Yesaya 30:9

30:9 For these are rebellious people –

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. ¹ 

Yesaya 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ² 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ³  I brought them up, ⁴ 

but ⁵  they have rebelled ⁶  against me!

Yesaya 63:10

63:10 But they rebelled and offended ⁷  his holy Spirit, ⁸ 

so he turned into an enemy

and fought against them.

Yesaya 65:2

65:2 I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired. ⁹ 

[30:9]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”

[1:2]  ² sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ³ tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses (1:7-9, 19-20) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.

[1:2]  ⁴ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ⁵ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ⁶ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[63:10]  ⁷ tn Or “grieved, hurt the feelings of.”

[63:10]  ⁸ sn The phrase “holy Spirit” occurs in the OT only here (in v. 11 as well) and in Ps 51:11 (51:13 HT), where it is associated with the divine presence.

[65:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”