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ISAIAH 29
PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| Jerusalem Is Warned | Woe To Jerusalem | Judah's Eventual Restoration | The Fate of Jerusalem | On Jerusalem |
| 29:1-4 (1-4) |
29:1-4 (1-4) |
29:1-8 (1-4) |
29:1-4 | 29:1-12 (1-4) |
| 29:5-8 (5-8) |
29:5-8 (5-8) |
(5-8) | 29:5-8 | (5-8) |
| The Blindness of Disobedience | Spiritual Insensibility | Disregarded Warnings | ||
| 29:9-12 (9-10) |
29:9-10 (9-10) |
29:9-10 (9-10) |
29:9-12 | (9-10) |
| 29:11-12 | 29:11-12 | Prophecy | ||
| 29:13-14 (13-14) |
29:13-14 (13-14) |
29:13-21 (13-14) |
29:13-14 | 29:13-14 (13-14) |
| Hope for the Future | The Triumph of Light | |||
| 29:15-16 (15-16) |
29:15-16 (15-16) |
(15-16) | 29:15-16 | 29:15-24 (15-24) |
| Blessing After Discipline | Future Recovery of Wisdom | |||
| 29:17-21 (17-21) |
29:17-21 (17-21) |
(17-21) | 29:17 | |
| 29:18-21 | ||||
| 29:22-24 (22-24) |
29:22-24 (22b-24) |
29:22-24 (22b-24) |
29:22-24 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which
means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the
light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:1-4
1Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped!
Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule.
2I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of lamenting and mourning;
And she will be like an Ariel to me.
3I will camp against you encircling you,
And I will set siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4Then you will be brought low;
From the earth you will speak,
And from the dust where you are prostrate
Your words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.
29:1 "Woe" See note at Isa. 5:8.
▣ "Ariel" (Isa. 29:1,2,7) This term can mean
Because it is used in the sense of altar-hearth in Isa. 29:2, which follows Ezek. 43:15-16, I believe this refers to the hearth of God, which can be seen clearly in Isa. 31:9. Because of Isa. 29:7, it is obvious that this is an allusion to Jerusalem (JPSOA footnote of Isa. 33:7). The first strophe (i.e., Isa. 29:1-4) deals with the capital of Judah, Jerusalem, as 28:1-4 dealt with the capital of the Northern Ten Tribes, Samaria.
▣ "Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule" This second line of Isa. 29:1 reinforces the view that Isa. 29:1-4 refer to Jerusalem, the place of Israel's feasts (cf. Exodus 23; Deuteronomy 16).
SPECIAL TOPIC: FEASTS OF ISRAEL
29:2-3 These verses describe what YHWH will do to His own chosen city (i.e., Jerusalem, the place where He caused His name to dwell, cf. Deut. 12:5,11,21; 14:23,24; 16:2,6,11; 26:2).
29:4 This verse has a series images for death.
This context is not dealing with necromancy, as Deut. 18:9-12,14 is, but imagery to describe Jerusalem, on the brink of total destruction, crying out to her God in a weak voice while lying on the ground just before death.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:5-8
5But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust,
And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away;
And it will happen instantly, suddenly.
6From the Lord of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8It will be as when a hungry man dreams-
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams-
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his thirst is not quenched.
Thus the multitude of all the nations will be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.
29:5-6 What a radical reversal these two verses are in the context. God has promised to judge Jerusalem and now promises to save Jerusalem from the enemy siege of Isaiah 36-37. In Isa. 29:6, there is a use of a storm imagery to describe God. This is a recurrent theme throughout the Prophets. An even stronger use of this imagery can be found in Isa. 30:27-33.
Notice what YHWH (i.e., Lord of hosts, Isa. 29:6) will do to the invaders.
These describe the coming/visitation of YHWH for judgment (cf. Isa. 28:2). These types of violent imagery were the beginning source of apocalyptic language.
