Ezekiel

The prophet, exiled in Babylon, experiences a series of seven visions during the twenty-two years from 593 to 571 BCE, a period which spans the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586. The visions, and the book, are structured around three themes:

·         judgment on Israel (chapters 1-24)

·         judgment on the nations (chapters 25-32)

·         future blessings for Israel, including the building of a new city (chapters 33-48)

This may be broken down further as follows:

·         the prophet and the coming fate of Jerusalem (chapters 1-7)

·         a vision of Jerusalem’s sin (chapters 8-11)

·         elders and prophets (chapters 12-15)

·         allegories and parables (chapters 16-24)

·         oracles against nations (chapters 25-32)

·         Jerusalem falls; oracles of salvation (chapters 33-39)

·         vision of a renewed city, temple and land (chapters 40-48)

The book has been subjected to extensive editing. While Ezekiel himself may have been responsible for some of this revision, there is general agreement that the book as we have it today is the product of a highly-educated priestly circle owing allegiance to the historical Ezekiel and closely associated with the Temple.

As we might expect from a priest (and a priestly circle), Israel’s sin is seen in holiness terms, and its restoration is imagined as a ritual cleansing following defilement (36:16-25). Restoration is also seen a new creation (like the garden of Eden, 36:35), and as a new covenant (‘a new heart…and a new spirit’, 36:26).

1

In the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity, by the river Chebar, Ezekiel has a vision of the four living creatures with four winfs (each touching the wing of another) and four faces (man, lion, ox, eagle), and of the four wheels full of eyes that they are seen within. Above them is the firmament, where Ezekiel sees one with the appearance of a man sitting on a throne. The vision comes from a whirlwind from the north.

Elements of this vision are familiar:

·         The creatures with touching wings (verse 11) recall the golden cherubim in the inner sanctuary of tabernacle and temple (Exodus 25:18-20; 1 Kings 6:23-28).

·         The creatures are like the seraphim that surround God’s throne in Isaiah’s vision, with outstretched wings and others covering their body (Isaiah 6:2).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ET7WXK4D_g


2


God addresses Ezekiel as the son of man. He says the children of Israel have transgressed. Ezekiel will prophesy, regardless of whether he is heeded or not. He is enjoined not to be afraid. A scroll is produced, filled with words of lamentation.


3

Ezekiel is commanded to eat the scroll, and it tastes as sweet as honey. Ezekiel is a watchman – if he does not warn the wicked, and the wicked die because of their iniquity, Ezekiel is answerable for it. If Ezekiel tells them and the wicked do not heed him, he is not answerable. Likewise, Ezekiel is answerable if a righteousness man commits iniquity and is not warned.


4

Ezekiel represents Jerusalem with a ‘tile’ (probably a brick), and uses an iron pan and models of a fort and battering rams to signify the forthcoming siege by the Chaldeans. Ezekiel is commanded to lie on his left side for 390 days (because the house of Israel has had 390 years of iniquity), and on his right side 40 days (because Judah has had 40 years of iniquity). During this time, Ezekiel must eat the worst kinds of grain, and have only cow's dung for fuel, to denote the scarcity of provison, fuel, and necessities during the siege of Jerusalem.


5

Ezekiel commanded to shave: he must burn a third, smite a third with his knife, and scatter a third to the wind, to indicate the judgment to be executed on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Further judgments are then enumerated more explicitly, including famine and wild beasts.


6

Ezekiel sets his face towards the mountains and prophesies against Israel: its high places will be made desolate. Then shall ye know that I am the Lord. A remnant shall be saved, however.


7

Judgment by sword, famine and pestilence. Robbers will defile the temple. Ezekiel is directed to make a chain, as a symbol of the impending captivity.


8

Ezekiel is carried in vision to Jerusalem and shown the idolatries committed by the rulers of the Jews there. Ezekiel describes idolatrous images, and idolatrous behaviour, such as worshipping the sun. Great punishment is promised as a result.


9

Six men come from the north with weapons of slaughter in their hands. A few pious individuals distressed at the abominations committed in the land are marked on their foreheads by a man clothed in linen, so they may be spared: everyone else is to be smitten. The shechinah (cloud of God’s presence) moves from the inner sanctuary to the threshold of the temple, as a sign that God’s presence will soon depart. Ezekiel tries to intercede for his people, but God will not be entreated.


10

The vision from chapter one is repeated. Between the wheels are coals of fire, which are scattered on Jerusalem to intimate that it was to be burnt. The glory of the Lord (=shechinah) departs further.


11

The judgments of God are delivered against those who remained in Jerusalem and mocked of the predictions of the prophets. God promises favour to those who were gone into captivity, and their restoration. The shechinah leaves the city.


12

Ezekiel is told to move his stuff from one place to another, as a type of the displacement the people of Jerusalem will soon undergo. Disaster will befall imminently, not in the distant future.


13

Judgments are delivered against the prophets who flatter the people with false hopes of peace and security. They are compared to a frail building, which cannot stand against the battering elements of heaven. Judgment also delivered against false prophetesses who practise vain rites and divinations, seeking their own gain.


14

God threatens those hypocrites who pretend to worship him while also practising idolatry. God will stretch out his hand against the guilty nation, and not listen to any intercession. Not even the presence of Noah, Daniel or Job could save the land. The idolaters of Jerusalem and Judah shall be visited with four judgments: famine, wild beasts, the sword and pestilence. A remnant shall be delievered from the wrath coming upon the land.


15

The Jews are compared to a barren vine, fit for nothing but to be cast on the fire.


16

God is like a person who takes up an exposed infant, brings her up, adorns her and marries her. She repays this care with ingratitude, polluting herself with idolatry, sacrificing her children, playing the whore with foreign nations, and departing from her husband. Her nakedness will be discovered by those she has committed whoredoms with. Sodom is her sister. Nonetheless, after due correction, she may again be restored to his favour.


17

A riddle: an eagle (Babylon) takes the top twigs and branches from a cedar tree, and takes it off. It also takes the seed of the land and plants it in a fruitful field. The seed becomes a vine. The vine bent to another eagle (Egypt), and is promptly destroyed by the first eagle. Changing his tone, the Lord says he will take the highest branch of the cedar tree and set it in the mountain of the height of Israel (ie Zion), where it shall prosper.


18

The soul that sinneth shall die, and the soul of the just shall live. A litany of just and sinful thigs are cited. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. Those turning away from righteousness and away from sin shall die and live respectively. The way of the Lord is equal, and the way of the house of Israel is unequal. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth.


19

Jerusalem is a lioness – the first of her young is Jehoahaz, deposed by the king of Egypt; the second is Jehoiakim, brought in chains to Babylon. The Jewish nation is a vine – it flourished, but was plucked up in fury and planted in the wilderness, in dry and thirsty ground.


20

The elders of Israel come to ask Ezekiel’s counsel. God orders Ezekiel to remind them of their rebellion and idolatry, in Egypt, in the wilderness and in Canaan. However. They will be restored, after being purged. Jerusalem is represented as a forest doomed to be destroyed by fire.


