YESHAYAHU (Isaiah) 1-33

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Chapters 1-5

CHAPTER 1

1. A vision of Yeshayahu, son of Amotz, which he perceived in regard to Yehudah and Yerushalayim in the days of Uzziyahu, Yotham, Achaz, and Hizqiyahu, kings of Yehudah. Vision: oracle, prophecy received in an ecstatic state.

2. "Listen, O heavens, and cup your ear, O earth, because YHWH has spoken: `I have caused sons to grow and brought [them] up, but they have rebelled against Me!

Listen...Cup your ear: This is an allusion back to the song Moshe taught the descendants of Israel just prior to his death so that they would pass it down through all their generations. (D'varim/Deut. 32) The things Moshe warned about were coming to pass, and this was to be a vivid reminder of where the nation was headed.

3. "`The ox can tell [who] his owner [is], and the donkey [recognizes] his master's feeding trough. Israel [on the other hand] does not acknowledge; My people have not shown themselves to be able to distinguish.

YHWH told Noach that in some sense the earth was no longer cursed after the Deluge, but mankind had not changed. (Gen. 8:21) Despite man's dominion over the animals, the latter appear to better understand the authority structures YHWH has set up. His people may have assumed that because YHWH kept feeding them, they could also obtain food elsewhere, but as wit the kosher laws, YHWH has very specific things He wants us to partake of. Forming bonds with foreigners (forbidden in Ex. 23:32) is the first step toward idolatry.

4. "`Alas, O sinful nation! O people weighed down with crookedness! O offspring of mischief-makers! Children who bring ruin! They have abandoned YHWH; they have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have gone back to being estranged!

Gone back to...: or "in the hereafter they will...". Being estranged: or, "belonging to a stranger".

5. "`Why should you continue to be beaten down? You keep veering from the path! The whole head is diseased; the whole heart is unwell!

Head: Symbolic of the rulers who led Yehudah in the wrong direction. (v. 10) They are acting just like foreigners.

6. "`From the sole of the foot all the way to the head, there is no soundness in it. Bruises, scars, and fresh open wounds! They have neither been closed up nor bandaged, nor soothed by ointment.

7. "`Your land is left desolate, your cities burned with fire! As for your farmland, strangers devour it right in front of you, and [it is] desolate as when overthrown by foreigners!

8. "`The daughter of Tzion, too, is left like a temporary shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber garden, like a blockaded city.'

Grapes and cucumbers must be harvested quickly when they ripen, so it was common to build rudimentary huts to spend the night in so the harvester could maximize his time in the field. They lie abandoned after the harvest is over, then become overgrown by the vines. The builder no longer dwells within them. YHWH is saying that (as we see below) the structure of Yehudah's society is still intact, but His presence has been removed since He does not share His glory with another--and they do not even realize it! Blockaded: watched-over or guarded (from outside), as in a siege. (No one can enter it anymore.)

9. "If YHWH of the Armies had not left us a surviving remnant--and very few[at that]--we would have become like S'dom, and resembled `Amorah!

10. "Listen to the word of YHWH, you dictators of S'dom; cup your ears to the instruction of our Elohim, you people of `Amorah!

11. "`What use to Me is the abundance of your slaughterings?' says YHWH. `I am overstuffed with the ascending [offerings] of rams and the fat of overfed beasts, and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, sheep, or [prepared]he-goats.

He never did; His intent through them was always that we would know Him.

12. "`When you come to appear before My face, who has required this from your hands--to trample down My courts [where trumpets are sounded]? Temple offerings are all going on, but He asks why they are even coming, since they also have idols in their homes. All they are doing, in His eyes, is tracking mud across His floor!

13. "`Do not bring any more empty tribute-offerings. And incense--it's disgusting to Me! [New] moon, Sabbath, [and] summoning of assemblies, I cannot endure! Even the festival assembly is a waste of breath. Empty: worthless, vain, or false. A waste of breath: or "wickedness".

He is so fed up with their outward worship that He simply says, "Stop profaning My extra-special days!" Yehudah is mixing the worship of YHWH with paganism, and He would rather they were either hot or cold. (Rev. 3:17ff) In reality they are wicked but pretending to be righteous. And there is very little difference between this and combining Biblical teaching with pagan festivals like Saturnalia (Dec. 25), Ishtar (at the vernal equinox), etc.

14. "`My soul hates your [new] moons and appointed times. They are a burden to Me; I am tired of putting up with them.

Your: this is the key to why this does not contradict the Torah. The way they are carrying out His feasts has turned them into a creation of their own hands.

15. "`When you spread out your hands, I will conceal My face from you; also, when you increase the number of prayers, there will be no listening from Me. Your hands are full of blood!

Spread out your hands: in prayer. They may be happy with this arrangement, but He is not. All they are doing is murdering animals. Until they confess their guilt and repent, He will hide His face. (cf. Hos. 5:15)

16. "`Wash off and make yourselves clean! Take away the evil quality of your practices from [being right] in front of My eyes! Stop doing injurious things;

Clean: in most biblical imagery, this is an idiom for selflessness. This is what determines whether a certain act is "of the flesh" or "of the spirit" if not specified in Torah.

17. "`Learn to make [them] right: Demand justice, set the oppressor straight, vindicate the fatherless, contend for the case of the widow. Learn: literally, be goaded. Demand: or "seek out" in the strongest sense in which it can be understood. Learning to discern requires a return to the Torah, which teaches us to make such distinctions. (Lev. 10:10) They have the infrastructure intact, but are perishing because they lack knowledge.

18. "`Walk, now, and let [your words] be proven', says YHWH. `If your sins are like scarlet, they can become as white as snow; if they are as red as crimson, they can become like wool.

Proven: or "corrected"; alt., "let us reason together". (You say you love Me; now show it by your actions! Keep My commandments!) Scarlet...white as snow: a reference to an annual occurrence in which, on Yom Kippur one part of ascarlet cord was tied to the horn of the "scapegoat" for Azazel and the other part hung on the Temple doors. After the goat was thrown off a cliff in the wilderness east of Yerushalayim, YHWH showed His acceptance of their atoning sacrifice by turning the cord bright white. The Talmud tells us that this stopped happening 40 years before the destruction of the Temple--which would have been the year Y'shua died. In His mercy YHWH put up with Temple services which again were out of His prescribed order until Y'shua brought the fullest sacrifice, providing a permanent way out of sinful patterns for those who would accept it.

19. "`If you consent and obey, you will eat the good things of the Land. Consent: not just "are willing", but a very strong term: to pant after, to want very badly.

20. "`But if you refuse and [remain] rebellious, you will make the sword eat, because the mouth of YHWH has spoken.' A sword and mouth are again linked when Y'shua returns. (Rev. 19:15, 21)

21. "How the reliable town has become an [unfaithful] prostitute! [She was]full of justice; righteousness stayed with her. But now--murderers!

22. "Your silver has turned into dross; your strong drink has been diluted with water.

23. "Your princes have backslidden, becoming companions of thieves! Every one loves a bribe, and is running after compensation. They do not vindicate the fatherless, nor does the widow's cause reach them.

Princes: sarim; backslidden: sorarim. It is a Hebrew word play. Running after: But do they ever catch it?

24. "On account of this, the Master YHWH of Armies--the Mighty One of Israel--declares, `Woe [to you]! I will free Myself from My oppressors, and avenge Myself of My enemies.

Free Myself: ease or make Myself comfortable, i.e., not put up with this nuisance anymore.

25. "`Then I will bring My hand back onto you, and purge away your dross as with alkali, and remove all your alloy.

Alkali: or lye or potash, materials used in smelting metal. Alloy: base metal, the part to be separated away.

26. "`And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your advisors as at the beginning. After that, indeed, it will be proclaimed that you are `the city of righteousness', `the reliable town'.

Judges: or law-givers. The Torah lifestyle can only work properly when there is a wide consensus on obedience to His laws such as those of leaving fields fallow, releasing debts, etc. Until the proper authority structures are restored can the fullest redemption be possible.

27. "`Tzion will be ransomed with due process, and her returnees with ethicalvindication.

28. "But the violent shattering of [both] trespassers and those who wander from the way will be brought to an end together with those who abandon YHWH,

Violent shattering: in context, their fragmenting of justice in the court system.

29. "because they will be disappointed by the oaks that you have taken pleasure in, and ashamed of the gardens which you had chosen,

Oaks...gardens: places of pagan worship, usually for fertility rites.

