Woes to Israel and Coming Judgment
Isaiah 5:8-30
Isa.5.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- מגיעי: VERB,qal,ptc,pl,m
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- שדה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשדה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יקריבו: VERB,hiph,impf,3,pl
- עד: PREP
- אפס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והושבתם: CONJ+VERB,hiph,perf,2,m,pl
- לבדכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בקרב: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Micah 2:2 (verbal): Uses nearly the same imagery of coveting and seizing fields and houses—condemnation of land-grabbing and dispossession (fields and houses taken until no space remains).
- Amos 5:11 (thematic): Condemns the wealthy who build grand houses and exploit others; promises they will not inhabit what they have amassed—parallel theme of accumulation met by judgment and loss of dwellings.
- Jeremiah 22:13 (thematic): Woe against those who build houses by injustice and force neighbors to labor without pay—connects accumulation of property with exploitation and divine condemnation.
- Luke 12:16-21 (thematic): Parable of the rich fool who stores up possessions and builds larger barns—New Testament critique of selfish accumulation and the sudden removal of possessions, echoing Isaiah's judgment on hoarding land/houses.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who join house to house and add field to field, until there is no room and you alone are left in the midst of the land.
- Woe to those who join house to house and add field to field, until there is no place left — so that you alone remain in the midst of the land.
Isa.5.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- באזני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cstr
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- בתים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לשמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- גדלים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- וטובים: CONJ+ADJ,m,pl
- מאין: ADV,interrog
- יושב: VERB,qal,ptcp,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Amos 5:11 (verbal): Language and idea closely parallel—those who build grand houses will not dwell in them (‘‘you build houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them’’), echoing Isaiah’s image of large beautiful houses left without inhabitants.
- Micah 2:1-2 (thematic): Condemns coveting and seizing fields and houses; links social injustice in land/house accumulation to coming divine judgment, the same social context behind Isaiah’s desolated houses.
- Haggai 1:4-9 (thematic): Criticizes people dwelling in paneled/handsome houses while God’s house lies waste—connects lavish private building and misplaced priorities with divine displeasure and consequences.
- Lamentations 1:1 (thematic): Poetic depiction of a once populous city now desolate and its houses empty; thematically parallels Isaiah’s motif of large houses rendered uninhabited by judgment.
- Jeremiah 22:13-14 (thematic): Denounces building by unrighteousness and announces loss of the house—parallels Isaiah’s judgment motif where prosperous houses become desolate because of injustice.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the hearing of the LORD of hosts this will be so: large and fair houses will be left desolate, without inhabitant.
- When the LORD of hosts hears it, will not many houses be left desolate, great and fair, without inhabitant?
Isa.5.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- עשרת: NUM,card,ten,cons
- צמדי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- כרם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעשו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- וזרע: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- איפה: ADV
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:38 (verbal): Part of the covenant curses: sowing much but gathering little—directly parallels the image of very poor yield as divine judgment.
- Micah 6:15 (verbal): Speaks of sowing but not reaping and treading olives without obtaining oil—uses the same agricultural imagery of fruitless labor under judgment.
- Jeremiah 12:13 (thematic): Describes sowing wheat yet reaping thorns—another prophetic depiction of cursed, unproductive land and failed harvests.
- Amos 4:9 (thematic): God’s sending of blight and failing gardens and vineyards as punishment, producing crop failure and scarcity similar to Isaiah’s low yields.
Alternative generated candidates
- For ten measures of vineyard will yield but one jar, and a homer of seed will yield but an ephah.
- For ten measures of vineyard will yield only one bath, and a homer of seed will yield only an ephah.
Isa.5.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- משכימי: PART,qal,part,m,pl,abs
- בבקר: PREP
- שכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ירדפו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מאחרי: PREP
- בנשף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידליקם: VERB,hifil,imperfect,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 23:20-21 (verbal): Warns against associating with drinkers and gluttons and the ruin that follows—parallels Isaiah's admonition about pursuing wine and its destructive effects.
- Proverbs 20:1 (verbal): Declares that wine is a mocker and strong drink a brawler, echoing the negative moral assessment of intoxication found in Isaiah 5:11.
