Yesaya 9:19

9:19 Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, ¹ 

and the people became fuel for the fire. ² 

People had no compassion on one another. ³ 

Yesaya 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ⁴ 

Why spend ⁵  your hard-earned money ⁶  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ⁷  to me and eat what is nourishing! ⁸ 

Enjoy fine food! ⁹ 

[9:19]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of the verb עְתַּם (’ÿtam), which occurs only here, is uncertain, though the context strongly suggests that it means “burn, scorch.”

[9:19]  ² sn The uncontrollable fire of the people’s wickedness (v. 18) is intensified by the fire of the Lord’s judgment (v. 19). God allows (or causes) their wickedness to become self-destructive as civil strife and civil war break out in the land.

[9:19]  ³ tn Heb “men were not showing compassion to their brothers.” The idiom “men to their brothers” is idiomatic for reciprocity. The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[55:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ⁵ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ⁷ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[55:2]  sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).