30. "because you will be like a terebinth whose leaf is drooping, and a garden in which there is no water,

31. "and the mighty [in wealth] will be like the tow [shaken from flax], and his deeds like a spark, and both of them shall burn together, and there will be no one to extinguish. Compare 1 Cor. 3:14, 15.

CHAPTER 2

1. The matter that Yeshayahu, son of Amotz, perceived in regard to Yehudah
and Yerushalayim,

2. and it will take place in the latter days: the mountain of YHWH's house
will be established at the head of the mountains, and will be lifted up from
[among] the hills, and all the nations will stream toward it.

Established: fixed securely, stable, enduring, determined. Head: from a
root word meaning shaking, thus, "at the shaking of the mountains". Lifted
up from among the hills: an idiom meaning it will be raised higher than all
those out of which it came. This appears to have been how it was before the
Noachian flood, since after the highest mountains are covered, other
mountains are again mentioned. (Gen. 7:20)

3. And many peoples will proceed and say, "Come on, [all of you], and let us
ascend to YHWH's mountain--to the House of the Elohim of Yaaqov! And He will
teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths!" Because from Tzion
will proceed instruction, and the word of YHWH from Yerushalayim.

4. And He will judge between the nations, and will decide for many peoples.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spear-shafts
into pruning tools. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor shall
they learn war anymore.

An agricultural lifestyle is being returned, because these cycles are the
most ideal for comprehending His redemptive calendar. Decide for: or
correct, rebuke, reprove, prove right, convince, convict.

5. O House of Yaaqov! Come, let us walk in the light of YHWH!

6. Because You have abandoned your people, the House of Yaaqov, since they
are filled up from the east, and conjure clouds like the Filistines, and
cause [them] to splash [upon] the children of foreigners.

7. While his land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to
their storehouses, and his land is well-armed with horses, and there is no
end to his chariots,

His land: probably that of the foreigner mentioned in v. 6, but possibly
referring to Yaaqov's land.

8. still, his land is filled with worthless [images]; he prostrates himself
to the work of his [own] hands--to what his own fingers have produced!

9. So mankind is bowed down, and a man [of importance] lowers himself, so
don't You lift them up.

10. Enter into the rock, and hide yourself in the dust from the dread face
of YHWH and from the splendor of His majesty!

They have "dug their own graves".

11. The haughty eyes of mankind will be brought to humility, and the
loftiness of mortal men will be brought low, and YHWH alone will be set on
high in that day,

12. because the day for YHWH of [the] Armies is upon everyone [who is]
triumphant and [who] lifts himself up, and he will be brought down--

13. and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon
all the oaks of Bashan,

Bashan: the present-day Golan Heights.

14. and upon all the high mountains and upon all the upraised hills,

This is the type of place idols were most commonly worshiped.

15. and upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall,

Fortified: to the point of being insurmountable.

16. and upon all the sailors of Tarshish, and upon every beloved flag

Beloved flag: or precious craft, palace, or desirable image--i.e., any
outstanding superlative symbolizing human achievement. How can we help but
recall the collapse of skyscrapers and the sinking of the Titanic that "even
God could not sink", or the spacecraft that "challenged" YHWH?

17. and the haughtiness of mankind will be humbled, and the loftiness of
mortal men will be brought low, and YHWH alone will be set on high in that day

18. Then the worthless [images] will completely [and quickly] vanish,

19. and they will go into the caves of the rocky cliffs and the hollows of
the dust, [away] from the dread face of YHWH and from the splendor of His
majesty when He arrives on the scene to make the earth tremble!

20. In that day mankind will throw his worthless [images] of silver and his
worthless [images] of gold (which they fashioned to bow down before) to the
moles and the bats,

Yaaqov also hid idols in the earth under an oak tree. (Gen. 35:4; cf.
Yesh. 1:29-30 above.)

21. [as they] go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the clefts of the
crags, [away] from the dread face of YHWH and from the splendor of His
majesty when He arrives on the scene to make the earth tremble!

22. Forego mankind, whose breath is in his nostrils, because what does he
count for?

Forego: leave behind, let go. Breath: or spirit. This has a special
meaning in this day when the brave new humanistic world order is gaining
ascendancy and humanity will actually worship a particular man. Nostrils:
ancient images of idols often had a huge nose; because that is where the
breath enters and leaves, it was considered the part of the body where the
soul resides. But only "panting after" YHWH preserves us. (1:19)

CHAPTER 3

1. Because, indeed, YHWH of Armies is causing the support and the staff [on
which you lean] to turn away from Yerushalayim and from Yehudah--the whole
supply of grain and the whole supply of water,

Support and staff: what you rely on. He wants to be the only One to whom
we look for sustenance.

2. valiant one and man of war, judge and prophet, as well as diviner and
elder,

3. the commander of fifty and the uplifted of face, the advisor, the skilled
craftsman, and the expert conjurer!

Uplifted of face: i.e., one who is honored. Skilled craftsman: or
"shrewd magician" (as one who deals in the secret arts). Expert conjurer:
literally, "discreet whisperer".

4. "Then I will permit youths [to be] their commanders, and capricious fools
will exercise dominion over them,

Youths: those who are inexperienced and brash, like Rehav'am.

5. "and the nation will be opporessed, man against man, each against his
fellow man. The young will behave arrogantly against the old, and the
lightweight against the important.

6. "When a man takes hold of his brother in his father's house (‘A coat!
Come, you can be a ruler for us, and this overthrown ruin can be under your
hand!'),

7. "in that day he will raise [his hand to swear], saying, 'I'm not one to
bandage up, and there's neither bread nor clothing in my house, so don't
appoint me as the people's ruler!'

8. "Because Yerushalayim has stumbled, and Yehudah has fallen, because their
tongue and their actions toward YHWH [are] to rebelliously provoke the fount
of His weightiness.

Stumbled: or tottered, staggered.

9. "The appearance of their faces testifies against them, and, like S'dom,
they have made their sin conspicuous; they have not concealed it. Woe to
their appetites, because they have dealt out evil to themselves!

10. "Tell the righteous that it is well, because they will eat the fruit of
their actions.

11. "Alas for those guilty of evildoing! Because what his hand has dealt
out will be done to him.

12. "[As for] My people, fools are their taskmasters, and women rule over
it! O people of Mine! Those who are leading you are causing you to go
astray, and have swallowed up your lifestyle!"

Fools: those acting severely or people who play like children.
Taskmasters: or oppressors. Lifestyle: literally, "way of your
journeying-paths".

13. YHWH is taking His position to bring forward His case, and is taking His
stand to judge the nation.

14. YHWH will enter into litigation with the elders of His people, and its
rulers: "You have consumed away the vineyard; what you have plundered from
the poor is in your house!

15. "What is it to you? You are crushing My people and grinding the faces
of the poor!" declares Adonai YHWH of Armies.

16. And YHWH has said, "On account of [the fact] that the daughters of Tzion
are arrogant and walk with their necks held out, causing eyes to stare, and
proceeding to walk with quick little steps, and with their legs making a
noise [of the] rattling [of bangles],

17. "Adonai will cause the top of the daughters of Tzion's heads to scab
over, and YHWH will uncover their secret openings.

Secret openings: or "hinges"; i.e., their private parts.

18. "In that day Adonai will take away the glory of their anklets,
headbands, and [crescent-moon] ornaments,

19. "the pendants, the bracelets, and the veils,

20. "the head-adornments, the jingling anklets, the sashes, the soul-houses,
and the amulets,

21. "the rings and the nose-rings,

22. "the removable robes, the covering tunics, the spreading cloaks, and the
purses,

23. "the mirrors, the fine linen outer garments, the turbans, and the large
veils.

Mirrors: literally, "revealers".

24. "Then what will happen is that instead of a sweet fragrance, there will
be the stench of decay; instead of a belt, an encircling rope; instead of a
well-set hairdo, baldness; instead of an expensive robe, tied-on burlap; and
branding in the place of beauty.

Encircling rope: i.e., to be led away into slavery thereby. Burlap: or
sack-cloth. Branding: another sign of ownershp by another.

25. "Your people will fall by the sword, and your valiant ones in the battle,

26. "and her entrances will lament and mourn, and she who is cleaned out
will remain for the land.

Cleaned out: desolate, cleared, even free.