- Amos 6:4-6 (thematic): Condemns the complacent elite who indulge in feasting, drinking and revelry—a prophetic critique closely related to Isaiah's woe against those who chase wine.
- Hosea 4:11 (verbal): States that whoredom and wine take away understanding, linking intoxication with moral and intellectual degradation as in Isaiah 5:11.
- Ephesians 5:18 (thematic): New Testament moral injunction not to be drunk with wine but to be filled with the Spirit; echoes the prophetic condemnation of excessive drinking and its consequences.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who rise early for strong drink and stay late, inflamed by wine;
- Woe to those who rise early to pursue intoxicating drink, who stay up late, inflamed by wine;
Isa.5.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כנור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונבל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחליל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משתיהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,du
- ואת: CONJ
- פעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יביטו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ומעשה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,suff:3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ראו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 28:5 (verbal): Uses nearly identical wording—'they do not regard the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands'—linking failure to see God's deeds with divine judgment.
- Psalm 94:7-8 (thematic): Condemns those who act as if God does not see or regard, echoing Isaiah's charge that the revelers 'do not look' at the LORD's works.
- Jeremiah 5:21-22 (thematic): Accuses the people of having eyes but not seeing God's acts and follows with a reminder of God's mighty works (e.g., restraining the sea), paralleling Isaiah's rebuke for failing to consider God's deeds.
- Isaiah 5:11 (structural): Immediate context within the same 'Song of the Vineyard'—describes revelry and drinking (music and wine) that lead into the statement that they do not regard the work of the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- who have harp and lyre, tambourine and flute, and wine at their feasts, yet do not regard the work of the LORD nor see the deeds of his hands.
- who, with harp and lyre, drum and pipe, and with wine in hand make merry, yet do not regard the work of the LORD, nor see the handiwork of his hands.
Isa.5.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- גלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- מבלי: PREP
- דעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וכבודו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+poss3ms
- מתי: ADV,int
- רעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והמונו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+poss3ms
- צחה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- צמא: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 4:6 (verbal): Direct verbal and thematic parallel: 'My people are destroyed/are gone for lack of knowledge'—both condemn national ruin caused by absence/rejection of knowledge.
- Amos 8:11 (thematic): Uses famine imagery for spiritual failure: a coming 'famine... of hearing the words of the LORD' parallels Isaiah's hunger and thirst language tied to lack of knowledge.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (allusion): Contrast/parallel in imagery: Israel forsaking 'the fountain of living waters'—underscores spiritual thirst and loss that leads to national distress.
- Joel 1:10-12 (structural): Judgment pictured as drought and famine—physical scarcity (dried-up, famished) mirrors Isaiah's depiction of leaders and people suffering for moral/spiritual failure.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored ones hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst.
- Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their glory is famished, their multitude are parched and thirsty.
Isa.5.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- הרחיבה: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,f,sg
- שאול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRONSUF,3,f,sg
- ופערה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- פיה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f
- לבלי: PREP
- חק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וירד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- הדרה: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3fs
- והמונה: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3fs
- ושאונה: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3fs
- ועלז: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 16:30-33 (verbal): Earth 'opened its mouth' and swallowed Korah's company — closely parallels the imagery of an opening, consuming pit in Isa 5:14.
- Proverbs 1:12-13 (thematic): Speaks of swallowing victims 'like the grave'/'like those who go down to the pit,' using the same swallow/Sheol motif of destruction.
- Jonah 2:2-6 (allusion): Jonah's prayer from 'the belly of Sheol' and language of being swallowed and lifted from the depths echoes the motif of a wide‑opening Sheol in Isa 5:14.
- Isaiah 14:15 (thematic): Describes the proud being brought down to Sheol and the sides of the pit — a thematically parallel consequence (descent into the grave) of arrogant or doomed nations/people.
- Amos 9:2-3 (thematic): Affirms Sheol as an inescapable, enclosing place ('if they dig into Sheol... from there my hand will take them'), resonating with Isa 5:14's depiction of Sheol enlarging and receiving the proud.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their revelry, and he who exults shall descend into it.
- Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure; its glory and its multitude, its tumult and he who rejoices, shall descend into it.
Isa.5.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישפל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- גבהים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- תשפלנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 2:17 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about humbling human pride—'the loftiness of man shall be humbled' (same verb/theme of abasement).