21

The Lord’s sword is against Jerusalem. Ezekiel is ordered to sigh, cry and howl conspicuously. Ezekiel represents the king of Babylon intent on vengeance against both Jews and Ammonites, for allying themselves with Egypt. He is described standing at the parting of the roads leading to the respective capitals of the Jews and Ammonites. He divines to ascertain which to attack first, and Jerusalem is picked. Destruction is also predicted for the Ammonites.


22

A litany of the sins of Jerusalem (cultic, sexual, social), which God promises to punish, in order to purify the dross. As the corruption is general, perverting prophets, priests, princes and the people.


23

Samaria and Jerusalem are denoted as two harlots, the daughters of one mother, who committed whoredoms in Egypt, then with the Assyrians (Samaria and Jerusalem) and the Babylonians (Jerusalem). They are brought low by those they doted on (ie, those who idolatrous practices they adopted). The nakedness of their whoredoms shall be discovered.


24

Jerusalem is like the scum in a pot of boiling water with bones and meat in it. Her scum shall be in the fire. The Lord causes Ezekiel’s wife to die – Ezekiel is not allowed to mourn, to indicate that the Jerusalem will not be permitted to mourn for its forthcoming calamity.


25

God’s judgment against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites and Philistines, because they showed hatred for His people, and insulted them in their distress. I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.


26

Tyre has gloated at Jerusalem. Tyre’s walls and towers will be destroyed, and the city and its inhabitants laid waste to at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The princes will be clothed with trembling. Desolation is promised.


27

Tyre’s beauty and commercial prosperity is described, before a day of ruin is prophesied.


28

Tyre has said, ‘I am a god’. Strangers will be brought against it. The corrupting influence of its material wealth and beauty is described. It will be devoured in fire. Sidon will be destroyed, so it is no longer a pricking briar to Israel. The Jews will be restored after the Babylonian captivity.


29

The Lord will put a hook in the jaws of the Pharaoh, like a fish in the river. The river (ie the Nile) is the Lord’s, not Pharaoh’s. The Egyptians will be scattered. Egypt will be restored after captivity, but merely as a base kingdom of no importance. God promises Nebuchadnezzar Egypt after the long (and disappointing) siege of Tyre.


30

Ezekiel prohesies the ruin of Egypt and her allies, including the Ethiopians, at the hands of the Chaldeans. The principal cities are referred to specifically.


31

The Assyrian empire was like a tall and strong cedar tree – the very trees of Eden envied it. The tree was brought down, however, just as Egypt shall be.


32

Egypt is imagined as a large threatening animal, such as a lion or a whale, caught, slain and left exposed to the elements. The sky will be darkened, and surrounding nations terrified. Egypt will be left so desolate, that its rivers shall run as smooth as oil, with nobody to disturb them. God orders the slain Pharaoh and his host to be dragged down to the lower regions of the earth. The Pharaoh will share these regions with uncircumcised tyrants and oppressors. The Pharaoh’s particular region is for those who have been slain by the sword.


33

The duty of the watchman is reiterated. The righteous who turn from righteousness shall die, and the wicked to turn from iniquity shall live. Ezekiel receives news of the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Chaldeans. The hypocrisy and abominations of the people are recounted. When the Lord is destroying these hypocrites, they will know that a prophet has been among them.


34

Woe to the shepherds (Levites?) of Israel, that do feed themselves, and do not feed the flock. Lord will recall the scattered sheep. David shall be their shepherd.


35

Mount Seir of Idumea (=Edom) will be filled with the bodies of slain men, because of the blasphemies spoken against Israel.


36

The mountains of Judah, occupied by the Idumeans, will be rid of their alien occupants and their idolatries. The idolatries and other sins of the Jews are the cause of their dispersion and captivity. The Israelites will be restored after the Babylonian captivity.


37

Ezekiel is set in the midst of a valley full of dry bones. Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the dry bones, saying ‘Hear the word of the Lord.’ As Ezekiel prophesies, the bones are joined together, and covered with flesh. In the same way, Israel shall be brought up from its grave. Ezekiel is commanded to write ‘Judah’ on one stick, and ‘Ephraim’ on another stick, which will become joined into one stick in his hand. At the restoration, there shall be no more idolatry, David shall reign, and God shall be in his sanctuary.


38

The Lord will intervene and execute furious judgment against Gog (a Scythian prince) when he seems about to defeat Israel. All creation will shake at the presence of the Lord. The Lord will be known in the eyes of many nations.


39

The slaughter and burial of the forces of Gog are described. Birds and beasts of pretty feast on the slain. The Lord will have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and restore it to blessedness, no longer hiding His face from them.


40

In the fourteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel has a vision of a man with an appearance of brass, with a a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed. A temple is described: the exact dimensions of the east, north and south gates are given. There is further description of the eight tables for the preparation of sacrifices, the chambers, and the porch. All measurements are given precisely in cubits.

http://www.essential-architecture.com/DAVINCI/Dome_Secondtempleplan.jpg

http://ddsrail.tripod.com/tribulationtemple.htm


41

The chambers and ornaments of palm trees and cherubims are described.


42

The priests’ chambers are described, along with the dimensions of the holy mount on which the temple stood.



43

The glory of the Lord fills the temple. The measurements of the altar are given in cubits. Stipulations given for seven days of sin offerings when the altar is made – precise cultic instructions in the manner of Leviticus.


44

The east gate is to be kept permanently shut, for the Lord has entered through it into the temple. The prince shall enter and leave via the proch of that gate. Strangers uncircumcised in heart or flesh are not to be admitted to the sanctuary. The Levites will minister in the sanctuary. Regulations for Levites – they must be clothed in linen while in the inner courts (not wool, which might make them sweat), no wearing of the garments they ministered in in the outer courts, no marrying of widows, no drinking of wine in the inner courts. The Levites will teach the people the difference between the clean and the unclean. The Lord will be their portion. The Levites who worked at the high places would be punished by becoming mere temple servants. Only the priests at the Temple in Jerusalem could fully carry out priestly duties. No awareness of the idea of a distinction between a hereditary Aaronide priesthood and the rest of the Levites – suggesting that this is a post-exilic addition to the Pentateuch, and that Levites were in fact full priests in pre-exilic times.


45

Portions of land appointed for the sanctuary, the city, and the prince. Regulations concerning weights and measures. Ordinances regarding provisions for the ordinary and extraordinary sacrifices (ie for the major feasts).


46

Gate of the inner court facing eastwards is only opened on sabbaths and new moons. The prince shall offer six lambs and a ram on the sabbath. Further stipulations for new moon offerings. The prince will leave by the gate he eneterd, but at the big feasts, the people will leave by the opposite gate to the one they came in by. Stipulations for princely peace offerings given. Stipulations for daily offerings given. Ordinances prescribed for the gifts a prince may bestow on his sons and servants – a servant’s gift must be returned if the servant is set at liberty. Measurements of the courts appointed for boiling or baking of the holy oblations.


47

The vision of the holy waters issuing out of the temple, starting as a shallow stream, then getting deeper and fuller until it is over a man’s head. The river travels east until it reaches a sea which will teem with fish. Only the marshy ground will still be salty. Fruitful banks will gro on the banks of the river. A description of the division of the land shared between Jews and proselytes.


