Yesaya 1:21

Purifying Judgment

1:21 How tragic that the once-faithful city

has become a prostitute! ¹ 

She was once a center of ²  justice,

fairness resided in her,

but now only murderers. ³ 

Yesaya 9:2

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ⁴ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ⁵ 

Yesaya 14:23

14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals ⁶ 

and covered with pools of stagnant water.

I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” ⁷ 

says the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 42:10

42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!

Praise him ⁸  from the horizon of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, ⁹ 

you coastlands ¹⁰  and those who live there!

[1:21]  ¹ tn Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2;1; 4:1-2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.

[1:21]  ² tn Heb “filled with.”

[1:21]  ³ tn Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.

[9:2]  ⁴ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ⁵ tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.

[14:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).

[14:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”

[42:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.

[42:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”

[42:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”