- Luke 14:11 (thematic): Jesus' reversal motif—'whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted'—echoes the theme of humbling the proud.
- James 4:6 (thematic): 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble' parallels the divine action of bringing down the haughty and lifting the lowly.
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (thematic): Prophetic denunciation of pride—though one soars to the heights, God will bring them down—parallel imagery of lowering the proud.
- Psalm 75:7 (thematic): Declares God as judge who 'puts down one, and sets up another,' resonating with the motif of humbling the exalted and exalting the lowly.
Alternative generated candidates
- The lowly are humbled, the poor are bowed down, and the eyes of the proud are brought low.
- Man is bowed down, the man is humbled; the haughty eyes are humbled.
Isa.5.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויגבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והאל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- הקדוש: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- נקדש: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- בצדקה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 6:3 (verbal): Both verses pair the titles 'LORD of hosts' (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת) and divine holiness; Isaiah 6:3's thrice‑holy proclamation ('קדוש קדוש קדוש') echoes the sanctification of the Holy God in Isa 5:16.
- Psalm 9:8 (Hebrew 9:9/English 9:8) (thematic): Speaks of God judging the world in righteousness ('וְהוּא יִשְׁפֹּט תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק'), paralleling Isa 5:16's theme of the LORD being exalted in judgment and righteousness being the ground for God's sanctification.
- Psalm 96:13 (Hebrew 96:13/English 96:13) (thematic): Declares that the LORD will come to judge the earth and will judge with righteousness ('שֹׁפֵטָהּ בְּצֶדֶק'), reinforcing Isa 5:16's link between God's judgment and righteousness.
- Habakkuk 2:20 (allusion): Proclaims 'But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him' (וְה' בְּהֵיכָלוֹ קָדוֹשׁ), echoing Isa 5:16's focus on God's holiness and the proper reverent recognition of that holiness.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the LORD of hosts will be exalted by justice, and the Holy God will be sanctified by righteousness.
- But the LORD of hosts will be exalted by justice; the Holy God will be sanctified by righteousness.
Isa.5.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ורעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- כבשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כדברם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,pl
- וחרבות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- גרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:7 (verbal): Uses almost identical imagery of the land laid waste and strangers/devourers consuming it (“your land, strangers devour it in your presence”), a close verbal parallel to foreigners eating the produce.
- Deuteronomy 28:30-33 (verbal): Part of the covenant curses: crops and vineyards taken or eaten by others and the people scattered—direct thematic and verbal agreement with strangers eating the land’s produce as judgment.
- Leviticus 26:32-33 (thematic): Promises of desolation and scattering as punishment—land left desolate and people scattered among nations echo the outcome in Isaiah 5:17 (land given over, foreign consumption).
- Hosea 4:3 (thematic): Depicts the land mourning and both people and animals suffering loss as a result of covenant unfaithfulness; shares the motif of environmental/social devastation where the land and its produce are consumed or destroyed.
Alternative generated candidates
- Lambs shall graze in their pastures, each following its pasture; and the swords of the mighty will devour the inhabitants.
- And lambs shall graze in their pastures as before, yet the swords of strangers will devour.
Isa.5.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- משכי: VERB,qal,ptc,mp
- העון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בחבלי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- השוא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וכעבות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- העגלה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- חטאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:22 (verbal): Uses nearly identical imagery—'the cords of his sins'/'held with the cords of his sin'—describing how iniquity ensnares and binds the sinner, paralleling Isaiah's 'drawing sin with cords.'
- John 8:34 (thematic): Asserts that those who sin are 'slaves to sin,' echoing Isaiah's depiction of people who habitually 'drag' or bind themselves to iniquity as a settled condition.
- Romans 6:16 (thematic): Speaks of being enslaved to the power one serves—'either of sin, which leads to death'—resonating with Isaiah's image of sin as a binding force that people deliberately cling to.
- Amos 6:1-7 (structural): Another prophetic 'woe' oracle condemning complacent, unrepentant sinners whose lifestyle ignores justice; structurally and thematically akin to Isaiah’s denunciation of persistent, habitual sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who draw sin with cords of falsehood and draw iniquity as with cart-ropes;
- Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood and pull sin along like a cart rope.
