Call to Repentance and Promise of Renewal
Isaiah 32:9-20
Isa.32.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שאננות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קמנה: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,pl
- שמענה: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,pl
- קולי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1
- בנות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בטחות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- האזנה: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,pl
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 3:16 (thematic): Rebuke of proud/haughty women—both passages condemn the 'daughters' of Zion for complacency and arrogant behavior and predict divine judgment.
- Amos 6:1 (verbal): Uses the phrase 'those who are at ease in Zion' (or 'at ease'), echoing the charge against people who are complacent and therefore warned to 'arise' or be roused.
- Proverbs 1:20-23 (thematic): Wisdom crying aloud and calling people to 'give ear' parallels Isaiah's command to the complacent women to hear and heed a warning or instruction.
- Jeremiah 6:10 (thematic): Speaks of people who will not listen ('their ears are uncircumcised'), a related motif of stubborn refusal to hear divine warning like Isaiah's call to 'hear my voice.'
Alternative generated candidates
- O complacent women, arise—hear my voice; you careless daughters, give ear to my speech.
- You complacent women, arise; hear my voice—O careless daughters, give ear, I said.
Isa.32.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תרגזנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- בטחות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- כלה: ADV
- בציר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אסף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בלי: PREP
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Jer.8:20 (verbal): Uses the same language and image — “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” — expressing despair at the end of the season with no deliverance.
- Joel 1:10-12 (thematic): Describes agricultural devastation and communal mourning (fields dried up, joy withered), paralleling the motif of failed harvest and lament.
- Isa.3:16-17 (thematic): Addresses complacent/secure women of Zion who are summoned to shame and mourning for coming judgment—connects to the admonition against complacency in Isa.32:10.
- Amos 8:1-2 (allusion): The image of summer/harvest as a sign of impending judgment (basket of summer fruit) echoes the end-of-harvest-as-omen motif in Isa.32:10.
Alternative generated candidates
- For days and years you shall tremble, you complacent ones; the harvest is ended, the vintage finished—there is no gathering in.
- For days and years the complacent shall be vexed, because the harvest is ended, the vintage past, and there is none to bring it in.
Isa.32.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חרדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שאננות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רגזה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בטחות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- פשטה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- וערה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- וחגורה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- חלצים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 22:12-13 (thematic): Both passages confront complacency with a summons to lament—Isaiah 22 calls for weeping and mourning in response to the Lord’s coming judgment, echoing the call in Isa. 32:11 to strip, don sackcloth, and lament.
- Micah 1:8 (verbal): Micah’s language—'I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked'—parallels Isa. 32:11’s imagery of stripping and public lamentation, using similar bodily gestures of mourning.
- Joel 1:8 (verbal): Joel exhorts women to mourn and gird themselves with sackcloth for the ruined vine—closely related ritual language (sackcloth, public lament) found in Isa. 32:11.
- Lamentations 2:10 (verbal): Lamentations depicts elders casting dust on their heads and girding themselves with sackcloth—ritual signs of mourning that mirror the actions commanded in Isa. 32:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- Tremble, you complacent; quake, you careless daughters—strip yourselves, make yourselves bare; put on sackcloth and gird yourselves with mourning.
- Tremble, you complacent ones; be agitated, you careless daughters: strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
Isa.32.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- שדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ספדים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמד: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- גפן: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פריה: NOUN,m,sg+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 12:10-11 (verbal): Speaks of 'pleasant portion' and a vineyard made desolate—language and the image of formerly fruitful fields laid waste closely parallel שדי־חמד and the call to lament over ruined fields in Isa 32:12.
- Joel 1:8-12 (thematic): A direct call to daughters to sit in sackcloth and lament for the husbandry, vine and fig tree that are ruined—shares the theme of communal mourning for devastated crops and vines.
- Isaiah 5:1-6 (thematic): The parable of the vineyard expected to yield grapes but left desolate under judgment—echoes the motif of a fruitful vine becoming ruined and the need for lament.
- Psalm 80:8-16 (thematic): Laments over a vine brought out of Egypt that has been broken down and calls for restoration—parallels Isa 32:12’s imagery of a once-fruitful vine and communal lament.
Alternative generated candidates
- Mourn for the pleasant pastures, for the fields of delight, for the fruitful vine.
- Wail over the pleasant fields, and over the fruitful vine;
Isa.32.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- אדמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- קוץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תעלה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- בתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- משוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קריה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עליזה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:6 (verbal): Same prophetic image: God will make the land a wasteland and ‘briers and thorns shall grow up,’ linking judgment with overrun vegetation.
- Isaiah 34:13 (verbal): Describes thorns and thistles growing in the palaces/fortresses of a city laid waste—parallel language of urban desolation by invasive plants.