CHAPTER 4

1. "In that day, seven women will take hold of one man, saying, ‘We will eat
our own food and wear our own clothing; just let us be called by your name,
and take away our disgrace!'

In which day? The day of the calamities in chapter 3. Take hold of: or
prevail upon, but it literally says, "seven women will make one man strong".
Perhaps these are seven of the northern tribes, or perhaps they are the seven
congregations of Rev. 1-2. The number "seven" in Hebrew is also the word for
"oath" (cf. Gen. 21:30ff, when seven ewes were sacrificed to seal the oath).
Thus they may simply be symbolic of the complete number of people who have
made the oath of covenant with YHWH--the "7,000 in Israel who have no t bowed
the knee to Baal". In any case, they are joining themselves to the Messiah
from the tribe of Yehudah. In 3:7, no other men had bread or clothing left
in their houses, just as no one else but Messiah is worthy to reign. (Rev.
5:4) But the bread and clothing were paralleled in 3:8 with Yerushalayim and
Yehudah. Thus, eating their own food, in this context, relates to living in
their own cities, and wearing their own clothing symbolizes keeping their own
tribal identity. I.e., they are not trying to be Jews, but they know they
must have connections with the Jewish Messiah. One man: or "a unified
man"--the restoration of Adam toward which all of Scripture points, and which
became possible only through the one Man, the Messiah, who then became the
Head of the whole Body. Let us be called by your name: literally, "Let your
name by proclaimed [or read] over us." Yirmiyahu (Jer.) 23:6 tells us that
the Messiah will be called YHWH Tziqdenu (YHWH our righteousness), and Yirm.
33:16, using parallel phraseology, tells us that Yerushalayim (which we know
from Rev. 21:2 is the Bride adorned for her husband) will be called by the
very same Name. Our disgrace: not so much having had all their ornaments
removed (ch. 3) as the fact that they had been adorned for themselves, not
for their bridegroom. (After Aharon had some Israelites donate jewelry out
of which to build the golden calf, YHWH said ornaments were no longer to be
worn in His sanctuary.) Rabbinically, the name of YHWH is seen as a key that
the high priests lifted up to open the heavenlies (Josephus) Once we again
began using YHWH's name instead of substitutes, the shame that comes with
association with the pagan titles we had used was also removed from our lips.

2. "In that Day the offshoot of YHWH will be [raised to] honor and
authority, and the fruit of the Land will be majestic and splendid for the
[surviving] remnant of Israel,

In that day: while there is usually an immediate point of reference in
the prophet's day, when this phrase is used by the prophets, it also has the
specialized reference to the "Day of YHWH", for which all of the precursors
were only "dress rehearsals". Those who enter the Messianic Kingdom are the
ultimate "surviving remnant of Israel", including the righteous who died
throughout all of history. Offshoot of YHWH: identified in Yirmiyahu (Jer.)
23:5; 33:15 as a righteous king from David's line; and Z'charyah 3:8 as
YHWH's servant, which 52:13 below links clearly with the Messiah. Authority:
or reputable dignity.

3. "And [whatever is] spared in Tsion or remaining inYerushalayim will be
called "set apart", that is, all who are enrolled to live in Yerushalayim.

Enrolled: or inscribed, reminding us of the angelic scribe who, in an
event that will be repeated (Rev. 7:3ff), was commanded to mark out those who
would be preserved because they wept over the abominations carried out in the
midst of Yerushalayim. (Y'hezeq'el/Ezek. 9) In that context, there is a very
clear demarcation between those celebrating Passover and those celebrating
what would later come to be called "Easter". In Rev. 3:5; 13:8ff; 20:15;
21:27 we see how the names are written in the Book of Life relate to the New
Yerushalayim. Our citizenship is in heaven, from which Y'shua will come and
bring us the rights this entails. (Phil. 3:15ff; cf. v. 1 above.)

4. "When Adonai has washed off the excrement of the daughter of Tsion, and
rinsed away Yerushalayim's blood from its innermost part by the wind of
justice and the spirit of burning,

Note the mechanics of how YHWH cleanses us: wind is the same word as
"spirit" in Hebrew. "Justice" means "right-ruling (correct verdict) in
judgment" (which we cannot have without established rulers); it also bespeaks
the fact that Y'shua ransomed us by a fully lawful means which the Adversary
can never call into question. "Burning" here can mean "kindling a fire",
which takes us to Y'shua's statement that he had a fire to kindle and wished
he could do so right away, but had an "immersion" to undergo first. (Luk.
12:49, 50). Amos (5:18-20) reminds us that the Day of YHWH will not begin in
a pleasant way so that we should look forward to it nonchalantly. It will be
a time of burning away our impurities and consuming the wicked before the
Kingdom is fully established.

5. "then YHWH will form over every dwelling place of Mount Tsion and over
her convocations a cloud and smoke in the daytime, and the brightness of a
flaming fire at night, because over all [that is] honorable, [there is] a
[wedding] canopy,

Every dwelling place: "each fixed site" or "the whole foundation". YHWH's
presence will cover the whole city as He appeared over the Tabernacle. It
also separated the nation from Pharaoh, and His presence will again separate
us from all that Egypt represents in its paganism and enmity toward YHWH.
The heavenly city that descends to earth after the Messianic Kingdom (Rev.
21) may be suspended above the earthly Yerushalayim during the Kingdom. In
Rev. 3:12 Y'shua promises that the one who overcomes will be made a pillar in
YHWH's Temple and he will have the name of the New Yerushalayim written on
him.

6. "and there will be a sukkah for shade from the parching heat in the
daytime, and as a refuge and shelter from inundation [by a maelstrom] and
what falls from the sky.

Sukkah: a booth or covering that provides temporary shelter, the
prominent feature of the feast of Sukkoth, which is a foreshadowing of the
Kingdom, which will begin with a time of intense calamity from which YHWH
will shelter His people while the rest of the world feels His indignation.
This will include "stars" falling from the sky (Rev. 9:1).

CHAPTER 5

1. "Now I will sing for my Beloved my uncle's song concerning his vineyard:
'My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile spur [of ground].

Uncle: or "Beloved", but a different word in Hebrew from that which
precedes it, though they share a common root. Probably both refer to YHWH.
Very fertile: literally, "son of fatness/oil". Spur: literally "horn", from
a root meaning "to send forth rays". Y'shua carried the parable further.
(Mark 12)

2. "'And he dug [into] it and threw the stones out of it, and planted it
with the choicest of vines, and built a watchtower inside it. He also hewed
out a wine vat, and waited eagerly for it to produce grapes. But it produced
wild, rotten fruit!'

Wine vat: traditionally built as close as possible to the vineyard so as
little juice as possible is lost. The choicest of vines: California proved
that the best land combined with the best vines produces the best wine. This
is what YHWH expected. Rotten: includes the connotation of smelling foul.

3. "'So now, inhabitants of Yerushalayim and men of Yehudah, please judge
between Me and My vineyard!

4. "'What more could have been done for My vineyard that I did not do in it?
When I was expecting it to produce grapes, why did it produce wild, rotten
fruit?

5. "'So, now, I'll go ahead and make known to you what I will do with My
vineyard: I'll take away its protective hedge, so it can be grazed in, and
make breaches in its wall, so it can be trampled down.

YHWH had given Israel special protection and care, but since it flouted
this in His face, He left it open to all the forces that affect all the other
nations without His special attention.

6. "'I'll let it waste away; it will not be pruned or hoed, and briers and
thornbushes will come up. I will also command the clouds to keep from
dropping rain on it',

Compare the forsaken sukkah in 1:8.

7. "because the vineyard of YHWH of Armies is the House of Israel, and the
man of Yehudah is the plant that he handles tenderly. And He looked
expectantly for justice, but what [He found] was bloodshed! For ethical
vindication, but what [He found] was a cry for help!

Justice...bloodshed; ethical vindication...a cry for help: Hebrew
wordplays, juxtaposing "mishpat" with "mishpach" and "tz'daqah" with
"tz'aqah".

8. "Alas for those who make [one] house extend all the way to [the next]
house, who cause [one] cultivated field to run up close to [another] field,
until they run out of space and you are forced to dwell in your loneliness in
the middle of the countryside!