48

A description of the several portions of the land belonging to each tribe, together with the portion allotted to the sanctuary, city, suburb, and prince. The measurement of the gates of the new city – three facing north, three south, three east and three west, each named after a tribe. The city will be named ‘The Lord is there’.

Lamentations of Jeremiah

Associated since the Septuagint with Jeremiah.

The first four chapters are acrostics, with each verse beginning with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. All the chapter have 22 verses (the number of letters of the Hebrew in the alphabet). The last chapter, however, is not an acrostic.


1

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! The city is a widow. Desolate. Beauty has departed from the daughter of Zion. Her nakedness has been seen, and she therefore courts dishonour. Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. The daughter of Judah is crushed as in a winepress. Lamentation of sin expressed in the first person.


2

The daughter of Zion is covered with the cloud of the Lord’s anger. The Lord has been pitiless. He has burned against Judah like a flaming fire. The Lord is now an enemy. He has taken away his tabernacle, ie, his presence has departed. Feasts and Sabbaths are forgotten in Zion. The elders are girded with sackcloth casting dust on their heads. Enemies hiss and gnash. Arise in the night and pour out thine heart like water. Virgins and young men are dead by the sword.


3

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. The Lord has brought me into darkness and old age. My prayers are shut out. The Lord attacks with a bow, breaking teeth; the Lord is compared to a bear or a lion. However, the Lord has stopped short of complete destruction. The Lord will not cast off forever. The author models the repentance he deems appropriate, and prays for vengeance on his enemies.


4

Gold has become dim. Children lack bread. The iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom. Those not slain by the sword die lingeringly of hunger. The Nazarites have gone from being purer than snow to having visages blacker than coal. The ruin of the exultant Edomites is predicted – there is an ironic invitation for Edom to rejoice, drink and be naked. The punishment of Zion is accomplished (ie completed).


5

The Lord is invited to remember the reproaches that Judah has borne. The people have been humiliated, and dancing has turned to mourning. The Lord, however, remains forever. Turn unto us – but thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

Jeremiah

Structure:

·         1 – the call of Jeremiah

·         2-6 – poetic pronouncements of judgment and calls to repent

·         7-10 – the people’s falseness in worship

·         11-20 – falseness in the covenant, and the people’s sin

·         21-24 – the failure of Judah’s kings and prophets

·         25 – God’s judgment on all nations by Babylon, and Babylon judged in turn

·         26-29 – Babylonian supremacy is foretold

·         30-33 – ‘the Book of Consolation’, containing a promise that Judah and Israel will be restored. The phrase ‘I will bring you back from captivity’ occurs six times. There will be a new covenant (not a renewed one in the vain of Joshua or Josiah), which will include both Israel and Judah.

·         34-36 – king and people reject the word of Jeremiah; Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah’s scroll.

·         37-39 – Judah falls

·         40-45 – the fate of those who were left; the assassination of Gedaliah and the flight into Egypt

·         46-51 – the oracles against the nations

·         52 – further account of the fall of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple

In Prophecy and Tradition (1946) Mowinckel distinguished between poetic oracles (A), prose narrative about Jeremiah, much of it between 32-45 (B) and prose sermons (C). Nicholson (Preaching to the Exiles, 1970) thought that these C sections were sermons addressed to exiles – eg 17:19-27, which is about the Sabbath, not mentioned elsewhere, but a pertinent topic to exiles who wished to maintain their cultic distinctiveness in the absence of a temple.

Nicholson thought the sermons were deuteronomistic, because of its theology of the conditional covenant (see eg 12:16-17). More recent criticism has moved away from the distinction between poetic oracles and prose sermons, and seen the whole book as a product of deuteronomistic editing (eg J P Hyatt, ‘The Deuteronomistic Edition of Jeremiah’ (1951), McKane, Jeremiah 1-25 (1986)).

Against this, why isn’t there more deuteronomistic enthusiasm for Josiah’s reforms in the book? Jeremiah began his ministry in 626BC, and Josiah’s reforms were energised by the discovery of the book of the law in the temple in 621BC. However, Josiah is barely mentioned in the text – there is just a fleeting reference at 22:15-16.

R R Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel (1980) distinguished between a northern Ephraimite tradition of prophecy, which took its cue from the Mosaic covenant and the word of God, from a southern tradition which focused more on the presence of God, invoking ark, tabernacle and temple. Jeremiah, though he ministered in Jerusalem, hailed from Anathoth in the north of Judah, and may have been influenced by the northern prophetic tradition, and the covenantal theology of Hosea. Jeremiah’s ‘temple sermon’ (7:1-15), with its echoes of the Ten Commandments (verse 9) and its severe criticism of false temple worship, typified the northern values.

Jeremiah, ‘the weeping prophet’, expresses his grief particularly strongly at 11:18-23, 12:1-6, 15@10-21; 17:14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-12, 14-18. These are known as Jeremiah’s ‘confessions’. In them, he protests to God about the pain and grief he is suffering, about how he has been treated, and even prays for the punishment of his enemies (17:14-18).

Prophetic blurring of boundaries:

·         Jeremiah and the Lord – who is mourning in chapters 8 and 9?

·         Israel and Judah – does ‘Israel’ refer to the northern kingdom, or the twelve tribes? (eg 22:6)

·         Jeremiah and his people – he speaks for them in repentance in chapter 14

·         Present and future time

 

1

Jeremiah is the son of Hilkiah, of the priests of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. He prophesied from the days of Josiah to the captivity. The Lord tells him he was sanctified in the belly to serve. Jeremiah is anxious he is a child, and cannot speak. The Lord touches his mouth, so he will be a prophet unto the nations. The Lord’s plans are compared to the branch of an almond tree – comes to fruit quickly. Jeremiah sees a boiling pot facing the north – an evil shall break forth from the north against the inhabitants of Judah. Jeremiah will be protected as he prophesies.


2

Although pious when it first entered the promised land, Israel has forsaken the Lord and gone after other gods. Its own backslidings will be its punishment. From a right seed, Israel has become a degenerate vine. It says to wood, 'You are my father,' and to stone, 'You gave me birth.' Israel sinfully presumes itself to be innocent.


3

Israel is compared to an adulterous husband (deuteronomistically appealing to the written Mosaic law?). In the days of Josiah, the Lord complains about the high places in Israel, and about how Israel was punished. Judah, far from taking Israel’s as a cautionary tale, played the harlot also, and turned to the Lord only feignedly. Appeal for Israel to acknowledge transgressions, and be restored. All nations shall be gathered to Jerusalem.


4

The Lord appeals to the men of Judah and Jerusalem to circumcise their hearts. Mourn and repent – an evil is coming from the north. The land will be despoiled. The Lord creates the universe.


5

Judah’s inquities recounted. It will be destroyed by a strange nation whose tongue is unknown. The Lord will not protect it.


6

Jerusalem will be made desolate, and punished for its transgressions by a nation from the north. This nation is cruel and will have no mercy. Repent.


