Yesaya 5:19

5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, ¹ 

so we can see;

let the plan of the Holy One of Israel ²  take shape ³  and come to pass,

then we will know it!”

Yesaya 5:30

5:30 At that time ⁴  they will growl over their prey, ⁵ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ⁶ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ⁷ 

[5:19]  ¹ tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.

[5:19]  ² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[5:19]  ³ tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”

[5:30]  ⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[5:30]  sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).