Until they run out of space: or "until the Place comes to an end". "The
Place" is often a euphemism for the Temple or the One who inhabits it. This
is reminiscent of there being no room for Y'shua at his birth during Sukkoth,
when the temporary shelters were packed so thick that he had to be born in
one in the open country outside Beyth Lechem, at the Tower of the Flock.
(Micha 4:8; 5:2) But each tribe was also to have its own "standard"
(banner). We are to be set apart from other nations, but then Israel is not
meant to be a homogeneous "melting pot"; holiness will not look the same for
everyone. Tearing down walls is not the meaning of biblical unity; rather,
each part of the Body needs to fulfill its function for the good of the
whole. Where houses and fields are all flush with each other, there is no
room for roads to lead to Yerushalayim. And this just may be the specific
intent. Bavel's dream was to stay settled when YHWH says to be pilgrims.

9. "In my ears, YHWH of Armies [has sworn], ‘if most [of these] houses don't
become desolate, and big, prosperous [ones] without inhabitant...!

10. "'Because the area ten yoke [of oxen could plow in a day] will produce
[only] one bath, and a homer's [worth] of seed will yield [only] an ephah!'

One bath...an ephah: the equivalent volume in liquid and dry measure. A
homer: Ten times the size of an ephah, so the yield would actually be only a
tenth as much as what was planted. One would have to choose between eating
and planting.

11. "Woe to those who get up early to run after intoxicating beverage,
hanging back in the twilight; wine causes them to hotly pursue.

12. "And there were lyre and harp, tambourine, flute, and wine in their
drinking-parties, but they pay no attention to the things YHWH does, nor do
they notice the works of His hands.

13. "For this reason My people have gone away into exile: due to lack of
knowledge. Its important ones are persons of famine, and its boisterous
crowds parched from thirst.

Gone away into exile: or "removed the covering". Remember that clothing
can be a symbol of tribal affiliation (4:1), so being "unclothed" in exile
means loss of identity. (Compare v.8 above.) Knowledge: as in chapter 3, the
structure can be intact outwardly, but if there is no understanding of why we
obey the Torah, it is easy for it to seem like a mere burdensome tradition.
(Hos. 8:12)

14. "Therefore She'ol has made its appetite grow wider, and gaped its mouth
to the point of having no limit, and their adornment, roaring, tumult, and
the triumphant person will descend into her.

She'ol: the underworld, or the place of the dead. Remember what happened
to Qorach. (Num. 16)

15. "Then humanity will be brought low and man set in a lower place, and the
eyes of the haughty will be humbled,

The immediate context is Israel before her enemies crushed her, but this
particular verse has a wider context in our day as "humanity" (Heb., "Adam"),
rather than YHWH, is being made the measure of all things. Man: or "a
man"--perhaps the counterfeit Messiah, who is also haughty. (Y'chezq'wl 29:3)

16. "but YHWH of Armies will be exalted with justice, and the El who is set
apart will be shown to be separate through righteousness.

Exalted with justice: raised to prominence in an appropriate, rightful,
deserving manner, through due legal process, unlike those who since Nimrod's
time have tried to make a name for themselves. There are again judges and
authorities in place who do right. Shown to be separate: includes the sense
of being treated accordingly as in a class of His own, and the way He
distinguishes Himself as unique is that He does right. We also demonstrate
His sole worthiness by doing right ourselves.

17. "Then the lambs will graze as in their own pasture, while sojourners eat
the places deserted by the fat ones.

Their own pasture: includes the sense of being accustomed to it, thus
being at ease. Fat ones: at root, the term means "obliterators". In other
words, the haughty (v. 15) who stepped on others to "get to the top" will
leave their goods to the needy who come seeking temporary hospitality among
YHWH's flock. But even the ones who were righteous, when satisfied with
plenty, tend to forget YHWH. (Deut. 32:15; Prov. 30:9)

18. "Woe [to] those who drag perversion along with worthless cords, and
[pull their] sin as with a cart rope,

19. "who say, 'Let Him hurry and finish what He is making quickly, so we may
see it! And let what the Holy One of Israel has been devising approach and
enter, so we may become acquainted with it!'

Reminiscent, perhaps, of the way the men of S'dom responded to YHWH's
messengers, this is a perverted curiosity--expecting YHWH's work to be only
spectacular excitement but not a challenge to true holiness. Though we wish
for Y'shua's Kingdom to come "in our lifetimes and in our days", the first
part of YHWH's work to bring it about will not be "pretty" for those who are
looking for novelty. (Amos 5:18-20)

20. "Woe to those who avow that evil is good, and say good is evil, who put
'darkness' for light and 'light' for darkness, who define bitter as 'sweet'
and sweet as 'bitter'.

Put...define: the same term in Hebrew; i.e., who change the definitions.
Who has not likewise shuddered in our day to hear people raving about things
they define as "wicked!" or "bad!"? But how much worse to call pagan
holidays "blessed" or say that obeying the Torah is contrary to YHWH's will.

21. "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and holding up their own
faces [conspicuously] as intelligent!

22. "Woe to those whose claim to fame is [how much] wine [they can] drink,
and men whose [only area of] expertise is mixing intoxicating beverage,

23. "who vindicate the cause of the wicked for a bribe, and take the good
legal standing of the just away from him!

24. "Therefore, as the fire's tongue devours the chaff, and the dry grass
droops to the flame, their root will be like something rotten, and their
flower will go up [in smoke] like a cloud of dust, because they have rejected
the instruction of YHWH of Armies, and despised what the Holy One of Israel
utters.

25. "This is why YHWH's breath has become hot upon His people, and He has
stretched out His hand against it and punished it. Then the hills shook and
their corpses like off-scouring in the middle of the streets. Despite all
this, His anger is not turned back, and His arm is stretched out still.

Punished: literally, struck. Off-scouring: or "dung" (to be swept away).

26. "Moreover, He will lift up a signal-flag to the distant nations, and
will whistle for it [to come] from the ends of the earth, and indeed, it will
come quickly [on] light [feet]!

27. "There is not a weary or feeble one among them; not one will be drowsy,
and not one will fall asleep. The undergarment of its loins will not be
loosened, nor will the thong of their sandals be undone,

Feeble: or "stumbling". Undergarment not loosened: i.e., they will not
even stop to relieve themselves, so quickly will they come! Nor the
thong...undone: he emphasizes that they will not stop to rest in any way!

28. "whose arrows are sharp, and whose bows bent! Their horses' hoofs will
be considered to be like flint, and their [chariot] wheels like a whirlwind!

Flint: i.e., very hard. Wheels...whirlwind: How reminiscent of Eliyahu's
chariot ride to the heavens.

29. "Its roaring is like a great lion, and it will roar like young lions;
and it will growl and seize the prey and carry it away, and there is none to
rescue.

30. "And in that day, it will roar over it like the roaring of the sea.
When one considers the land, then behold! Darkness and distress, and the
light is darkened by its haze."

Distress: a tight spot, oppression, or a "hard place".

CHAPTERS 15 - 21
CHAPTER 15

1. The oracle [concerning] Moav: "Since Ar of Moav was despoiled by night,
it has been brought to an end. Since Kir of Moav was despoiled by night, it
has been brought to an end.

By night: the Aramaic adds, "while they sleep".

2. "The household--Dibon, that is--goes up to the cultic platforms to weep;
Moav shall wail over Nevo and over Meydeva. On all their heads [there is]
baldness, and every beard is shaved off.

Dibon means "pining away", but also a city in the region of Moav (east of
the Dead Sea). Nevo: the mountain where Moshe died after seeing the Promised
Land. Meydeva: a major town near Mt. Nevo. Parallel passages are in Amos
2:1-3 and Yirmiyahu (Jer.) 48:36ff, where we see that having the hair and
beard removed are symbols of the loss of wealth and wisdom (or loss of
authority by being taken captive).

3. "In its streets they will put on burlap; on its rooftops and in its open
plazas everyone will wail, sinking down with tears.

Burlap: or "sack-cloth", a traditional symbol of deep mourning.

4. "Heshbon and El'aleh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Yahatz! So
Moav's armed warriors will give a cry of alarm; his life will be displeasing
to him.

Heshbon is a largely-unexcavated tel today, but then was the capital of
Moav and near its northern border; El'aleh is nearby. Yahatz: Close to 15
miles away.

