Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 1:21–26

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Purifying Judgment

1:21How tragic that the once-faithful city

has become a prostitute!52

She was once a center of53 justice,

fairness resided in her,

but now only murderers.54

1:22Your55 silver has become scum,56

your beer is diluted with water.57

1:23Your officials are rebels,58

they associate with59 thieves.

All of them love bribery,

and look for60 payoffs.61

They do not take up the cause of the orphan,62

or defend the rights of the widow.63

1:24Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies,64

the powerful ruler of Israel,65 says this:

“Ah, I will seek vengeance66 against my adversaries,

I will take revenge against my enemies.67

1:25I will attack you;68

I will purify your metal with flux.69

I will remove all your slag.70

1:26I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,

wise advisers as in earlier days.71

Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,

Faithful Town.’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. 52 Heb “How she has become a prostitute, the faithful city!” The exclamatory אֵיכָה (’ekhah, “how!”) is used several times as the beginning of a lament (see Lam 1:1; 2; 1; 4:1–2). Unlike a number of other OT passages that link references to Israel’s harlotry to idolatry, Isaiah here makes the connection with social and moral violations.
  2. 53 Heb “filled with.”
  3. 54 Or “assassins.” This refers to the oppressive rich and/or their henchmen. R. Ortlund (Whoredom, 78) posits that it serves as a synecdoche for all varieties of criminals, the worst being mentioned to imply all lesser ones. Since Isaiah often addressed his strongest rebuke to the rulers and leaders of Israel, he may have in mind the officials who bore the responsibility to uphold justice and righteousness.
  4. 55 The pronoun is feminine singular; personified Jerusalem (see v. 21) is addressed.
  5. 56 Or “dross.” The word refers to the scum or impurites floating on the top of melted metal.
  6. 57 The metaphors of silver becoming impure and beer being watered down picture the moral and ethical degeneration that had occurred in Jerusalem.
  7. 58 Or “stubborn”; “have rejected me.”
  8. 59 Heb “and companions of” (so , ); “friends of crooks.”
  9. 60 Heb “pursue”; “chase after gifts.”
  10. 61 Isaiah may have chosen the word for gifts (שַׁלְמוֹנִים, shalmonim; a hapax legomena here), as a sarcastic pun on what these rulers should have been doing. Instead of attending to peace and wholeness (שָׁלוֹם, shalom), they sought after payoffs (שַׁלְמוֹנִים).
  11. 62 See the note at v. .
  12. 63 The rich oppressors referred to in Isaiah and the other eighth century prophets were not rich capitalists in the modern sense of the word. They were members of the royal military and judicial bureaucracies in Israel and Judah. As these bureaucracies grew, they acquired more and more land and gradually commandeered the economy and legal system. At various administrative levels bribery and graft become commonplace. The common people outside the urban administrative centers were vulnerable to exploitation in such a system, especially those, like widows and orphans, who had lost their family provider through death. Through confiscatory taxation, conscription, excessive interest rates, and other oppressive governmental measures and policies, they were gradually disenfranchised and lost their landed property, and with it, their rights as citizens. The socio-economic equilibrium envisioned in the law of Moses was radically disturbed.
  13. 64 Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. .
  14. 65 Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”
  15. 66 Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); “pour out my wrath on.”
  16. 67 The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.
  17. 68 Heb “turn my hand against you.” The second person pronouns in vv. 25–26 are feminine singular. Personified Jerusalem is addressed. The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack,” in Ps 81:15 (81:14 ); Ezek 38:12; Am 1:8; Zech 13:7. In Jer 6:9 it is used of gleaning grapes.
  18. 69 Heb “I will purify your dross as [with] flux.” “Flux” refers here to minerals added to the metals in a furnace to prevent oxides from forming. For this interpretation of II בֹּר (bor), see II בֹּר and 750 סִיג.
  19. 70 The metaphor comes from metallurgy; slag is the substance left over after the metallic ore has been refined.
  20. 71 Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

How the faithful city

has become a whore,

she who was full of justice!

Righteousness lodged in her,

but now murderers.

Your silver has become dross,

your best wine mixed with water.

Your princes are rebels

and companions of thieves.

Everyone loves a bribe

and runs after gifts.

They do not bring justice to the fatherless,

and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

Therefore the Lord declares,

the Lord of hosts,

the Mighty One of Israel:

“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies

and avenge myself on my foes.

I will turn my hand against you

and will smelt away your dross as with lye

and remove all your alloy.

And I will restore your judges as at the first,

and your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,

the faithful city.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

See how the faithful city

has become a prostitute!

She once was full of justice;

righteousness used to dwell in her—

but now murderers!

Your silver has become dross,

your choice wine is diluted with water.

Your rulers are rebels,

partners with thieves;

they all love bribes

and chase after gifts.

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

the widow’s case does not come before them.

Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes

and avenge myself on my enemies.

I will turn my hand against you;

I will thoroughly purge away your dross

and remove all your impurities.

I will restore your leaders as in days of old,

your rulers as at the beginning.

Afterward you will be called

the City of Righteousness,

the Faithful City.”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The faithful town—

what an adulteress she has become!

She was once full of justice.

Righteousness once dwelt in her,

but now, murderers!

Your silver has become dross to be discarded,

your beer is diluted with water.

Your rulers are rebels,

friends of thieves.

They all love graft

and chase after bribes.

They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,

and the widow’s case never comes before them.

Therefore the Lord God of Armies,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

“Ah, I will get even with my foes;

I will take revenge against my enemies.

I will turn my hand against you

and will burn away your dross completely;

I will remove all your impurities.

I will restore your judges to what they were at first,

and your advisers to what they were at the start.

Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,

a Faithful Town.”

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

See how Jerusalem, once so faithful,

has become a prostitute.

Once the home of justice and righteousness,

she is now filled with murderers.

Once like pure silver,

you have become like worthless slag.

Once so pure,

you are now like watered-down wine.

Your leaders are rebels,

the companions of thieves.

All of them love bribes

and demand payoffs,

but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans

or fight for the rights of widows.

Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

the Mighty One of Israel, says,

“I will take revenge on my enemies

and pay back my foes!

I will raise my fist against you.

I will melt you down and skim off your slag.

I will remove all your impurities.

Then I will give you good judges again

and wise counselors like you used to have.

Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice

and the Faithful City.”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

How has a faithful city become like a whore?

Full of justice, righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

Your silver has become as dross;

Your wine is diluted with waters.

Your princes are rebels

and companions of thieves.

Every one loves a bribe

and runs after gifts.

They do not defend the orphan

and the legal dispute of the widow does not come before them.

Therefore, the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:

“Ah, I will be relieved of my enemies,

and I will avenge myself on my foes.

And I will turn my hand against you;

I will purify your dross like lye,

and I will remove all of your tin.

And I will restore your judges, as at the first,

and your counselors, as at the beginning.

After this you will be called the city of righteousness,

faithful city.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

How is the faithful city become an harlot!

It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it;

But now murderers.

Thy silver is become dross,

Thy wine mixed with water:

Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves:

Every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards:

They judge not the fatherless,

Neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel,

Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries,

And avenge me of mine enemies:

And I will turn my hand upon thee,

And purely purge away thy dross,

And take away all thy tin:

And I will restore thy judges as at the first,

And thy counsellers as at the beginning:

Afterward thou shalt be called,

The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

Public Domain