Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 4:2–6

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The Branch of the Lord

4:2At that time6

the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor;7

the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight

to those who remain in Israel.8

4:3Those remaining in Zion,9 those left in Jerusalem,10

will be called “holy,”11

all in Jerusalem who are destined to live.12

4:4At that time13 the sovereign master14 will wash the excrement15 from Zion’s women,

he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst,16

as he comes to judge

and to bring devastation.17

4:5Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion18

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night;19

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence.20

4:6By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,

as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour.21

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Footnotes

  1. 6 Or “in that day” ().
  2. 7 Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh yéhvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so , , , , , , and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23; 5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23–24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26–29; and Amos 9:13–14).
  3. 8 Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”
  4. 9 The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in .
  5. 10 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
  6. 11 Or “set apart,” cf. “special.”
  7. 12 Heb “all who are written down for life in Jerusalem.” A city register is envisioned; everyone whose name appears on the roll will be spared. This group comprises the remnant of the city referred to earlier in the verse.
  8. 13 Heb “when” (so , , ); “after”; “once.”
  9. 14 The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
  10. 15 The word refers elsewhere to vomit (Isa 28:8) and fecal material (Isa 36:12). Many English versions render this somewhat euphemistically as “filth” (e.g., , , ). Ironically in God’s sight the beautiful jewelry described earlier is nothing but vomit and feces, for it symbolizes the moral decay of the city’s residents (cf. “moral filth”).
  11. 16 See 1:21 for a related concept.
  12. 17 Heb “by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” The precise meaning of the second half of the verse is uncertain. רוּחַ (ruakh) can be understood as “wind” in which case the passage pictures the Lord using a destructive wind as an instrument of judgment. However, this would create a mixed metaphor, for the first half of the verse uses the imagery of washing and rinsing to depict judgment. Perhaps the image would be that of a windstorm accompanied by heavy rain. רוּחַ can also mean “spirit,” in which case the verse may be referring to the Lord’s Spirit or, more likely, to a disposition that the Lord brings to the task of judgment. It is also uncertain if בָּעַר (ba’ar) here means “burning” or “sweeping away, devastating.”
  13. 18 Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. “Jerusalem”; “the whole city.”
  14. 19 Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire. The imagery of the cloud by day and fire by night recalls the days of Moses, when a cloud and fire were tangible reminders that the Lord was guiding and protecting his people (Exod 13:21–22; 14:19, 24). In the future age envisioned in Isa 4, the Lord’s protective presence will be a reality.
  15. 20 Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34–35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.
  16. 21 Heb “a shelter it will be for shade by day from heat, and for a place of refuge and for a hiding place from cloudburst and rain.” Since both of the last nouns of this verse can mean rain, they can either refer to the rain storm and the rain as distinct items or together refer to a heavy downpour. Regardless, they do not represent unrelated phenomena.

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

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors. Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy—all in Jerusalem written in the book of life—when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory, and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

But in that day, the branch of the Lord

will be beautiful and glorious;

the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory

of all who survive in Israel.

All who remain in Zion

will be a holy people—

those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem

and are recorded among the living.

The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion

and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains

with the hot breath of fiery judgment.

Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion

and all who assemble there.

He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day

and smoke and flaming fire at night,

covering the glorious land.

It will be a shelter from daytime heat

and a hiding place from storms and rain.

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

On that day the branch of Yahweh shall become beautiful and glorious,

and the fruit of the land shall become the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel.

And this shall happen: He who is left in Zion

and he who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy,

everyone written for life in Jerusalem,

when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion

and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from her midst

by a spirit of judgment

and by a spirit of burning.

Then Yahweh will create over all of the site of Mount Zion

and over her assembly a cloud by day

and smoke and the brightness of flaming fire by night.

Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy,

and it will be a shelter for shade from the heat by day,

and a refuge and a hiding place from rainstorm and from rain.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious,

And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely

For them that are escaped of Israel.

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion,

And he that remaineth in Jerusalem,

Shall be called holy,

Even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,

And shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof

By the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion,

And upon her assemblies,

A cloud and smoke by day,

And the shining of a flaming fire by night:

For upon all the glory shall be a defence.

And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat,

And for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Public Domain