5. "My heart will cry out for Moav! Its fugitives get as far as Tsoar. A
three-year-old heifer, because on the incline of Luhith they will go up
weeping, because on the way to Horonayim they will raise an outcry of
destruction,

Tsoar: the town to which Moav's parents, Lot and his daughter, fled when
S'dom was being overthrown. It means "insignificance". Aramaic, "In their
heart the Moavites hope to flee to Tsoar." Horonayim: "the twin caves".

6. "because the pure waters will become appalling, because the herb is
drying up, the vegetation is exhausted, and there will not be any greenery.

7. "Therefore, they have acquired the abundance, and what they had stored
up, and will carry it over the willow brook,

8. "because the outcry has gone completely around the territory of Moav, its
wailing as far as the two reservoirs, its howling to the Well of the Mighty
Ones.

9. "For Dimon's waters are full of blood. Yet I will appoint even more [to
come] upon Dimon: a lion for the Moavites who escape, and for what is left of
the tillable soil."

All of these locations are in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today.

CHAPTER 16

1. "Spread out a pasture from Sela in the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Tsion,

Spread out a pasture: or, "Send a lamb", possibly a reference to the Messiah, for reasons that will become clearer below. At one time the king of Moav did send a tribute of rams to Israel. (2 Kings 3:4) Sela: the Hebrew name for the Edomite-Nabatean city of Petra. Both names mean "large rock", and indeed this "rose-red city half as old as time" as 19th-century poet John
William Burgon described it, has its buildings and tombs carved right out of the sheer rock walls. Mountain of the Daughter of Tsion: perhaps not a suburb of Yerushalayim, but Mt. Sinai near Midyan, which is south of Petra in Saudi Arabia.

2. "because what will take place is that at the fords of Arnon, the daughters of Moav will become like a fluttering bird that is pushed out of the nest.

Fords of Arnon: In the region of Moav, the Arnon river forms a canyon that resembles the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. In the past it effectively formed a natural border between Moav and the Emorite territory. Even today there is only one bridge across it on the King's Highway. The scenario seems to be one of their seeing the Counterfeit Messiah's armies
massed on the other edge of the sharp escarpment and having to either surrender Israel's refugees to them or depend on YHWH to rescue them as a mother eagle does when teaching its young to fly.

3. "Gather for deliberation; make your decision. Make your shadow like night in the middle of the noonday. Carefully conceal those who have been banished; do not reveal [the hiding place] of the fugitive!

Decision: or assessment. This is reminiscent of Y'shua's parable about the king counting the cost of whether he can afford to do battle against an enemy with a large army. (Lk. 14:31) Moav is up against total destruction if they do not follow this advice to provide a refuge for those who are coming. But the only option YHWH seems to give is to do it willingly and be blessed,
or have Him shelter them in their land and pay the price for their refusal.

4. "My outcasts will dwell temporarily among you, Moav; become a [secret] shelter for them from the face of the [violent] despoiler, because the one who is pressing [them] has reached his limit; the wreaker of havoc is finished; the trampler has already [come] out from the Land.

Dwell temporarily: As a "pasture" (v. 1), Sela (Petra) is well-defended and may be the sheepfold-fortress referred to in 34:6; 63:1. (Heb., "Botzrah", also the name of a city not far north of Petra) Its only entrance is a narrow, mile-long passageway between high cliffs. It could harbor well over a million people. The desert area between there and Mt. Sinai could harbor mant more. This is probably the same incident referred to in Revelation 12 when Israel (or at least Yehudah) is given a place to flee in the wilderness, probably after the Abomination that Makes Desolate is set up in the rebuilt Temple. (Mk. 13:14) But the Hebrew term for "outcasts" (or refugees) here is used in Deut. 30:1-5 to denote any from Israel who have left YHWH's covenant and are being punished by being dispersed to every part of the world, hence the Northern Kingdom as well. (compare Neh. 1:8ff). In 2 Shmuel 14:13 YHWH says He will devise a way for the outcasts to be restored, and Y'shua is just that. Indeed, He devised ways to make the fufillment of
Messianic prophecies appear less likely, so that when He brought it about nonetheless, His glory would be all the greater. One who is pressing them: The one place the Counterfeit Messiah will NOT have jurisdiction is the land of Jordan (the territory of Moav, Edom, and Ammon), though he enters the "beautiful, honored Land" of Israel. (Dan. 11:41) Thus this would be the ideal place for Israel to flee, being "next-door neighbors" who, at present, have a true peace treaty with Israel, unlike all other Arab neighbors. Reached his limit: perhaps being held off at the "grand canyon" of the Arnon River. (v. 2) Is finished: the Counterfeit Man's days are numbered, one more
encouragement YHWH gives to nudge Moav toward the right decision of whom to side with.

5. "But in mercy the throne has been established, and He will remain on it with stability in the Tent of David, executing judgment, investigating a case, then bringing justice promptly.

Perhaps this "sheepfold" is the gathering place where both houses of Israel together will have "David", the one shepherd, set over them (Hos. 1:11 or 2:2 in Heb.; Y'chezq'el/Ezek. 34:23; 37:24; Yochanan 10:16). After this, perhaps He, the antitype of the first Y'hoshua, will follow in Y'hoshua's footsteps from Mt. Sinai to Yerushalayim, minus the years of wandering in the
wilderness.

6. "We have heard of Moav's majesty (he is very proud), his haughtiness, his pomp, and his excessiveness, but this is not how his stragglers will be.

Stragglers: or lies. Apparently Moav reluctantly agreed to shelter the refugees after all, but then mocked them like the Filistines who asked David, "Why can't your Elohim protect you in your own Land? Why do you need to seek refuge from our gods?" So they will pay the price anyway.

7. "Therefore Moav will wail for Moav; every one of them will howl. You will groan for the ruins of Qir-Chareseth; indeed, they will be broken down.

Qir-Chareseth means "wall of earthenware".

8. "For the fields of Cheshbon have drooped, and [as for] the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the nations have beaten down their mother-vines. They have reached all the way to Ya'azer, and wander throughout the wilderness. Her shoots have been left fallow; they have reached the other side of the sea!

Sibmah: a region of Moav whose name means "fragrant". Mother-vines: the choicest, from which offshoots are taken to plant elsewhere. Ya'azer: a levitical city in Gil'ad, far north of Moav's northern border. Sea: here, the Dead Sea, which forms part of the western border of Moav (Jordan now as well).

9. "Therefore I will mourn the vine of Sibmah with the wailing of Ya'azer; I will drench you with my tears, O Cheshbon and El'ale, because the cheering for your summer fruits and your harvest has fallen [silent].

10. "Moreover, gladness and rejoicing are gathered up out of the [fruitful] plantation; there will be no song ringing out or shouting [heard] in the vineyards. The treaders will tread out no wine in their wine-presses. I have put an end to their cheering.

Cheering: particularly used in Scripture of those treading out wine and of a battle cry. Compare 63:2, 3.

11. "Therefore My internal organs will be stirred up like a harp for Moav, and My inward emotions for Qir-Chares[eth].

12. "But what will happen when it is seen that Moav has wearied himself on the worship-platform, that he will enter into his sanctuary to pray, but he will not prevail.

Not prevail: or "not be able to".

13. "This is the word that YHWH has been speaking to Moav for some time,

14. "but now YHWH has spoken, saying, �In three years, as a hired laborer [counts] years, the splendor of Moav, with all its great abundance will be despised, since what is left will be a trifling few and powerless.'"

As a hired laborer counts years: i.e., not one day longer than three years, since that is all he is paid for. Of course, the one who hired them would not let them work a day less than three years. Thus this means exactly three years. That was the exact length of time the Temple altar remained in its desecrated state in the days of the Maccabees, as recounted at Hanukkah.

CHAPTER 17

1. The oracle [concerning] Dameseq: "Behold, Dameseq is being removed from [the category] of a city; it will be a heap of ruins.

Dameseq (Damascus) is still the capital of Syria in our own day. So it is still here, and with the issue of the Golan Heights and Syria's support for Hizbullah terrorists, it is only adding to the reasons for the judgment described here. There is a word-play here: "From being a city" is me'ir in Hebrew, and "heap" is me'i. Compare Amos 1:3-5; Micha 1:6ff.

2. "[The] cities of Aroer are abandoned; they will be [a place] for flocks. They will stretch themselves out, and there will be nothing to make them afraid.

Cities of Aroer: or "ruined cities". Several towns in the region bore this name, one in Moav and one in Yehudah, but in this case the most likely candidate was in the territory of the Ammonites (and later Gad), near the Yabboq River, east of the Yarden, as it is the closest of the three to
Dameseq. Nothing to make them afraid: compare Micha 4:4.