Isa.5.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- האמרים: VERB,qal,ptc,0,m,pl,def
- ימהר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יחישה: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- מעשהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suf3m
- למען: PREP
- נראה: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- ותקרב: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ותבואה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- עצת: NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- קדוש: ADJ,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונדעה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:20 (structural): Immediate literary context: 5:19 records the scoffers' cry for God to hasten his work; 5:20 follows with the prophetic woe pronouncing judgment on those who invert good and evil.
- Amos 5:18-20 (thematic): Both passages address people who eagerly desire the 'day of the LORD' to come quickly; Amos warns that such longing is misplaced because the coming day will bring judgment, not vindication.
- Habakkuk 3:2 (verbal): Habakkuk petitions God to 'revive thy work… make it known,' echoing the language of hastening or revealing God's action found in Isaiah 5:19.
- Psalm 119:126 (verbal): 'It is time for thee, LORD, to work' uses similar rhetoric about the timing and hastening of God's activity—comparable vocabulary and concern with divine action being brought to light.
- Revelation 22:20 (allusion): The New Testament acclamation 'Come, Lord Jesus' (and 'come quickly') parallels the cry for God to come soon; however, Revelation frames the plea as faithful longing rather than the scoffing demand of Isaiah 5:19.
Alternative generated candidates
- who say, “Hasten it, let his work speedily be done, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it.”
- Who say, “Let him hurry; let his work be carried out, that we may see it. Let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it.”
Isa.5.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- האמרים: VERB,qal,ptcp,0,m,pl
- לרע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ולטוב: CONJ+PREP+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לאור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואור: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחשך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למתוק: PREP+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ומתוק: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- למר: PREP+ADJ,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:14-15 (thematic): Describes moral perversion and truth abandoned—'justice is turned back' and 'truth hath fallen'—parallel condemnation of inverting moral categories.
- Romans 1:25 (verbal): Paul says people 'exchanged the truth of God for a lie,' echoing the theme of reversing truth and calling evil good.
- Proverbs 17:15 (thematic): Condemns perverting justice—'he that justifies the wicked, and he that condemns the just'—a moral inversion like calling good evil and evil good.
- Jeremiah 5:30-31 (allusion): Speaks of prophets prophesying lies and people loving it—similar rebuke of a society that accepts falsehoods and reverses moral judgment.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (thematic): Paul describes God sending a delusion so people 'believe a lie' and are judged for approving evil—resonant with Isaiah's denunciation of calling evil good.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
- Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Isa.5.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- חכמים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בעיניהם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,poss-3,m,pl
- ונגד: CONJ+PREP
- פניהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- נבנים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:7 (verbal): Explicitly admonishes 'Be not wise in thine own eyes,' a near-verbatim equivalent warning against self-confident wisdom found in Isa 5:21.
- Proverbs 26:12 (verbal): Uses the same idea—'a man wise in his own conceit'—and declares such self-assured wisdom folly, paralleling Isaiah's rebuke.
- Romans 12:16 (verbal): New Testament echo: 'Be not wise in your own conceits,' repeating the OT warning against presumptuous self-sufficiency in judgment.
- Jeremiah 9:23-24 (thematic): Contrasts human boasting in wisdom with the Lord's values; warns against trusting one's own wisdom and glorying in it, thematically close to Isa 5:21.
- Galatians 6:3 (thematic): Warns that self-assessment can be deceptive ('if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing...'), echoing the theme of self-deceptive wisdom in Isaiah.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
- Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight.
Isa.5.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוי: INTJ
- גבורים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לשתות: INF,qal
- יין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואנשי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- חיל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למסך: VERB,qal,inf
- שכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:11 (verbal): Same denunciatory 'woe' language condemning those who rise early to pursue intoxicating drink; shares vocabulary and chapter-wide critique of revelers.
- Isaiah 28:7 (verbal): Uses nearly identical imagery of reeling/staggering with wine and strong drink and links intoxication to failure in religious and judicial responsibilities.
- Amos 6:4-6 (thematic): Condemns complacent, elite revelers who feast, drink wine, and anoint themselves while neglecting justice — parallels social critique of indulgent 'mighty'.