7

Jeremiah told to stand at the temple gates and order those entering to repent. The Lord complains that the temple has become a den of robbers. The Lord will do to the temple what he did to Shiloh. The people perform offerings in an unacceptable foreign manner. There are high places in Judah. The voice of mirth shall go from Judah and Jerusalem.


8

The bones of the kings, princes and priests of Judah shall be exhumed and left for dung upon the face of the earth. ‘The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.’ The land will become barren. Serpents and cockatrices shall bite. ‘Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me’ – it is ambiguous whether Jeremiah of God says this.


9

‘Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!’ (Ambiguity again – God or prophet?) The people will be scattered among the heathen, and given wormwood and gall for sustenance. Let not the wise or the mighty glory in their powers. Let he who glories glory in the Lord. The circumcised will be punished alongside the uncircumcised – Israel is uncircumcised in its heart.


10

The house of Israel acts idolatrously, consulting the heavens, worshipping trees, making graven images. False gods have not made the heavens and the earth. The Lord both suffers (‘Woe is me for my hurt!’) and also full of destructive anger.


11

The Lord reminds Judah of the consequences of breaking the Mosaic covenant. Judah is a green olive tree which will be burnt, and its branches broken. The Lord will punish by sword and famine the men of Anathoth who seek Jeremiah’s life.


12

The wicked take root and grow. The Lord has left His heritage, which has been spoiled. His people have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns. After they have been plucked from the land, they will be restored to their heritage, however. This promise is conditional upon obedience, however.


13

The Lord tells Jeremiah to place his girdle in the hole of a rock at the Euphrates. After a couple of days, it is marred. After this manner the Lord will mar the pride of Judah. The house of Israel and Judah cleaved unto me as a girdle cleaves unto a man, but is now good for nothing. The elite of Judah will destroy each other in drunkenness. Give glory to the Lord, before he changes light to darkness. Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?


14

Jeremiah surveys the famine, and admits iniquities on behalf of his people, providing a model of repentance. The Lord tells Jeremiah not to pray for his people. False prophets are rebuked. Jeremiah prays on behalf of the people once more.


15

The sword, famine and captivity are promised, as punishment for the sins of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah. Widows shall mourn and languish. Jeremiah complains about being made to deliver such unwelcome messages, for which too he is reproved. Jeremiah pleads his sincerity, and asks pardon. God promises to protect him.


16

Due to the evils which threaten, Jeremiah is forbidden to marry or have a family, or to share in the joys and sorrow of his neighbours, which will be forgotten in the calamities that their sins will bring on them. A future restoration is intimated, however, and the conversion of the Gentiles foretold.


17

Judah is fatally inclined to idolatry. The happiness of the man that trusts in the Lord is contrasted with the man that trusteth in man. God alone knows the deceit and wretchedness of the heart of man. A comparison is made between a bird's hatching the eggs of another species, which will soon forsake her, and the vanity of is ill-acquired riches. Jeremiah talks of his sincerity, and prays that the evil intended him by his enemies may revert on their own heads. An appeal to observe the Sabbath is made.


18

The house of Israel is like clay in the hands of a potter. The inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem are invited to repent; their refusal as unnatural as someone preferring the snowy Lebanon or barren rock to a fruitful plain, or other waters to the cool stream of the fountain. A conspiracy is formed against Jeremiah, who appeals to God, and curses his enemies.


19

Judah and Jerusalem will be broken as a potter’s vessel, because they have forsaken the Lord. The land will be made desolate, and the people will eat the flesh of their children.


20

Pashur, governor of the temple, smites Jeremiah and places him in the stocks. When Jeremiah is taken from the stocks, he curses Pashur, and tells him he will die in captivity. Jeremiah resolves to prophesy no more, but the word of the Lord is in his heart like a burning flame, and he is not able to forbear. In a very Job-like manner, Jeremiah curses the day he was born.


21

Vision when Zedekiah was king – advice to submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s forces and live, rather than fight against them and die. Those who stay in the city shall die, but those who go out and submit to the Chaldeans shall live.


22

The king of Judah must execute judgment and righteousness and protect the needy. If he does not, his house shall become a desolation. Thou, Judah, are Gilead to me. All nations shall marvel at the desolation. Shallum (=Jehoahaz) the son of Josiah will die a captive. Coniah (=Jeconiah) the son of Jehoiakim will be given to them that seek his life, and his seed will be forever excluded from the throne.


23

Woe to those that have scattered the sheep of the Lord’s pasture. A king call arise from the branch of David, and he shall be called the King of Righteousness. Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; I reel like a drunken man. The priests and prophets of Judah are wicked, and divine vengeance is hanging over them. The people should not listen to their false promises: they will face ruin, as will all scoffers of true prophecy.


24

A vision after Jeconiah had been taken away captive: good figs and bad figs. The good figs symbolise those the Lord shall preserve in captivity, and the bad figs Zedekiah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem, and those that dwell in Egypt.


25

Word comes to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar. Because Judah has not harkened to the prophets, it will be captive in Babylon for seventy years. After these seventy years, the king of Babylon will himself be punished. All nations are made to drink of a cup of wine, become drunken, spew, fall and rise now more. The dead shall not be lamented or buried.


26

Word comes to Jeremiah in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah makes a call to repentance in the court of the temple. This house shall be like Shiloh. The priests and people take objection to this, but the memory of Micah, who persuades Hezekiah to repent, stays their hands. Jeremiah is protected by Ahikam the son of Shaphan. Another prophet, Urijah, prophesies against the city. He flees to Egypt, but Jehoiakim’s men bring him before the king and slay him.


27

Word comes to Jeremiah in the reign of Jehoiakim. The Lord tells Jeremiah to put bands and yokes upon his neck, and to send them to the neighbouring countries who want Judah to join in a war against Babylon. Submission to Babylon is advised – do not listen to false prophets and dreamers. Those who submit will be allowed to live in their own land. Zedekiah is advised not to war against the Babylonians.


28

Word comes to Jeremiah in the reign of Zedekiah. Hananiah breaks Jeremiah’s yoke, and says that in the same way, the Lord shall break the yoke of the Babylonians. The Lord replies that a yoke of wood may be broken, but not the yoke of iron which will be imposed. Hananiah dies as a punishment for his rebellion against the Lord.


29

Message to captives: build houses, have children and settle – the captivity will last for seventy years. Jeremiah speaks against two false prophets, Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekaih, the son of Maaseiah, who prophesied a speedy end to the captivity. He also rebukes Shemaiah the Nehelamite, who complains about Jeremiah’s message.


30

Promise of restoration. David will be restored unto Judah. Peace and propersity. ‘They that devour thee shall be devoured…Ye shall be my people, and I shall be your God.’


31

The northern kingdom will be restored. Rachel is represented rising from her tomb, lamenting, but then being consoled by the thought of future restoration. Ephraim repents, and is reconciled. Peace and prosperity returns to the posterity of Jacob – no more sour grapes.


32

Word comes to Jeremiah in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is imprisoned, and God tells him to redeem a field in Anathoth through his cousin Hanameel. The contract is delivered to Baruch. The contract is used by God as a sign that the Jews will once more possess their land after the Babylonian captivity. An everlasting covenant will be made.