3. "There will also cease to be blockaded cities in Efrayim when the sovereignty of Dameseq and the remnant of Aram [comes to an end]; they will become comparable in splendor to the descendants of Israel", declares YHWH of Armies.

4. "And in that day what will take place is that the importance of Yaaqov will be lowered, and the robustness of his flesh will be rendered lean,

5. "and it will be like when the reaper of a harvest of grain harvests the ears with his arm, and it will be like the one who gathers up the heads of grain in the valley of Refayim,

Refayim: a region of Bashan that means "healing" or "invigorating", but it was also the name of a race of giants.

6. "but the gleanings left in it will be like when one goes around an olive tree [and there are] two [or] three olives on the top of the uppermost branches, four [or] five on the most fruitful boughs", declares YHWH, Elohim of Israel.

7. "In that Day, mankind shall have regard for his Maker, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel,

Mankind: literally, "the Adam", i.e., the "one new man" that bears the restored image of Elohim.

8. "and he will not have regard for the altars, the craftsmanship of his [own] hands, nor will he look to what his fingers have made--that is, the asherim and sun-pillars.

Asherim: a grammatically improbable word in Hebrew. It is the masculine plural form of a word that is feminine in the singular (asherah, a fertility goddess). It thus signifies a male consort of this goddess, or a husband (Ba'al) for her, and hence an overtly sexual emphasis in its worship. The form it usually took was being a base so that the trees cut from the forest for this purpose could be stood upright again. This has its modern counterpart in the Christmas tree. In this light, it is especially significant that YHWH forbade any trees to be near His sanctuary. (Deut.
16:21) Sun-pillars: from a word for "heat", and this probably connected with these fornicatory rituals.

9. "In that day his fortress cities will be like an abandoned forest, an uppermost branch that they have left [unharvested]; it will become a wasteland.

Forest: or bough, possibly relating to the imagery in v. 6.

10. "Because you have forgotten the Elohim of your deliverance, and you did not call to mind the Rock of your strength, you will therefore plant pleasing pleasant plants, but sow it with foreign shoots.

Pleasing plants... foreign shoots: This may be the phrase on which Y'shua based His parable of the wheat and tares. (Mat. 13:25ff)

11. "In the day in which you plant it, you carefully build a fence around it, and on the [next] morning you cause the bud to sprout. [But] what is harvested [will be] a heap in a day of sickness and incurable pain.

12. "Alas to the crowd of great nations, who make a commotion like the roaring of the seas, and who make a din like the rumbling of [the confluence of] many [powerful] waters!

18:1 shows that the context is the "birth pangs of the Messiah", so here Babylon is linked with not just the "motherland" of Bavel, but all the nations that have "been made drunk with the wine of her fornications"--i.e., the whole world system that unifies in opposition to YHWH when He has
declared that His Anointed One is now to reign on the earth.

13. "The [gathering] nations will rumble in like the rushing of abundant waters, but He has rebuked them, and they have fled far away, and have been
chased before the wind like the chaff of the mountains, and like a tumbleweed before a windstorm.

Tumbleweed: or anything that rolls, or perhaps simply whirling dust.

14. "Then indeed, toward eveningtime, calamity [comes]! Before morning arrives, there is nothing [left] of them! This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who pillage us."

CHAPTER 18

1. "Woe to the land of whirring wings, which [comes] from beyond the river of Kush,

River of Kush: Nimrod was Kush's son, and he inhabited Shinar and founded
Bavel. (Gen. 10:8ff) But it may be Africa that is referred to, as the remainder of Kush's descendants settled there.

2. "that sends ambassadors by sea and in vessels of papyrus-reed upon the surface of the waters. Go, fleet [footed] messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people who inspire dread, from [its inception] onward--a subjugating nation, measured out [with a cord], a land whose rivers have bisected it!

Ambassadors: the word can also mean "hinge" or "door pivot" (as a harbinger of a coming transition to something new), as well as "pangs" or distress". But its root word means "to cramp". So this cramping by a massive gathering of enemies, the minions of the Counterfeit Messiah, will be what YHWH uses to push the true New Man through the birth canal and bring about
the Kingdom. But since the woe is to this place and he shifts the focus to another nation, it may be indicating that "cramped people" were sent by sea, which immediately reminds us of slave ships. Fleet-footed: or lightweight; i.e., swift. "Tall" here can also mean "postponed" or "deferred". Bavel's destruction was deferred until long after the city itself ceased to be anything significant, but its influence had to last until the end of days so that the battle between the only two actual ways of life (civilization based on rebellion against YHWH and the worldview of Israel) could come to its final head and the false system be completely obliterated. But it can also mean "scattered"; a scattered people whose kingdom is "set aside" until later would be Israel. Measured out: a reduplicated form of the word for "cord". Thus it may symbolize two cords. North America holds a proportionately high percentage of those scattered from the Northern Kingdom; indeed it seems to be a special gathering place for these three elements of Israel: those
enslaved and brought here on "cramped" slave ships, the "tall and smooth" native Americans who had settled here earlier (some colonizing this land as early as King Shlomo's day), and finally those Europeans who indeed became mighty very early in the nation's history. This may be the "appointed" place to which many of YHWH's people would come for safety from oppression (cf. 2
Shmuel 10:7), yet which is not their final settling place (1 Chron. 17:9). The second cord is Y'shua. This nation was actually founded so that these oppressed ones could worship as they felt YHWH's word mandated. So Y'shua has always been a strong element of our national identity, though he was not known in His Hebraic context. Yet only "a threefold cord is not easily
broken" (Eccles. 4:12) While there is a large percentage of Yehudah in North America as well, they know their identity yet have not embraced the open door to return to the Land YHWH gave to all Israel. The third cord that will lend this highest level of stability is the faithful of Yehudah, with whom these other two elements (the Kingdom of Israel and Y'shua its king) will yet be
united.

3. "All inhabitants of the civilized world, those of the land who have settled down: When [someone] lifts up a conspicuous signal on the mountains, you will take notice! And when he gives a blast on the shofar, you will listen!

Those of the land who have settled down: or "dwellers of the earth"--perhaps the dead who will rise at the shofar blast. (1 Thess. 4:16-17)

4. "Because this is what YHWH said to me: �I will settle down and focus My attention on My established Place, like a glowing heat above a light, like a cloud of mist in the heat of harvest,

Settle down: or "rest", "be quiet", "be at peace"--all indications that He is speaking of the Sabbath rest that comes in the Messianic Kingdom. My Established Place: the Land of Israel, Yerushalayim, and most specifically the Temple Mount. Mist: or dew, always a harbinger of good in Scriptrue, for it feeds tender plants that would be damaged by driving rains, causing them
to bud in the morning (v. 5).

5. "because before the harvest, when the flower has finished [blooming] and the sour grape will be ripening to a sparkle, He will both cut off the [excess] shoots with a pruning knife and take away and cut down the unfruitful tendrils.

Take away...the unfruitful tendrils: so that the other branches will bear more fruit or leave room for grafting. (Yochanan 15:1-2; Rom. 11:17-24)

6. "[All of] them together will be left to the ravenous birds of the mountains and all the beasts of the earth. The birds of prey will spend the summer over them, and all the [other] beasts of the earth will spend the winter on them.

The same is said of Bavel (Babylon) in Rev. 18, where these "birds and beasts" are identified with demons. In any case, these birds always show up at the scene of destruction or war. (Yirmiyahu 7:33; 12:9, etc.)

7. "At that time the homage-gift will be carried to YHWH of a people tall and smooth and a people from it who inspire dread, and [keep going] beyond--a subjugating nation [that is] measured out [with a cord], a land whose rivers have bisected it, to the Place of the Name of YHWH of Armies--Mount Tsion."

Though other nations will be required to do homage to Y'shua in the Kingdom (Zech. 14:16ff; Rev. 21:24), here the people brought back from this land are themselves the homage-gift to YHWH.

CHAPTER 19

1. The oracle [concerning] Egypt: "Behold! YHWH rides on a swift cloud, and has entered Egypt, so Egypt's worthless [images] will shake from His presence, and Egypt's heart will dissolve away within it.