- Proverbs 31:4-5 (thematic): Advises that kings and rulers should not drink wine or strong drink because it impairs judgment — parallels the moral/leadership critique of powerful men given to alcohol.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and mighty men at mixing strong drink.
- Woe to the mighty who drink wine, and to men of valor who seek strong drink.
Isa.5.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מצדיקי: VERB,piel,ptc,-,m,pl
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עקב: PREP
- שחד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וצדקת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- צדיקים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יסירו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 16:19 (verbal): Legal prohibition against taking bribes with near-identical consequence language (a bribe blinds the eyes and subverts the cause of the righteous); provides the covenantal law-background to Isaiah's charge.
- Exodus 23:8 (verbal): Another legal warning that a bribe 'blinds the clear-sighted' and perverts justice—shared vocabulary and moral concern about bribery's corrupting effect.
- Proverbs 17:23 (thematic): States that a wicked person takes a bribe to pervert justice; echoes Isaiah's condemnation of justifying the wicked for gain and turning aside the righteous.
- Amos 5:12 (allusion): Prophetic denunciation linking bribery with oppression of the righteous ('oppress the righteous and take bribes'); closely parallels Isaiah's prophetic critique of corrupt adjudication.
- Isaiah 1:23 (thematic): Within Isaiah's own corpus, leaders are accused of loving bribes and perverting justice—an internal parallel that reinforces the theme of corrupt rulership and bribery.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to those who justify the wicked for a bribe and strip the righteous of their right.
- Who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and take away the right of the righteous from him.
Isa.5.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- כאכל: PREP
- קש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחשש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להבה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ירפה: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- שרשם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3mp
- כמק: PREP
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ופרחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3mp
- כאבק: PREP
- יעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- מאסו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- תורת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- אמרת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- קדוש: ADJ,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נאצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 1:4 (verbal): The wicked are compared to chaff driven away by the wind—same image of worthlessness and being swept away as in Isaiah’s ‘chaff the flame devours.’
- Matthew 3:12 (verbal): John the Baptist’s winnowing image—‘He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire’—parallels Isaiah’s fire-consuming motif and judgment of the godless.
- Malachi 4:1 (thematic): Speaks of a coming day that burns like an oven and will leave evildoers as stubble—closely parallels Isaiah’s fire/stubble/chaff judgment imagery.
- Isaiah 30:9 (verbal): Another Isaian passage condemning people who ‘refuse the law of the LORD’ and ignore the words of the Holy One—echoes the charge in 5:24 for rejecting Torah and despising God’s word.
- Psalm 35:5 (verbal): ‘Let them be like chaff before the wind’—uses the same chaff-before-the-wind motif as a depiction of divine judgment and dispersal of the wicked.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore their portion will be like chaff; fire will consume their stubble. A flame will devour them; their root shall rot and their blossom blow away like dust—because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
- Therefore as straw is consumed by fire, and as chaff is swept away by the flame, so their root will be rot and their blossom blown away like dust — because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa.5.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- חרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אף: ADV
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בעמו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss,3,m,sg
- ויט: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ידו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- ויכהו: CONJ+VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg+PRON,3,m,sg
- וירגזו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ההרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נבלתם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- כסוחה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בקרב: PREP
- חוצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- שב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אפו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
- ועוד: CONJ
- ידו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- נטויה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 32:22-25 (verbal): Uses covenant curse language—'a fire is kindled in mine anger' and ensuing calamities/hunger and desolation; parallels Isaiah's 'anger of the LORD was kindled' and the devastating effects on the people.
- Nahum 1:5-6 (verbal): Speaks of the mountains trembling and hills melting before the LORD's wrath ('The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt away'), echoing Isaiah's image of trembling hills in the face of divine judgment.
- Psalm 78:49-50 (thematic): Describes God sending the 'fierceness of his anger' and scourges that consume the people, including imagery of devastation and divine retribution—parallels the theme of God's wrath laid upon the people and its deadly effects.
- Isaiah 10:5-6 (allusion): Within Isaiah itself God proclaims Assyria as 'the rod of my anger' whose hand is the instrument of punishment; parallels the motif of God's outstretched hand used to smite his people and shows the mechanism of the judgment described in 5:25.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against his people; he stretched out his hand and struck them. The mountains trembled and their corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Yet his anger did not turn back, and his hand was still outstretched.
- Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people; he stretched out his hand and struck them. The hills trembled, and their corpses became refuse in the midst of the streets. Yet his anger is not turned back, and his hand is still outstretched.
Isa.5.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונשא: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- נס: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- לגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מרחוק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושרק: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- מקצה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והנה: ADV
- מהרה: ADV
- קל: ADV
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 11:12 (verbal): Both verses use the image of raising a banner/signal for the nations to gather people from afar—shared language of summoning and gathering the scattered.
- Isaiah 18:3-4 (verbal): Isaiah 18 likewise speaks of a signal raised on the mountains and a summons causing swift attention; closely parallels the ‘signal/whistle’ and rapid coming from the earth’s ends.
- Jeremiah 51:27 (verbal): Jeremiah commands to ‘set up a standard’ and ‘blow the trumpet among the nations’—similar military/prophetic summons of foreign powers in response to a signal.
- Isaiah 13:5 (thematic): Describes forces coming ‘from a far country’/‘from the ends of heaven’ under divine direction—parallels the motif of troops summoned from distant lands at God’s call.
Alternative generated candidates
- He will lift up a signal to the nations from afar and whistle to them from the ends of the earth; behold, swift and speedily they come.
- He will lift up a signal to the nations from afar, and will whistle to them from the ends of the earth; behold, swift and speedily they come.
Isa.5.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אין: PART,neg
- עיף: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- כושל: VERB,qal,ptc,-,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ינום: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יישן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- נפתח: VERB,nif,perf,3,m,sg
- אזור: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- חלציו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- נתק: VERB,nif,perf,3,m,sg
- שרוך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- נעליו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 121:3-4 (verbal): Contains the nearly identical phrase 'לא ינום ולא יישן' about the keeper who neither slumbers nor sleeps — a direct verbal and thematic parallel of vigilant watchfulness.
- Isaiah 40:28 (verbal): Speaks of God (or the strong one) who 'faints not, nor is weary' — a close verbal/thematic parallel to 'אין עיף ואין כושל בו' (not tired, not stumbling).
- Exodus 12:11 (structural): The image 'gird your loins and put on your shoes' (readiness to depart) parallels the concrete militar/itinerant motifs in the verse about girding loins and intact shoe-strings.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (thematic): 'Let us not sleep... but let us watch' echoes the verse's motif of wakeful vigilance and refusal to slumber — a New Testament thematic parallel.
- Ephesians 6:14 (thematic): 'Gird your loins with truth' uses the same girding imagery (preparation and readiness) found in the verse's reference to girded loins and secure sandals.
Alternative generated candidates
- None shall be weary or stumble among them; none shall slumber or sleep; not a belt will be loosened at the waist, nor the strap of a sandal untied.
- None shall be weary or stumble among them; none shall slumber or sleep; neither shall the belt of their loins be loosed, nor the strap of their sandals be broken.
Isa.5.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חציו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3ms
- שנונים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- קשתתיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3ms
- דרכות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- פרסות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- סוסיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
- כצר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נחשבו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- וגלגליו: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
- כסופה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jer. 4:13 (verbal): Explicitly compares invading chariots to a whirlwind and stresses the speed/ferocity of horses—language close to Isaiah’s ‘wheels like a whirlwind’ and the horses’ fierce hooves.
- Nah. 2:3-4 (thematic): Vivid chariot and cavalry imagery (rushing chariots, fierce horses, tumult of wheels) paralleling Isaiah’s picture of bent bows, sharp arrows and rolling chariot-wheels.
- Joel 2:4-5 (thematic): An invading army described by equine and chariot similes—‘their appearance is like horses… they leap like the noise of chariots’—echoing Isaiah’s martial imagery of horses and wheels.
- Ezek. 1:15-21 (allusion): The famous ‘wheel’ scenes—wheels within wheels, moving like whirlwind—resonate with Isaiah’s simile of wheels like a whirlwind (shared cosmic/kinetic wheel-imagery).