33

Word comes to Jeremiah in prison. Israel and Judah will be restored to the favour of God, so all the world shall be astonished. A Lord of righteousness shall gown from the branch of David, ensuring happiness and stability under his government.


34

Words comes to Jeremiah when Zedekiah is fighting against Babylon. Judah will be given to the Babylonians, yet Zedekiah shall die in peace. A further prophecy, reproving the Jews for their conduct towards their Hebrew slaves, whom they released in times of danger, but compelled to return to bondage when they thought the danger over. God threatens them with the sword, pestilence, and famine, and with the return of the Chaldeans.


35

The Lord commends and blesses the Rechabites, who obey their father in not drinking wine, sowing seed or building their own houses. Their obedience is contrasted with Judah and Jerusalem.


36

Word comes to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Using Baruch as his scribe, Jeremiah writes down his prophecies. Baruch reads them publicly upon a fast day in the temple. The princes hear him, and resolve to tell the king, hearing of this, while advising both Jeremiah and Baruch to hide. Jehoiakim has the roll thrown into the fire, and orders Jeremiah and Baruch to be seized. The Lord conceals them, however. Jeremiah rewrites the roll, and denounces the burning of the roll.


37

Zedekiah succeeds Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, in Judah, and does evil in the sight of the Lord. The kings sends a message to Jeremiah, and Jeremiah replies, foretelling the return of the Chaldean army, who will take and burn the city. Jeremiah, in attempting to leave Jerusalem, and retire to his possession in the country, is seized as a deserter, and cast into a dungeon. The king, after a conference unth him, abates the rigour of his confinement.


38

The princes of Judah, taking offense at Jeremiah on account of his predicting the destruction of Jerusalem, cause him to be cast into a deep and miry dungeon. Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian, gets the king's permission to take him out. Jeremiah advises the king, who consulted him privately, to surrender to the Chaldeans. The king promises that he will not put Jeremiah to death, and requires the consultation secret.


39

In the ninth year of Zedekiah, Jerusalem is broken up by the Babylonian forces. Zedekiah is blinded, and his sons killed. Jeremiah is spared, and sent home to dwell among his people. Ebed-melech is also spared.


40

Jeremiah puts himself under the jurisdiction of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, who has been made the governor of Judah. Johanan acquaints the governor of a conspiracy against him, but he is not believed.


41

Ishmael (of royal seed) executes his conspiracy against Gedaliah and his companions, and attempts to carry away the Jews who were with him captives to the Ammonites. Johanan recovers them, however, and proposes fleeing with them into Egypt.


42

Johanan and the remnant of the people desire Jeremiah to ask counsel of God what they should do. Jeremiah says they will be safe in Judah, but face destruction in Egypt. Jeremiah reproves their hypocrisy in asking advice they have no intention of heeding.


43

The leading men, discrediting Jeremiah's prophecy, carry the people into Egypt. Jeremiah places stones at the entry of the Pharoah’s house, and says Nebuchadnezzar shall set his throne on them. Nebuchadnezzar shall array himself with Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment.


44

Jeremiah reproves the Jews in Egypt for continuing in idolatry (such as burning incense to the queen of heaven) after the judgments already visited by God for this sin. Jeremiah rebukes their refusal to reform, declares that they will be destroyed along with Egypt.


45

Baruch (who had read Jeremiah’s prophecies in the temple in chapter 36) is in anguish regarding the destruction of Judah, but is assured that the Lord will build what he has broken down, and also that his life shall be preserved.


46

The prophet sees the preparation of Pharaoh Necho for the battle of Carchemish. In their confidence of victory, the Egyptians are like a river overflowing its banks. However, they will be defeated, as the Lord decreed by the river Euphrates. The Egyptians will be overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar after his siege of Tyre. The Jews will be eventually returned to divine favour.


47

Destruction from the north (ie from Babylon) predicted for the Philistines. The Babylonians are compared to an overflowing flood.


48

Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away. Moab punished for its complacency and pride. How is the strong staff broken! Moab has magnified itself against the Lord.


49

Destruction prophesied for the Ammonites, Edom (whose fall is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah), Damascus, Hazor and Elam. The Lord will appoint the time. The heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.


50

Babylon will fall at the hands of a nation from the north, and Israel restored.


51

Babylon will be destroyed by the Medes. All shall be broken in pieces. The daughter of Babylon is like threshing floor, it is time to thresh her. Babylon will be brought as a lamb to the slaughter; it will become a dwelling place for dragons. Jeremiah instructs Seraiah (the chief priest) to read this prophecy in Babylon, then bind a stone to the prophecy and throw it in the Euphrates to demonstrate that Babylon shall sink.


52

An account of the defeat of Zedekiah by the Babylonians. Sons killed, Zedekiah blinded, Jerusalem looted. The way Jehoiachin is treated in his captivity improves.

Isaiah

Three major sections:

·         Proto-Isaiah (chapters 1-39), containing the words of the 8th century BCE prophet and 7th century BCE expansions. Ahaz, against Isaiah’s advice, asked the Assyrians to protect Judah against the combined forced of Israel and Syria, who were in revolt against Assyria. Hezekiah’s battles with the Assyrians are also recounted, revisiting material from 2 Kings. John Goldingay’s Isaiah (2001) argues that the poetic sections of proto-Isaiah represent the prophecies of the original Isaiah, while the prose sections were sermons composed at the court of Josiah in the seventh century BCE. Chapters 24-27, known as the ‘Isaiah apocalypse’, are thought to be the work of an author who lived long after Isaiah.

·         Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55), a 6th century BCE work by an author who wrote under the Babylonian captivity

·         Trito-Isaiah (chapters 56-66), composed probably by multiple authors in Jerusalem shortly after the exile

There is a different notion of kingship in the different sections – while Isaiah entertains the idea of a Davidic king (see, eg, 9:2-7, and the start of chapter 11), deutero- and trito-Isaiah sees God alone as king. This implied sequence of pre-exilic, exilic and post-exilic material is somewhat misleading, however, as significant editing has clearly taken place in all three parts. For example, passages in chapters 1-12 (eg chapter 2) about the redemption of Jerusalem recall the language and themes of chapters 40-55. The picture in 1:27-31 makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked even in the redeemed Zion – this too in echoed in chapters 56-66. Compare also 1:10-17 and chapter 48, both of which condemn merely religious observance without sincerity.

Further division of the books can be made thus:

·         1-12 – Jerusalem judged and redeemed

·         13-27 – God’s righteousness established among the nations. 13-23 features largely burdens and judgments, though there are some words of comfort, eg, in the image of the key of David at the end of chapter 22. 24-27, sometimes called the ‘mini-apocalypse’ sees God’s righteous judgment more broadly in terms of His His victory over death, and the rising of the dead.

·         28-35 – the coming of a righteous king in Jerusalem

·         36-39 – Jerusalem saved (from Sennacherib), but the shadow of Babylon looms (after Hezekiah shows the treasury to Babylonian ambassadors)

·         40-55 – the return to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity

·         56-66 – new heavens and a new earth. Even in the new Zion, however, there are suggestions that there will be some backsliding and merely perfunctory worship (eg chapter 48; 65:11-12).

