2 Tawarikh 6:21

6:21 Respond to the requests of your servant and your people Israel for this place. ¹  Hear from your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably and forgive. ² 

Yesaya 1:18

1:18 ³ Come, let’s consider your options,” ⁴  says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,

you can become ⁵  white like snow;

though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,

you can become ⁶  white like wool. ⁷ 

Yesaya 40:2

40:2 “Speak kindly to ⁸  Jerusalem, ⁹  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ¹⁰ 

that her punishment is completed. ¹¹ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ¹²  for all her sins.”

[6:21]  ¹ tn Heb “listen to the requests of your servant and your people Israel which they are praying concerning this place.”

[6:21]  ² tn Heb “hear and forgive.”

[1:18]  ³ sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁶ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.

[40:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ¹² tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).