Alternative generated candidates
- Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are bent; their horses’ hoofs are like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
- Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are bent; their horses’ hooves are like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
Isa.5.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שאגה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כלביא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישאג: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ככפירים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וינהם: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- ויאחז: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- טרף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויפליט: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מציל: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ps.104:21 (verbal): 'The young lions roar for their prey' uses almost the same image of young lions roaring and seeking prey as Isaiah 5:29.
- Ps.17:12 (verbal): Compares enemies to a lion eager to tear its prey—echoing Isaiah’s language of roaring, seizing prey that none can rescue.
- Jer.2:15 (verbal): 'The young lions roar after him; they roar loudly' employs similar phrasing and the motif of young lions desolating the land.
- Ezek.22:25 (verbal): Speaks of prophets (or forces) 'like a roaring lion ravening the prey,' closely paralleling Isaiah’s predator imagery.
- Nah.2:11 (thematic): Imagery of the lion’s den and young lions feeding (Nahum 2:11) parallels the theme of predatory, unstoppable attack found in Isaiah 5:29.
Alternative generated candidates
- They roar like lions—like young lions they growl; they seize and carry off the prey, and none can rescue.
- They roar like lions; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize the prey, carry it off, and there is no one to deliver.
Isa.5.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וינהם: VERB,qal,imf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- כנהמת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs
- ים: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- ונבט: VERB,qal,imf,3,f,sg
- לארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והנה: ADV
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואור: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בעריפיה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:10 (verbal): Speaks of celestial darkness using nearly identical language—‘the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light… the sun will be darkened in its going forth’—parallel imagery of light being extinguished.
- Joel 2:31 (verbal): Apocalyptic motif of cosmic signs: ‘the sun shall be turned to darkness…’ echoes Isaiah’s image of darkness and the darkening of light in judgment.
- Ezekiel 32:7-8 (verbal): God’s judgment described by blotting out celestial light: ‘I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark…’—parallels the motif of darkness covering the land and heavens.
- Amos 5:20 (thematic): Contrast of expected salvation with divine judgment: ‘Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light?’ echoes Isaiah’s theme that the coming day brings darkness and distress.
- Psalm 29:3-4 (thematic): The LORD’s voice compared to the roar of many waters/the sea; parallels Isaiah’s simile of tumult like the roaring sea to convey divine judgment and cosmic commotion.
Alternative generated candidates
- In that day their roar will be like the roar of the sea; people will gaze at the land—behold, distress and darkness; the light is darkened by its clouds.
- And its roar will be like the roar of the sea; when one looks to the land, behold — distress and darkness; and the light is darkened by its gloom.
Woe to those who join house to house and add field to field, until there is no space left, so that you alone live in the midst of the land.
In the ears of the LORD of hosts—will not many houses become desolate, large and fair, without inhabitant?
For ten measures of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.
Woe to those who rise early to pursue strong drink and stay up late, inflamed by wine.
With harp and lyre, tambourine and flute—and wine that they drink—they do not regard the work of the LORD or see the work of his hands.
Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored ones are famished, and their multitude is parched with thirst.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure. Down go their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who exults.
Man is bowed down, the man is brought low; the eyes of the haughty are brought low. But the LORD of hosts is exalted by justice, and the Holy God is sanctified by righteousness.
Their flocks shall be grazed in their pastures, yet the sword of the invader will devour them.
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and sin as if with cart ropes.
Who say, “Let him hasten his work so that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, that we may know it.”
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight.
Woe to the heroes who drink wine, to men of might who seek strong drink.
Who justify the wicked for a bribe and strip away the rights of the righteous.
Therefore their root shall be like decay and their blossom like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people; he stretched out his hand and struck them. The mountains quaked; their corpses became like refuse in the midst of the streets. Yet his anger turned not aside, and his hand is still stretched out.
He lifted a signal to the nations from afar and sounded a call to them from the end of the earth. Behold—swiftly and speedily they come.
None among them is weary or stumbles; none slumbers or sleeps; neither is the belt of their loins loosened nor the strap of their sandals broken.
Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are bent; their horses’ hooves are like flint and their wheels like a whirlwind.
They roar like lions; they roar like young lions—they growl, seize the prey, carry it off, and there is none to deliver. And on that day their roar shall be like the roaring of the sea; when people look to the land, behold—darkness and anguish; the light is swallowed up by gloom.