- Jeremiah 9:11 (thematic): God declares he will make Jerusalem and the cities of Judah a desolation—echoes the theme of a once‑joyous city reduced to ruin.
- Matthew 23:38 (allusion): Jesus’ pronouncement ‘your house is left to you desolate’ echoes the prophetic motif of divine judgment leaving a formerly joyful/inhabited city desolate.
Alternative generated candidates
- On the land of my people briers and thorns shall spring up, for all the houses of gladness in the joyful city.
- for thorns and briers shall come up on the land of my people; yes, on all the houses where joy was, and on the glad city.
Isa.32.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- ארמון: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- נטש: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- המון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עיר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עזב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עפל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובחן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בעד: PREP
- מערות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עד: PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פראים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מרעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עדרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 9:11 (thematic): Jeremiah depicts God making cities into heaps and dens for wild animals—parallel theme of a once-inhabited fortress/city abandoned and given over to beasts (desolation imagery).
- Jeremiah 50:39 (thematic): Babylon is prophesied to become a haunt for wild animals and shepherds' pastures; echoes the image of an abandoned stronghold turned into grazing ground and lair for wild creatures (pasture/den imagery).
- Ezekiel 6:6 (thematic): Ezekiel announces that cities and high places will be laid waste so that flocks may lie down in them—similar motif of ruined settlements becoming pastures and shelters for flocks.
- Isaiah 24:10 (structural): Within the same book Isaiah speaks of ruined cities and houses left to the forests and beasts; close structural and thematic resonance with the picture of abandoned fortresses and desolation in 32:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the palace is forsaken, the multitude has left the city; it lies deserted and made into caves forever— a haunt of wild animals, a pasture for flocks.
- For the citadel is forsaken, the populous city abandoned; the hill and the watchtower are made into caves for ever— a delight for wild beasts, a pasture for flocks.
Isa.32.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- יערה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עלינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ממרום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- לכרמל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והכרמל: CONJ+NOUN,prop,m,sg,def
- ליער: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יחשב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Joel 2:28-29 (verbal): Both speak of God pouring out His Spirit from on high upon people—Isaiah's 'Spirit ... from on high' echoes Joel's promise to 'pour out my Spirit on all flesh.'
- Isaiah 44:3 (verbal): Close verbal and thematic parallel: God promises to 'pour water on the thirsty land' and 'pour out my Spirit'—linking renewal of the land with the outpouring of the Spirit as in Isa 32:15.
- Ezekiel 36:25-27 (allusion): Ezekiel pairs cleansing and renewal of the land/people with God putting His Spirit within them—a theological parallel to Isaiah's connection of the Spirit's outpouring and the desert becoming fruitful.
- Isaiah 35:1-2 (thematic): Same prophetic motif of transformation of the wilderness into flourishing land—'the wilderness shall rejoice and blossom' parallels Isa 32:15's wilderness-to-forest imagery.
- Acts 2:17 (quotation): Peter quotes Joel (and thus reiterates the promise to pour out the Spirit). Acts links the prophetic outpouring of the Spirit to fulfillment, echoing Isaiah's expectation of Spirit-led renewal.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, then the wilderness shall become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be accounted a forest.
- Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high; then the wilderness shall become like Carmel, and Carmel shall be reckoned as a forest.
Isa.32.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושכן: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וצדקה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בכרמל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תשב: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 35:1-2 (thematic): Desert and wilderness are transformed and blossom—same motif of barren land becoming verdant, paralleling justice and righteousness 'dwelling' in the wilderness and field.
- Isaiah 41:17-20 (thematic): God makes rivers and plantings in the desert and causes the wilderness to yield—imagery of divine restoration and provision that echoes justice/righteousness filling wasteland.
- Ezekiel 36:34-35 (structural): The desolate land will be cultivated and inhabited again—a restoration motif structurally parallel to justice and righteousness taking up residence in formerly barren places.
- Isaiah 61:11 (verbal): ‘The Lord will cause righteousness to spring up’ using agricultural growth imagery—directly links righteousness to the land’s renewal, echoing Isa 32:16’s pairing of righteousness and productive ground.
Alternative generated candidates
- Justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will abide in the fruitful field.
- And justice shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.
Isa.32.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הצדקה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועבדת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הצדקה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- השקט: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובטח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 85:10 (verbal): The verse pairs righteousness and peace ('righteousness and peace have kissed' / 'righteousness — peace'), a close verbal echo of Isaiah 32:17's link between 'the work of righteousness' and 'peace.'
- Romans 14:17 (thematic): Paul lists 'righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' as marks of God's kingdom, thematically echoing Isaiah's connection between righteousness and the resulting peace and assurance.
- Isaiah 54:14 (thematic): Promises security grounded in righteousness ('In righteousness you shall be established...'), paralleling Isaiah 32:17's idea that righteousness produces peace, quietness, and confidence.