There are in addition four ‘suffering servant’ songs – first identified by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary.

·         42:1-9

·         49:1-13

·         50:4-9

·         53:1-11

Candidates for the identity of the servant have included Zerubbabel, Jehoiachin, Moses and Cyrus the Great. Christians see the suffering servant as Jesus Christ.

Isaiah counselled against Ahaz becoming a vassal state of Assyria when threatened by Israel and Syria. See 2 Kings 16:10-20 – Ahaz not only made Judah an Assyrian vassal state, but also introduced aspects of Assyrian worship, removing the bronze altar from the temple in Jerusalem and replacing it with a model of a Damascan one.

The burden against Egypt in chapter 19 comes comes from when Hezekiah, along with other small states (Ashdod, Edom, Moab) looked to Egypt for assistance. Isaiah seems consistent in his opposition to appealing to one foreign power for help against another, rather than simply trusting to the Lord. Conversely, when faith in the Lord is demonstrated by Hezekiah, it leads to the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from the forces of Sennacherib (See Isaiah 36-38). Is there an idea that political alliances compromise the holy separateness of God’s people? Yahweh is called ‘the Holy One of Israel’ over twenty times in Isaiah.

Despite the diverse political situations described by Isaiah, there is a moral unity and coherence. Assyria and Babylon are morally one; they served God’s purpose in their turn, but each fell in the end because of its pride. Some passages (eg chapter 26) could refer to either Assyria or Babylon: prophecy often demonstrates the ability to recontextualise itself, and possess a kind of immanence.

1

Isaiah prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The Lord vituperates a people laden with iniquity- no soundness from foot to head. Your cities are overthrown by strangers. We have been left a very small remnant. What good is ritual observance when you do evil? Do well – care for the needy. The faithful city has become a harlot. It will be purged to what it was before, and become the city of righteousness once more.


2

In the last days, the Lord’s house shall be established on Zion, and all nations shall flow unto it. The Lord shall judge the nations, and rebuke many. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. The land of the house of Jacob is full of gold, silver and idols. The Lord shall level the land, including the mountains, the towers, and the proud.


3

The Lord will take away all people of status from Jerusalem and Judah, and give babes to rule over them. The Lord will punish pride, including that of the daughters of Zion, who are wanton and mincing, and wear all manner of finery. The Lord will smite them with scabs and other afflictions. The men and the mighty shall fall in war.


4

The calamities of war will be so great that seven women shall be left to one man. Purged of filth, the Lord will bless the remnant, and the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night will be created in every dwelling place, and in all the assemblies.


5

Israel is like a vineyard, which will be abandoned because it produced only wild grapes. Woes are promised for a variety of sins, including drinking, feasting, pride, and calling evil good. Kindled in wrath against his people, the Lord will allow a foreign nation to devastate the land. Its roaring shall be like a lion.


6

A vision in the year that king Uzziah died: the Lord on his throne, and above it the seraphims. Each one had six wings – with two they cover their faces, with two they cover their feet, and with two they fly. Isaiah fears he is undone because he is a man of unclean lips. One of the seraphims lays a lump of burning coal in his mouth, and tells him his sins are burnt away. Isaiah receives his prophetic commission – strangely, it is to ensure that the people do not understand, and are not healed. The Lord will remove men far away, but a tenth shall return.


7

In the days when Israel and Syria joined in league against Judah in the days of Ahaz. Via Isaiah, and in the presence of his son Shear-Jashub (meaning, ‘a remnant shall return’) the Lord tells Ahaz not to fear, for the attack will not succeed, and Israel will no longer be a nation in 65 years’ time. The Lord will give a sign: a virgin will conceive, called Immanuel, God with us. (Actually, the Hebrew word alma could mean ‘young woman’, though the Septuagint translated parthenos, which does mean ‘virgin’.) Before the child can distinguish good from evil (ie within a couple of years), he will be eating curds and honey (ie the land will be back to producing plenteous food), and both Israel and Syria will be defeated. (A prophecy of Hezekiah?) However, the Assyrians (whom Judah called upon for help) will inflict heavy calamities upon Judah. Isaiah counsels against an Judah-Assyria alliance to counter the threat from the Israel-Syria one.


8

Isaiah has a son, whom the Lord tells him to name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means ‘speed to the spoil, hurry to the plunder’. Before the children can call his mother and father, the riches of Damascus and Israel will be taken away by Assyria. However, the Assyrian army, compared to water, will overflow its banks and flood Judah with violence and destruction. Judah can prepare for the invasion by fearing God rather than Assyria. Seek the Lord’s light and word, not the darkness of the occult.


9

Judah will not suffer as greatly as Israel. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. ‘You’ will deliver the land, ‘for unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Because of their unholy pride, Israel will be defeated by her enemies: its head (elder and honourable) and tail (false prophet) will be cut off. The people of Israel will also attack each other. Exile and slaughter will be a punishment for social injustice.


10

Woe to Assyria, the unintentional instrument in the hand of the Lord – it will be punished for its arrogant superiority. Shall an axe boast against him who chops with it? Do not be afraid of the Assyrians – the Lord will preserve a remnant of the house of Jacob. Isaiah prophesies attacks on a number of specific Juhan cities. The proud of Judah will be humbled.


11

A shoot shall come forth from the rod of Jesse, possessing the seven spirits of God:

He will judge the poor with equity, and slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. The gentiles shall seek him. The Lord will gather together scattered Israel. Peace will reign, and neighbouring nations be subdued.


12

Praise will be offered to the Lord when his anger has passed away. ‘Yah, the Lord, is my strength and salvation’. You will draw water from the well of salvation. Praise sung – great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!


13

The burden against Babylon. (‘Burden’ = an important message causing sorrow.) An army comes against Bablyon. A day of the Lord is promised – great slaughter shall occur, and mortals be more rare than gold. The Medes will be stirred up against Babylon. Babylon will be laid waste, and populated only by wild beasts.


14

Israel will be settled in its own land, and rule over strangers. The whole earth will rejoice at the fall of the king of Babylon. The pomp of Babylon shall come to nothing, and be received in hell. How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! The fall is a punishment for aspiring to be like the Most High. The nations will be amazed at the complete reversal of fortune. Unlike other kings who sleep in glory, the king of Babylon will be cast out of his grave. Assyria and Philistia will also be crushed.


15

The burden against Moab. The cities and soldiers of Moab fall under a night attack. Refugees will flee from Moab. Refugees and the remnant of Moab will be attacked by lions.


16

Moab shall send the lamb as tribute to Jerusalem. Judah is to be a place of refuge and protection for the Moabites. Moab is then counselled to be a refuge for Israel. Moab shall wail at the judgment of God against it. Judgment will come in three years.


17

The burden against Damascus. Damascus will become a ruinous heap, and Israel (the northern kingdom, referred to as Ephraim, its dominant tribe) will wane. God’s judgment will bring man’s work to nothing. Many nations will rush against Syria and Israel like the rush of many waters. These nations will also be rebuked, however.


18

Ethiopian help is not required to deal with Assyria. The Lord will cut off Assyria’s sprigs with pruning hooks. Ethiopians will come to Zion to worship God.