Egypt was a refuge that initially took Israel in during a time of need, then gave Israel authority, benefitting greatly because of this, but then it turned and enslaved Israel to its own agendas. As such, in addition to whatever literal fulfillment this prophecy will have, it is also a metaphor for the organized Church, which has done all the same. Now YHWH is again saying, "Let My people go", so they can fulfill their complete calling. When He shakes all things, He can sift Efrayim back out, and though Egypt's heart is melted, it can still be recast in the right mold if the people in the
Church grasp the truth.

2. "And I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian, and they will fight, each man against his brother, and each man against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.

This is another evidence that there is a deeper meaning than literal Egypt, for while Egypt was divided into several kingdoms long before Yeshayahu's day, it has been a unified land ever since. But Christianity has been divided over and over again.

3. "Then Egypt's spirit will be emptied out within it, and I will swallow up its counsel. Then they will seek out the worthless images and the enchanters, the mediums, and the familiar spirits.

Spirit: not the truly Holy Spirit, but the spirit of the wicked shepherds who muddy the waters for the sheep. (Y'chezq'el/Ezek. 34:19) Enchanters: literally, "those who go softly".

4. "But I have [hemmed them in and] delivered them over into the hand of a harsh master, and a fierce king will have dominion over them", declares the Master, YHWH of Armies.

Joseph Good sees Egypt prophetically as Europe in the last days, the first area to be ruled by the Counterfeit Messiah. He will probably also be associated with the visible Church at first, but will then turn on it, and at that point it will be too late to get out. He is calling us to become Israel
now while there is still freedom to do so. In this light, compare Yahshua's statement that His "yoke is easy and [His] burden is light." (Matt. 11:30)

5. "Then the waters will be dried up from the sea, and the river will be desolate and dried up.

6. "The rivers will be pushed aside, and the siege-moats will languish and be dried up; water-reeds and bulrushes will wither away.

Pushed aside: perhaps by a major cataclysm that changes all their courses when the mountains are lowered and the valleys lifted up. (40:4) Siege-moats: or canals, which depended on the Nile. When rivers change their course, stagnant "oxbow" lakes are left, and those who built fixed houses and depended on conditions remaining the same have no livelihood left. (v. 10)
But Israel is called to "dwell in tents" as sojourners, so that we can move along with the water source. YHWH shifts it periodically so that we depend on Him, not on the patterns by which He has blessed us in the past. The Church once had the true water, but its candlestick has been taken away, and we need to follow YHWH's move.

7. "There will be bare spots by the Nile, by the mouth of the Nile, and everything sown [by] the Nile will dry up, be driven away, and no longer exist.

Sown: a reminder of the Northern Kingdom, since Hoshea said Elohim would sow it into the whole world. (2:23) But the Nile, or Egypt, represents the world from which Israel is to be cut off. Anything that has not been harvested will be done away with.

8. "The fishermen will also lament, and everyone who casts a hook into the Nile will mourn; those who spread out fishnets over the surface of the waters will grow feeble.

Grow feeble: or "be bereaved". Efrayim has "multiplied like fish" (Gen. 48:16), and Yahshua sent His envoys out to gather them. (Jer. 16:16; Mark 1:17) But once He has fished out the last that He wishes to restore to Israel, those who made money off the Gospel will have no more market. (v. 10) The day of fishing is over. For a long time it was allowable to randomly drop our nets, not being able to see what we were catching, but Yahshua's parable reminds us that we still have to sort out what is kosher and what is not. (Matt. 13:47ff) After the fishing, He says He will send out hunters (Yirmiyahu 16:16)--those who seek out specific individuals and follow them
until they are captured.

9. "Those who labor in combed flax will be ashamed, along with the weavers of white cloth.

Ashamed: or disconcerted, disappointed. They have been weaving their white cloth (in Scripture, a symbol of the works of the righteous) into more fishnets instead of garments. The goal is not to keep getting bigger, but to become holier, whichg in Scripture usually means to become smaller, as those who have the wrong motives are screened out and only what is pure remians; Y'shua said He came to seek and rescue what was lost (Luk. 19:10)--nothing else, unless others wish to become part of the Israel that was lost.

10. "Her supports will be crushed; the souls of all who earn wages will become stagnant ponds.

Earn wages: i.e., who make their livelihood from the River. Living (running) water is meant to flow through us and on to others, but when we try to dam it up so that we can contain it as security for later, it becomes undrinkable. In Israel, this pattern began with Yaravam (Jeroboam), who wanted the tithe that belonged to the Levites as his own revenue, and offered a convenient alternative to what YHWH had commanded. The Church also keeps people from growing beyond a certain point by saying they have gone too far, lest they lose the tithe as well.

11. "The rulers of Tsoan are certainly perverse, and the counsel of Pharaoh's wise advisors has been dulled. How can you say to Pharaoh, �I am the son of the wise ones, the son of ancient kings?'

Tsoan: Tanis (modern-day San), on the eastern bank of a branch of the Nile. The capital of the Shepherd Dynasty (Hyksos), its name means "place of departure". How can we even explain to Church leaders, whose sense of what is biblical has been altered by centuries of the wrong focus, that we are indeed heirs to the covenants of Israel and should be living according to the ancient paths?

12. "Where are your wise ones now? All right, let them inform you of what they know YHWH of Armies has planned in regard to Egypt!

13. "The rulers of Tsoan have become fools! The rulers of Nof are deceived; Egypt is misled by the cornerstone of its tribes.

Nof: Another name for Memphis, the capital city of Egypt.

14. "YHWH has produced a distorted, mixed-up spirit in the heart of her, and they have misled Egypt in its every undertaking, as a drunkard staggers through his vomit.

YHWH has produced: Is He the author of confusion? No, but for those who do not love the truth, He sends a strong delusion so that they think they are on the right track, and thus provides a backdrop against which to contrast true righteousness. (2 Thess. 2:10-11; 1 Cor. 11:19)

15. "Then Egypt will have no work that [either] head or tail, palm branch or bulrush [fiber] can do.

Head : 9:14 interprets this figuratively as "an elder or honored one", "and the prophet who teaches falsehood, he is the tail." Palm branch... bulrush fiber: also a metaphor for the highest and the lowliest. There will be no point in any of YHWH's people remaining there anymore.

16. "In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and they will be terrified and shake from the presence of the wielding of the hand of YHWH of Armies, which He is brandishing against it.

17. "And the soil of Yehudah will become a cause of reeling to Egypt; everyone who brings it to mind will be in dread from the presence of the purpose which YHWH of hosts has devised in regard to it.

I.e., YHWH plans to make Israel "the head and not the tail". (Deut. 28:13) The land that now belongs to Yehudah, but is the inheritance of all Israel, will beckon many out of their bondage to the Church. The fertile soil of Hebraic understanding of Scripture is also robbing the Church and
Babylon of their Christmas and Saturday shopping revenues, and Yerushalayim
will only become more and more of a cup of trembling to the nations that come against it. (Zech. 12:12)

18. "In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Kanaan and swearing to YHWH of Armies, and one will be called the City of Destruction.

City of Destruction: or overthrow. But this was a nickname for Auschwitz. Joseph Good sees "Egypt" as an end-time prophetic code-name for Europe. Several concentration camps were never dismantled and could be re-used. Verse 20 could lend credence to this. The five virgins in Yahshua's parable who missed the wedding feast (Matt. 25) may have a "second chance" to prove their true loyalty during the time of Yaaqov's trouble through the much suffering and martyrdom that we read of in the book of Revelation. The language of Kanaan seems to be a poetic way of saying "Hebrew" since it is YHWH by whom they are taking oaths. But Kanaan also means "merchant".

19. "In that day there will be an altar to YHWH in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to YHWH near its border,

Some see both of these as describing the Great Pyramid, since two things are mentioned here, yet together they are spoken of in singular terms in v. 20. This pyramid is both at the center of an arc drawn along the Nile delta's coastline as well as at the dividing line between Upper and Lower
Egypt. It is seen to have prophetic significance in its every measurement. Perhaps, however, all it is saying is that in the Messianic Kingdom, Egypt will only be worshipping YHWH. (Compare Zecharyah 14:18) In the days of Greek rule over Israel, the Tzadoq priesthood was ousted by whomever could pay for it or whomever the new rulers wished to appoint, and some of the true
priests moved to Egypt and did build a Temple and altar there.

