Yesaya 3:14

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ¹  “It is you ²  who have ruined ³  the vineyard! ⁴ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁵ 

Yesaya 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ⁶ 

They will say, “We will provide ⁷  our own food,

we will provide ⁸  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁹  –

take away our shame!” ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ¹¹ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ¹²  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ¹³ 

[3:14]  ¹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ² tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ³ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ⁴ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[8:19]  ¹¹ tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.

[8:19]  ¹² tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

[8:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.