19

The burden against Egypt. The Lord strikes Egypt by giving them over to civil war and submission to a cruel master. The Nile will be dried, and the Egyptian economy thereby ruined. Foolish counsel has caused Egypt to stagger like a drunk man in his vomit. Judah will be a terror to Egypt. The Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and a savior shall deliver them. There will be a peace between the three former enemies of Egypt, Assyria and Israel.


20

In the year of the fall of the Philistine king Ashdod at the hands of the Assyrians (711 BC). The Lord commands Isaiah to go naked – as he is naked, so shall the Egyptians and Ethopians be led away naked as captives by Assyria. On this day, Judah will be ashamed that it once trusted to these nations.


21

The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea (ie Babylon). A army from Elam (Persia) marches against it. A report will come to the watchman: Babylon is fallen, is fallen! The (brief) burden against Dumah (Edom): the watchman will report that the morning comes, and also the night. The burden against Arabia: within a year, all the glory of Kedar will fall.


22

The burden against the Valley of Vision (Jerusalem). An army is coming, against which there is no deliverance. Instead of turning their hearts in humble repentance to the Lord, the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’ Shebna, Hezekiah’s chief steward, is denounced. Shebna will be replaced by Eliakim. He will be given the key of the house of David.


23

The burden against Tyre. The sailors will agonise when they hear about the destruction of their home port. The pride of Tyre will be dishonoured. Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years. God will allow Tyre, symbolized by a prostitute, to continue her gross materialism with all the kingdoms of the world, but her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord.


24

The land will be emptied and laid waste. The earth will mourn and fade away, because people have transgressed laws and broken the everlasting covenant. All rejoicing shall cease. The glory of God is contrasted with the woe of man. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard. After judgment and punishment, the Lord will reign on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem.


25

God is praised for his righteous judgment, and for assisting the needy. A feast will be prepared on Zion. Death will be swallowed up forever, and all tears wiped away. People will proclaim a God they have waited for, and who has saved them. The pride of Moab will be brought down, as the Lord spreads out his hands like a swimmer reaches out to swim.


26

The strength of the city will be celebrated. The Lord is the source of the city’s strength. The Lord will bring down those who dwell on high. The upright will desire the Lord, and the wicked shall remain unaware as the fire of enemies devours them. All masters other than the Lord are dead. We have been in pain, as if in labour. The dead shall rise. The day of the Lord’s judgment will come.


27

Leviathan will be defeated. Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. In the Kingdom of the Lord, the city of man lies desolate. The Lord will be worshipped at the holy mount in Jerusalem.


28

The drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot. The beauty of the Lord will replace the faded beauty of Ephraim. Judah also suffers from the corruption of drunkenness. The reply of the drunkards is imagined – this message is fit only for those just weaned from milk. Scornful men have made a covenant with death. God will lay in Zion a stone for a foundation. The bed is too short to stretch out on, and the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it. The timing of a farmer is compared to the timing of the Lord.


29

Woe to Ariel (Jerusalem) – its pride shall be humbled. However, the humbled Jerusalem will be protected from its enemies. Jerusalem suffers from spiritual drunkenness and illiteracy. However, the spiritually blind will see, and justice for the wicked be administered.


30

Woe to the rebellious children who look to Egypt to protect them from Assyria. The people do not want seers to see, and want prophets to prophesy deceits rather than right things. Judah will be broken like a potter’s vessel. Blessed are those who wait for the Lord. He shall respond to his people, who cry to him from Jerusalem. The Lord’s people will throw away their graven images of gold and silver. Nature will bring forth abundance. There is a place in Tophet (the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem) for the Assyrian king. The breath of the Lord shall kindle it.


31

Woe to those who look to Egypt rather than the Lord. The Lord is mightier than the Egyptians. The Lord will defend Jerusalem. The children of Israel are invited to repent.


32

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. People will see, hear and understand. The foolish man will be exposed as foolish. Women at ease are called upon to repent. The Spirit will be poured out upon a humbled people, who will enjoy peace and security.


33

The plundering Assyria will itself be plundered. Zion will be filled with wisdom and righteousness. The earth will mourn and lie waste. The breath of the Lord will devour like fire. Sinners shall be afraid, but the righteous will see the king in his beauty. Zion, the city of appointed feasts, will be blessed and delivered.


34

The indignation of the Lord is against all nations. The sword of the Lord will make a great slaughter in Edom. The land will be inhabited only by animals of the wilderness.


35

Lands will be restored, and the desert blossom. The weak will be strengthened, the sick and diseased healed. Abundance shall replace lack. There shall be a Way of Holiness – a road leading to Zion.


36

See 2 Kings 18:13-27. Officials from King Hezekiah’s government meet Rabshakeh, general of the armies of Assyria. Rabshakeh speaks against Judah’s trust in an alliance with Egypt, and says the Lord will not save them. Rabshakeh speaks directly to the people of Jerusalem in Hebrew, seeking to demoralize them.


37

Hezekiah tears his clothes and covers himself with sackcloth. Isaiah speaks words of assurance to Hezekiah, and tells him that Rabshakeh’s blasphemy will be repaid. The Ethiopians move against Assyria. Hezekiah prays, and Isaiah further prophesies against Assyria and gives assurances that the Lord will protect Jerusalem. The angel of the Lord strikes 185,000 Assyrian soldiers dead. Sennacherib is killed by his sons back in Assyria.


38

The sick Hezekiah is given an assurance by Isaiah that he will not die, but live a further fifteen years. The shadow on a sundial goes backwards, as a sign to confirm the promise. Hezekiah thanks the Lord for his deliverance.


39

Hezekiah entertains the envoys from the king of Babylon, showing them all his treasures. Isaiah repoves him, saying that all treasures will be taken to Babylon at a future date. Hezekiah is relieved that he himself will not see this happen.


40

Comfort ye, my people. A voice in the wilderness cries, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’ Every valley shall be exalted, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Zion and Jerusalem, who bring good tidings, are invited to tell the cities of Judah to behold their God. The Lord will feed his flock like a shepherd. God’s greatness surpasses all nations, and all idols. He brings the princes and the judges of the earth to nothing. The weak shall be strengthened.


41

The people from the coastlands are invited to approach for judgment. Along with everybody else. Who raised up one from the East? (Abraham? Cyrus?) The Lord did. The people of the coastlands approach with fear. Israel has been chosen, and gathered from the ends of the earth. Fear not – you will be strengthened, and your enemies ashamed. You will thresh and winnow the mountains. God will supply water and other resources. One will come from the north (Cyrus?) who shall conquer. The Lord judges idols and deems them worthless.


42

The Lord’s servant will bring justice to the gentiles, and establish justice on earth. A light to the gentiles. Psalm-like invitation to sing to the Lord a new song. The Lord will unleash his devastating power against idolatrers. The deaf and the blind come to the servant. The Lord’s people have been robbed, plundered and punished because they have not walked in the ways of the Lord.