SPECIAL TOPIC: APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
| 29:5 | |
| NASB, NJB, REB, Targums | "enemies" |
| NKJV, NRSV | "foes" |
| NASB, NRSV (footnote), JPSOA | "strangers" |
| TEV | "foreigners" |
| Peshitta | "oppressors" |
| DSS | "haughty men" |
| NET | "invaders" |
The MT has "of your strangers" (זריך, BDB 266, KB 267, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE). The translation of "of your enemies" (צריך) is from the Targums. The UBS Text Project, p. 65, gives the MT a "C" rating (considerable doubt).
29:7-8 This is the use of imagery of a nightmare (lit. "dream," BDB 321; "a vision of the night," BDB 302 CONSTRUCT BDB 538) to describe the results of God's action both in Judah and to Assyria. In Isa. 29:7, Assyria's siege will be like a nightmare that passes Judah, but in Isa. 29:8 the nightmare will occur to the army of Assyria (cf. 2 Kgs. 19:35-37; 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36-37).
| 29:7 | |
| NASB, NRSV, NET | "her stronghold" |
| NKJV | "her fortress" |
| NJB | "besieging" |
| REB, JPSOA | "siege-works" |
The difference between these two options is the common "R" and "D" confusion.
The UBS Hebrew Text Project, p. 67, gives #1 a "C" rating (considerable doubt), but notice that the text could refer to
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:9-12
9Be delayed and wait,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They become drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,
He has shut your eyes, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, the seers.
11The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, "Please read this," he will say, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, "Please read this." And he will say, "I cannot read."
29:9 "Be delayed and wait,
Blind yourselves and be blind" The first two poetic lines of this verse have four IMPERATIVES.
It is possible that #3 and #4 are from the Hebrew root "to delight in" (BDB 1044 II), if so then the phrase is sarcasm.
Notice the balance between human freedom, Isa. 29:9 and divine sovereignty, Isa. 29:10. Both are true!
SPECIAL TOPIC: PREDESTINATION vs. HUMAN FREE WILL
▣ "They became drunk" This is another use of the term drunkenness (BDB 1016, KB 1500, Qal PERFECT) to describe the apostasy of the political and religious leaders of God's people (cf. Isa. 28:1-4,7-8). RSV and NEB translate this VERB as an IMPERATIVE.
SPECIAL TOPIC: WINE AND STRONG DRINK
29:10-12 Notice YHWH's activities in removing His message from His people (cf. Isa. 6:9-10; Mic. 3:6-7).
Verse 10 is quoted by Paul in his discussion of Israel's failure to believe/trust in Jesus as Israel's Messiah in Rom. 11:8.
29:11 "sealed" This VERBAL (BDB 367, KB 364, Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLE) is also used by Isaiah in Isa. 8:16, where it refers to a revelatory scroll written by the prophet at God's direction. The "sealing" referred to a way of
This was accomplished by
As Isaiah was told to seal up the message in Isa. 8:16, so too, Daniel in Dan. 12:4. However, in Isa. 29:11 it is simply imagery for the ceasing of God's revelation.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:13-14
13Then the Lord said,
"Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
14Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."
29:13 "draw near with their words" This term (BDB 620, KB 670, Niphal PERFECT) speaks of public acts of worship in the temple. It was originally used of priests approaching the shrine or altar (i.e., Exod. 19:22).
▣ "their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote" This is a significant theological truth which shows that ritual and liturgy, without personal relationship, accompanied by lifestyle, love, and morality, are an abomination to God (cf. Isa. 1:10-15; 58:1-5; Jeremiah 7; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8; Matt. 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23; Col. 2:16-23; 2 Tim. 3:5). The ritual was not wrong, it was the person's attitude that attempted to manipulate God.
The above line of poetry is parallel to the next, "honor Me with their lip service" (cf. Jer. 12:2). They say one thing, but live another (cf. Matt. 15:8-9; Mark 7:6-7, where "words" and "lip" are described as "neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men," illustrated in Mark 7:3,5,9,13).
