּבֶת is taken as “sacred pillar” (מַצֶּבָה, matsevah; see the previous note), it is much more difficult to take the final statement in a positive sense. In this case “holy offspring” alludes to God’s ideal for his covenant people, the offspring of the patriarchs. Ironically that “holy” nation is more like a “sacred pillar” and it will be thrown down like a sacred pillar from a high place and its land destroyed like the sacred trees located at such shrines. Understood in this way, the ironic statement is entirely negative in tone, just like the rest of the preceding announcement of judgment. It also reminds the people of their failure; they did not oppose pagan religion, instead they embraced it. Now they will be destroyed in the same way they should have destroyed paganism.

[7:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “for, because.” The particle introduces the entire following context (vv. 16-25), which explains why Immanuel will be an appropriate name for the child, why he will eat sour milk and honey, and why experiencing such a diet will contribute to his moral development.

[7:16]  ⁷ sn Since “two kings” are referred to later in the verse, the “land” must here refer to Syria-Israel.

[7:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “the land will be abandoned, which you fear because of its two kings.” After the verb קוּץ (quts, “loathe, dread”) the phrase מִפְּנֵי (mipney, “from before”) introduces the cause of loathing/dread (see Gen 27:46; Exod 1:12; Num 22:3).

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB); NASB, NRSV “such days.”

[7:17]  ¹⁰ sn Initially the prophecy appears to be a message of salvation. Immanuel seems to have a positive ring to it, sour milk and honey elsewhere symbolize prosperity and blessing (see Deut 32:13-14; Job 20:17), verse 16 announces the defeat of Judah’s enemies, and verse 17a could be taken as predicting a return to the glorious days of David and Solomon. However, the message turns sour in verses 17b-25. God will be with his people in judgment, as well as salvation. The curds and honey will be signs of deprivation, not prosperity, the relief announced in verse 16 will be short-lived, and the new era will be characterized by unprecedented humiliation, not a return to glory. Because of Ahaz’s refusal to trust the Lord, potential blessing would be transformed into a curse, just as Isaiah turns an apparent prophecy of salvation into a message of judgment. Because the words “the king of Assyria” are rather awkwardly tacked on to the end of the sentence, some regard them as a later addition. However, the very awkwardness facilitates the prophet’s rhetorical strategy here, as he suddenly turns what sounds like a positive message into a judgment speech. Actually, “the king of Assyria,” stands in apposition to the earlier object “days,” and specifies who the main character of these coming “days” will be.

[7:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:18]  ¹² sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.

[7:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “and shall rest” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “and settle.”

[7:19]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of this word (נַהֲלֹל, nahalol) is uncertain; some understand this as referring to another type of thorn bush. For bibliography, see HALOT 676 s.v. I *נַהֲלֹל.

[7:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[7:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:22]  ¹⁹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated, see note on 2:2.

[7:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”

[7:24]  ²² tn Heb “with arrows and a bow.” The more common English idiom is “bow[s] and arrow[s].”

[7:24]  ²³ tn Heb “go” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “go hunting.”

[7:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “will be” (so NASB, NRSV).