a decision if one starts out from an attempt to move outwards from what is initially determined as an ‘Isaianic’ core. The text as we have it has its own literary integrity which needs first to be reckoned with, and suggestions that, say, v. 11 is a misplaced variant or the like are wide of the mark. So far, then, we have determined that the passage is made up of two clearly marked sections, vv. 6–9 and 10–19. The next question has to be whether they were related from the start or whether their juxtaposition