Yesaya 1:29

1:29 Indeed, they ¹  will be ashamed of the sacred trees

you ²  find so desirable;

you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards ³ 

where you choose to worship.

Yesaya 19:19

19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar ⁴  dedicated to the Lord at its border.

Yesaya 30:24

30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing ⁵ 

will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. ⁶ 

Yesaya 34:5

34:5 He says, ⁷  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ⁸ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ⁹ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

[1:29]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text (and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) has the third person here, though a few Hebrew mss (and Targums) read the second person, which is certainly more consistent with the following context. The third person form is the more difficult reading and probably original. This disagreement in person has caused some to emend the first verb (3rd plural) to a 2nd plural form (followed by most English translations). The BHS textual apparatus suggests that the 2nd plural form be read even though there is only sparse textual evidence. LXX, Syriac, and the Vulgate change all the 2nd person verbs in 1:29-31 to 3rd person verbs. It is likely that the change to a 2nd person form represents an attempt at syntactical harmonization (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 10). The abrupt change from 3rd person to 2nd person may have been intentional for rhetorical impact (GKC 462 §144.p). The rapid change from exclamation (they did!) to reproach (you desired!) might be regarded as a rhetorical figure focusing attention on the addressees and their conditions (de Waard, 10; E. König, Stilistik, Rhetorik, Poetik, 239). This use of the 3rd person could also be understood as an impersonal third person: “one will be ashamed” (de Waard, 10). In v. 29 the prophet continues his description of the sinners (v. 28), but then suddenly makes a transition to direct address (switching from 3^rd to 2^nd person) in the middle of his sentence.

[1:29]  ² tn The second person pronouns in vv. 29-30 are masculine plural, indicating that the rebellious sinners (v. 28) are addressed.

[1:29]  ³ tn Or “gardens” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “groves.”

[19:19]  ⁴ tn This word is sometimes used of a sacred pillar associated with pagan worship, but here it is associated with the worship of the Lord.

[30:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”

[30:24]  ⁶ sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.

[34:5]  ⁷ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”

[34:5]  sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.

[34:5]  ⁹ sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.