- Isaiah 26:3 (thematic): Speaks of God keeping the steadfast in 'perfect peace' because of trust; parallels Isaiah 32:17's portrayal of peace and lasting assurance flowing from right relationship/trust/righteousness.
- Isaiah 32:18 (structural): Immediate context: 'My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation...'—an internal parallel that develops the same theme of dwelling in peace and security produced by righteousness.
Alternative generated candidates
- The effect of righteousness shall be peace; the fruit of righteousness, quietness and security forever.
- The effect of righteousness shall be peace; and the result of righteousness, quietness and security for ever.
Isa.32.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- בנוה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובמשכנות: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מבטחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ובמנוחת: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,const
- שאננות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 4:8 (verbal): Uses similar language of lying down or dwelling in peace and safety under the LORD's protection ('I will both lay me down in peace... for thou, LORD, makest me dwell in safety').
- Psalm 91:1-2 (thematic): Shares the theme of dwelling securely under God's care ('He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty'), echoing peace and safety for God's people.
- Isaiah 33:20 (verbal): Within Isaiah itself, this verse pictures Zion as a 'peaceful/quiet habitation,' closely mirroring the imagery of a settled, tranquil dwelling in 32:18.
- Ezekiel 34:25-28 (thematic): God's promise of a 'covenant of peace' and that his people will 'dwell safely' and rest without fear parallels Isaiah's assurance of secure, peaceful dwellings.
Alternative generated candidates
- My people shall live in a peaceful dwelling, in secure habitations, and in restful quiet.
- My people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in tranquil resting-places.
Isa.32.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וברד: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברדת: PREP+VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg
- היער: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובשפלה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- תשפל: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Joel 1:10-12 (thematic): Both passages picture trees and all the trees of the field ruined and the land mourning, linking devastation of vegetation with communal ruin and shame for the people/city.
- Jeremiah 4:26-28 (structural): Jeremiah depicts the land and cities laid waste and abandoned to desolation—a close structural parallel to the image of forest and city brought low in Isaiah 32:19.
- Ezekiel 26:4-6 (thematic): Ezekiel’s oracle against Tyre speaks of nations coming to make a proud city a ruin; like Isaiah 32:19 it emphasizes the humbling and leveling of an urban center under divine judgment.
- Nahum 1:5-6 (verbal): Nahum employs convulsions of nature and the humiliation of fortified places (mountains melt, strongholds laid low), echoing Isaiah’s coupling of environmental violence and the bringing down of the city.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when the forest is brought low, the city shall be humbled in the plain.
- Yet when the hail falls, the forest shall be felled, and the city shall be brought low in the plain.
Isa.32.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשריכם: ADJ,m,pl,abs,2,mp
- זרעי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- משלחי: VERB,qal,ptcp,act,NA,m,pl,cons
- רגל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- השור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והחמור: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Zech.8.12 (verbal): Speaks of seed prospering, the ground giving its increase and the heavens giving dew — closely echoes Isaiah’s image of sowing and abundant water/irrigation producing fruitful harvests.
- Ps.107.37-38 (thematic): Describes people who sow fields and plant vineyards and receive God’s blessing so that their herds are not diminished — parallels the double emphasis on sowing and the welfare of oxen/donkeys in Isaiah 32:20.
- Ps.65.9-10 (thematic): God ‘visits the earth and waters it,’ enriching it so that those who sow reap bountifully; echoes the motif of watered land and fruitful sowing in Isaiah 32:20.
- Gen.26.12 (thematic): Isaac’s sowing and a hundredfold harvest exemplifies the motif of blessed sowing and abundant return that underlies the image of sowing beside waters.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the ox’s and the donkey’s feet.
- Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the feet of the ox and the donkey.
You complacent women, arise; hear my voice, O careless daughters— give ear, I say.
For days and years you shall be troubled, O complacent ones; for the harvest is ended, the vintage finished, and there is no one to bring it in.
Tremble, O complacent; be agitated, O careless— strip yourselves and put on sackcloth; gird yourselves with sackcloth about your loins.
On the terraces make lamentation—for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
On the land of my people shall rise thorns and briers, for all the houses of merriment and the joyful city are left desolate.
For the palace is forsaken, the crowded city abandoned; the hill and the watchtower have become a haunt forever— a refuge for wild beasts, a pasture for flocks.
When the Spirit from on high is poured out upon us, the wilderness will become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be reckoned as a forest.
Justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will abide in the fruitful field.
The effect of righteousness will be peace; the result of righteousness, quietness and security forever.
My people will live in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
When the hail sweeps through, the forest will be felled, and the city shall be brought low to the plain.
Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who let the ox’s and the donkey’s feet range free.