43

The Lord has redeemed his people from slavery – he will protect them from waters and from fire. The Lord has chosen his servant, and commissioned Israel as his witnesses. ‘Before the day was, I am He.’ The Lord will judge Babylon, and supply roads and water for his people in the wilderness. Jacob (ie Israel) has not offered sacrifices, and has been full of iniquity – nonetheless, the Lord will forgive previous sins.


44

The Lord’s spirit will be poured onto the descendants of Jacob, and they will spring up like grass. ‘I am the first and the last; besides me, there is no God.’ Idols and idol makers achieve nothing. Israel’s transgressions have been blotted out, as with a thick cloud. Jacob has been redeemed. Cyrus is the Lord’s shepherd, who will help to rebuild Judah and Jerusalem.


45

The Lord calls upon Cyrus to subdue nations. Cyrus and Israel will know the Lord, who formed the light and created darkness. The skies are commanded to rain down righteousness, and the earth to bring forth salvation. Resisting the creator is foolish. God’s role as the creator of heaven and earth is emphasised alongside the deliverance of Israel via Cyrus. When the Lord is revealed as the true God, idolaters will submit and God’s people will be saved. The Lord has not concealed Himself, but let Himself be known. ‘Look to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth.’


46

False gods are carried away on carriages. The Lord will carry His people into old age. Golden idols are mute and incapable of offering help. The Lord knew the end from the beginning. A bird of prey shall be called from the East. Salvation will be placed in Zion, and glory in Israel.


47

Babylon is depicted as a degraded woman, naked and uncovered. The pride and arrogance of Babylon is rebuked. The stargazers and sorcerers of Babylon will be unable to help.


48

The Lord rebukes Israel for perfunctory religious observance. The Lord made sure that he was revealed rather than concealed, but Israel did not see or hear. The Lord defers his anger for His name’s sake – he is the first and the last. The Lord wishes that his people had obeyed Him in the past. Exodus from Babylon conflated with that from Egypt – the rock in the wilderness flowed with water.


49

The servant speaks in his own voice – he has been called from the womb. His mouth has been made like a sharp sword. He will be a light to the gentiles. He will release prisoners, and those in darkness. The Lord cannot forget Israel, as a nurse cannot forget her nursing child. The Lord will protect Israel from her enemies, who will be humbled and defeated.


50

Israel has brought its misfortunes on itself. The servant is obedient, and has been given a wise tongue. ‘I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard.’ He has faith that the Lord will justify him, however, and that his adversaries will grow old like a garment, and be eaten up by moths. People will be kindled by fire from his hand.


51

The Lord will comfort – the wilderness shall become an Eden. The Lord’s salvation and righteousness are forever. Fear God, not man. God defeated Rahab (sea monster), and parted the seas (again, the exodus from Babylon and Egypt are conflated). The cup of the Lord’s fury will be taken from Israel, and given to its enemies.


52

Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! You shall be redeemed for no money. Israel’s oppressors will wail. All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. When departing, the Lord will be the rear guard. The Lord’s servant will be both exalted and humiliated. Nations will be cleansed and astonished by him.


53

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was bruised for our iniquities…and by his stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. The Lord made his soul an offering for sin. The righteous servant shall justify many. He bore the sins of many.


54

Israel will be restored like a barren woman who bears many children. Israel will be restored like a widow who is rescued from her reproach. The Lord has shown temporary wrath, and will now show everlasting kindness. Covenant with Noah cited as a precedent. The city shall be build with precious stones. Peace, and protection are promised.


55

The Lord invites those who are thirsty to come and be richly fed. The everlasting covenant is talked about in terms of the sure mercies of David. The wicked will be forgiven if they forsake their ways. The Lord’s thoughts are higher than men’s thoughts. The Lord’s word shall make the earth fertile. Psalm-like image of the mountains and hills breaking forth in singing.


56

A call is made to be righteous, and not defile the Sabbath. The foreigner and the eunuch will not be separated from the Lord. The Lord will judge the blind watchmen who live hedonistically, however.


57

The righteous are persecuted. God’s people have committed spiritual adultery. He who puts his trust in the Lord shall possess the land and inherit His holy mountain – in contrast to those who trust in idols. The stumbling block shall be removed. The Lord will restrore – but there is no rest for the wicked.


58

God’s people ask why their prayers go unanswered. In fact, their ritual observance was shallow and did not proceed from the heart. God is more pleased to see people help the oppressed and poor. The light of the true worshipper shall break forth like the morning; he shall be as a watered garden. Those who keep the Sabbath will ride on the high hills of the earth.


59

The problem is not that the Lord’s hand is shortened, so it cannot save. The problem is the sins of the people – lies, iniquity and injustice. Darkness comes, and the people growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves. In the absence of righteousness, the Lord Himself became a righteous warrior, and lifted up his standard before the enemy. The Redeemer shall come to Zion.


60

Arise, shine, for your light has come. The gentiles shall come to your light. Great treasures will come to Israel from many lands. The sons of those who afflicted Israel shall come bowing. The walls shall be called Salvation, and the gates Praise. The Lord will be an everlasting light to replace the sun and the moon. The days of mourning shall be ended.


61

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He (the servant? Isaiah himself?) will preach good tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, comfort those who mourn. Ruined cities will be rebuilt. Shame will replace honour. The covenant will endure for future generations, and be famous among the gentiles. He is clothed in the garment of salvation, and the robe of righteousness. Righteousness and praise will spring forth.


62

Zion’s righteousness shall go forth as brightness. The gentiles shall witness its glory. The Lord loves Zion as a bridegroom loves a bride, and will protect it against enemies. Build the highway for the Lord! Zion shall be peopled with the redeemed of the Lord.


63

Who is this who comes from Edom with dyed red garments? He has trodden the winepress furiously. Nobody was by to help him. A saviour redeemed his people, though afflicted. His people rebelled and grieved his holy spirit, so he turned against them. A exile’s plea for restoration – where is the God of Moses, who redeemed his people?


64

A prayer for God to intervene, shaking the mountains and making His name known to his adversaries. Sinfulness is confessed, and acknowledged as an obstacle. A plea is made to forget iniquity. God is asked to act in light of the fact that Zion is a wilderness, and Jerusalem a desolation.


65

‘I was sought by those who did not ask for me.’ These people (presumably gentiles) are contrasted with God’s rebellious people. Blessings are promised for the true servants of the Lord, and a chastisement for false or shallow servants. God will create a new heaven, and a new earth, and there shall be no more weeping. People will live so long that if someone dies being one hundred years old, people will consider that one accursed. They shall provide for themselves. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.


66

Heaven is the Lord’s throne, and the earth His footstool. The Lord will look on one who is poor and of a contrite spirit. Empty religious rituals are rejected. The Lord repays his enemies. After labour pains, Zion experiences the joy of birth. The Lord will come in judgment, to judge all flesh. Gentiles will come to know of the Lord, and some of them will even become priests and Levites. All flesh shall worship before the Lord. For those who transgress, their corpses will be looked upon – their worm shall not die, nor their fire quenched.

·         the Spirit of the Lord

·         the Spirit of wisdom

·         the Spirit of understanding

·         the Spirit of counsel

·         the Spirit of might

·         the Spirit of knowledge

·         the Spirit of the fear of the Lord