29:14 "I will once again deal marvelously. . .wondrously marvelous" In English these phrases sound good, but they are the Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT; the Hiphil INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and the NOUN all of the same root (BDB 810; see SPECIAL TOPIC: WONDERFUL THINGS), which denotes
Context must determine if it is positive or negative. Here it is negative of YHWH's judgment on His own people. This judgment will be that their wise counselors and religious leaders will fail to do their job (cf. Isa. 29:9-12).
Paul quotes this verse in 1 Cor. 1:19 in his discussion of the foolishness of human wisdom, especially as it deals with understanding why the Messiah had to suffer and die (i.e., the gospel).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:15-16
15Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,
And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?"
16You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,
That what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me";
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
29:15 "hide their plans from the Lord" This refers to Judah's leadership's plan for a political alliance with Egypt (cf. Isa. 28:7-22; 30:1-5; 31:1-3) to protect them from Assyria. They are trusting in Egypt, not YHWH!
▣ "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us" This is basically a denial of God's personal presence. Verse 16 expresses the logic and foolishness of these statements.
29:16 "the potter" God as potter is a common biblical imagery (cf. Isa. 45:9; 64:8; Jer. 18:4ff; Job 10:9). It possibly developed from the initial creation of humanity in Gen. 2:7 being formed by God from clay. Paul alludes to this text in Rom. 9:20. Romans 9 is the affirmation of the complete and total sovereignty of God!
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:17-21
17Is it not yet just a little while
Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
19The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,
And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off;
21Who cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,
And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
29:17-21 This describes the new Messianic day that is coming (see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE MESSIANIC ERA).
This is parallel theologically to the wonderful description of YHWH's character in Isa. 25:4.
Be sure to note that #3 and #4 are primarily imagery for receiving and understanding YHWH's revelation (cf. Deut. 29:4; Isa. 5:12,13; 6:9; 30:9).
29:19 "Holy" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 29:22-24
22Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
"Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;
23But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24Those who err in mind will know the truth,
And those who criticize will accept instruction.
29:22-24 As Isa. 29:5-8 break into the context of judgment on Jerusalem with a word of hope, so too, Isa. 29:22-24. This rapid contrast between judgment oracles and promise oracles is characteristic of the Prophets. Judgment is always for the purpose of restoration!
Yes, God will judge His people when they sin and break His covenant, but He has a greater purpose for them (i.e., an eternal redemptive plan for all humanity).
Notice the different phrases and titles that denote the covenant Deity.
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
29:22 The chosen family of Abraham developed into the tribes of Jacob's sons. YHWH promises a day when, by His power and covenant presence, they
Both of these VERBS refer to Hebrew idioms of despair and guilt over disobedient behavior. The sinner feels the displeasure of God!
▣ "who redeemed Abraham" This VERB (BDB 804, KB 911, Qal PERFECT), is here used of Abraham. This could mean
YHWH is called "the Redeemer of Israel" (cf. Isa. 41:14; 43:14; 48:17; 49:7,26; 54:5,8). That concept of YHWH as the special redeemer of a chosen family may be the theological thrust of Isa. 29:22-23.
29:24 This verse is the opposite of Isa. 29:9-12,14. Revelation and understanding shall return to God's people through His called leadership, both civil and religious! This is a lifting of the Divine blindness and deafness of Isa. 6:9-10!!
▣ "the Holy One" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE.
| NASB | "mind" |
| NKJV, NRSV, LXX, Peshitta | "spirit" |
| REB, JPSOA | "the confused" |
The Hebrew word is ruah (BDB 924), used in this context in the sense of mental activity (cf. Exod. 28:3; Deut. 34:9; 1 Chr. 28:12; Job 20:3; Ezek. 20:32). Remember, context, context, context determines word meaning!
SPECIAL TOPIC: BREATH, WIND, SPIRIT
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