Isaiah 9:13-17
New English Translation
13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,
they did not seek reconciliation[a] with the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
both the shoots and stalk[b] in one day.
15 The leaders and the highly respected people[c] are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,
and the people being led were destroyed.[d]
17 So the Lord was not pleased[e] with their young men,
he took no pity[f] on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless[g] and did wicked things,[h]
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words.[i]
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.[j]
Notas al pie
- Isaiah 9:13 tn This verse describes the people’s response to the judgment described in vv. 11-12. The perfects are understood as indicating simple past.
- Isaiah 9:14 sn The metaphor in this line is that of a reed being cut down.
- Isaiah 9:15 tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.
- Isaiah 9:16 tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mebullaʿim) from בָּלַע (balaʿ, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.
- Isaiah 9:17 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
- Isaiah 9:17 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yerakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
- Isaiah 9:17 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
- Isaiah 9:17 tn מֵרַע (meraʿ) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (raʿaʿ, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
- Isaiah 9:17 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
- Isaiah 9:17 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”sn See the note at 9:12.
Isaiah 9:13-17
International Standard Version
Judgment for Not Repenting
13 “But the people have not returned to rely[a] on[b] him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
14 So the Lord has cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed
in[c] a single day—
15 the elder and the dignitary is the head,
and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not have pity on[d] their young men,
and has no compassion on their orphans[e] and widows,
because each of them was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
“Yet[f] for all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.[g]
Notas al pie
- Isaiah 9:13 1QIsaa MT LXX lack to rely
- Isaiah 9:13 So 1QIsaa; MT reads toward; LXX reads until
- Isaiah 9:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; the The Heb. lacks in
- Isaiah 9:17 So 1QIsaa;MT LXX read rejoice over
- Isaiah 9:17 Or fatherless
- Isaiah 9:17 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; the Heb. lacks Yet
- Isaiah 9:17 DSS MT lack ready to strike
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