20. "and it will become a distinguishing token and a testimony to YHWH of Armies in the land of Egypt, because they will cry out to YHWH for help from the presence of the oppressors, and He will send them a deliverer, and a great one at that, and he will rescue them.

Deliverer: the word has the same root as "Y'shua". Rescue: literally, "snatch them out". This seems to be a repetition of the history of the Exodus.

21. "Then YHWH will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will be familiar with YHWH in that day, and they will render slaughter and offering, and vow a vow to YHWH, and make good on it.

Make good on it: literally, "complete it".

22. "When YHWH strikes Egypt, He will be [both] striking and healing, and they will return all the way to YHWH, and He will allow them to bring Him their petition, and He will heal them.

23. "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Ashur, and the Assyrian will enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Ashur, but Egypt will serve Ashur.

Compare 35:6ff.

24. "In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Ashur, a blessing in the heart of the earth,

The third: i.e., in triangulation of power. If Egypt represents the Church, could Ashur represent the Islamic nations, who are also misled but full of zeal for what they think is right, and unwilling to be persuaded otherwise by Babylon? The predominant enemies of Israel may thus become her
allies, being together the three strands of a cord, after they are purged of their impurities. (See the end of chapter 21) But we aim to be the firstfruits who do not miss the wedding feast either. Heart: literally, "nearest" or "innermost part".

25. "whom YHWH of Armies has intensely blessed, saying, �Blessed be My people Egypt, Ashur, the product of My hands, and Israel, My inheritance."

CHAPTER 20

1. The year that Tartawn came to Ashdod (when Sargon the king of Ashur sent him), and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

Tartawn: an Assyrian title for a field-marshal, general, or commander. Ashdod: near the coast of Judea south of present-day Tel Aviv, it was once a Filistine city where the captured Ark of the Covenant caused the inhabitants great distress. (1 Shmuel 5) When Assyrian King Sargon II replaced Ashdod's King Azuri with his brother, Ashdod rebelled, with this repercussion in 711 B.C., ten years before Sennacheriv attempted to besiege Yerushalayim, and possibly the same year Samaria (capital of the Northern Kingdom) was besieged.

2. at that time YHWH spoke by the hand of Yeshayahu the son of Amotz, saying, "Go and loosen the burlap from off your waist, and take off your shoe from your foot." So he did just that, walking around naked and barefoot.

3. Then YHWH said, "Just as My servant Yeshayahu has walked around naked and barefoot for three years--a warning and sign about Egypt and Kush--

4. "in the same way the king of Ashur will conduct away captives from Egypt and exiles from Kush, young and old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks stripped bare, to Egypt's shame.

Exiles: itself based on a different word meaning "uncovered" or "laid bare", which slaves taken in battle often were. To Egypt's shame: or, "leaving Egypt vulnerable". Exodus 20:26 and Lev. 18, 20 forbid letting one's nakedness be seen, as it reveals our shame (47:3), so this was an
extreme measure to get the point across to Yehudah that Egypt was in reality not something in which they could place confidence. "Naked" in Hebrew also means "undefended". Yeshayahu is to be commended for his confidence that this was really YHWH speaking!

5. "So they will be shocked and embarrassed by Kush, on which they had pinned their expectations, and by Egypt, [whose adornment had been] their boast.

They: Apparently Yehudah.

6. "Then in that day the inhabitant of this region will say, �Look! This is what the object of our expectation is [really] like--[the one] to whom we had run for help to be rescued from before the king of Ashur. So how can we be saved?'"

This shows that they were indeed not trusting YHWH, and thus did feel naked before the world forces that were vying for prominence all around them.

CHAPTER 21

1. The oracle [concerning] the uninhabited land in the west: "Just as the windstorms in the Negev start up afresh, from the wilderness it comes, from a fearsome land!

Uninhabited land: wilderness or pasture-land, but possibly another reference to Bavel on the mystery level, referring prophetically to another nation that shares Babylon's characteristics and is decimated by the lands described below, yet is in the west, unlike literal Bavel. That western land was largely uninhabited in Yeshayahu's day. West: or "seaward". Fearsome: or "dreadful".

2. "A severe vision is made known to me: the treacherous one deals treacherously, and the devastator devastates. Ascend, O Eylam! Begin a siege, O Madai! I have made all her groaning to cease.

Eylam: descendants of Shem's oldest son. Madai: the Medes, a Yafethite people who became, in league with the Persians, the next great regional empire after Babel. Under the rule of Zimri, the fifth king of Israel, the Northern Kingdom was allied with both Eylam and Madai. (Yirm. 25:25) Both of these lands are in present-day Iraq, east of what was then Ashur and
Babylonia. Eylam had a substantial coastlien on the Persian Gulf. Prophecies about its downfall fill Yirmiyahu 49 and Y'hezq'el 32. Ascend...: in Yeshayahu 13:17, it is Babylon that Eylam and Madai are attacking.

3. "This is why my abdomen is filled with pain. Pangs have taken hold of me, like the birthpangs of a woman in labor. I writhed when I heard it, and was alarmed when I saw it.

Abdomen: same word as "waist" in 20:2. Writhed: was bent over, distorted, or twisted. I.e., doubled over in initial shock. But may relate to Babylon's giving birth to wind, unexpectedly. (26:18; see note on 13:8)

4. "My heart staggered; I was overtaken with trembling. He has turned the twilight of the thing I desired into anxious concern for me.

Twilight:or "festive evening"; from a root word meaning "blowing". The much sought-after lover has proven treacherous. (v. 2)

5. "Set the table in order; keep watch in the watchtower! Eat, drink, rise up, princes, and anoint a shield,

In context, it seems that this refers to the night when King Belshazzar saw the handwriting on the wall. (Daniel 5) But the first 19 times this term "table" is used in Scripture (and every time it appears in the Torah) it refers to the Table of Showbread, which represents the unity of the 12 tribes of Israel. So this may be a command to put the twelve tribes back in their proper place, just as Yoseyf set his brothers in their birth order when he came to dine with them. Anoint: the word from which "Messiah" is derived. Since this is taking place with all twelve tribes present, it is probably in the set-apart place where Israel is hidden during the time of Yaaqov's Trouble. (16:1-5; Y'hezq'el 37:24) Shield: what YHWH said He would be to Avraham. (Gen. 15:1) It is often a symbol of YHWH's trustworthy protection of those He loves. Psalm 84:9 links the two again: "Behold our shield, O Elohim, and pay attention to Your anointed. There it is linked with ascending to the Temple. "Shield" is actually what the "star" of David is called in Hebrew. It is derived from the shape of the pomegranate blossom at the end of David's scepter, and hence is related to the Messianic throne.

6. "because this is what YHWH has told me: �Go, station a watchman; let him report what he sees!'

7. "Now [what] he sees [is] a chariot with a team of war-horses, a chariot of a donkey, a chariot of camels. So he listened carefully with intense attention,

8. "and he will proclaim, �A lion! Adonai, I myself always stand at the lookout-post by day, and I am on duty at my post every night,

Lion: or "plucker", "gatherer". Babylon is likened to a winged lion in Daniel 7:4, and this was the insignia on Babylon's Ishtar gates.

9. "�and here, indeed, comes a man's chariot [with] a pair of war-horses!' So he replied, saying, �Babylon has fallen! It has fallen! And all the
carved images of its mighty ones He has dashed to the earth!'

Yochanan echoes this and expands on it in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. So this vision is also for the end times. In a sense," Babylon" sums up the evils of all of the other nations mentioned here. (cf. Zech. 5:5-11)

10. "O that which I have treaded out, and sons of My threshing-floor! What I have heard from YHWH of Armies, the Elohim of Israel [is what] I have made known to you."

Threshing-floor: where Boaz, a prototype of the Messiah, was winnowing barley the night Ruth, a picture of the returning tribes of Israel, presented herself to him. (Ruth 3:2) The site of the Temple Mount was also a threshing-floor before David bought it. (2 Shmuel 24:16ff; 1 Chron. 21) So these "sons of My threshing-floor" are "children of the Temple" and of the Messiah. There are many parallels to this passage. Yesh. 28:27-28 tells about how different plants are threshed, and this relates to the way grain is made into bread, a picture of how YHWH uses our different gifts to build up His Body (Eph. 4). Then, after being chastised for their sins and bound together, when the nations come against him, Efrayim will have become one that loves to read out grain. (Hos. 10:11) At the time of the Daughter of Tsion's birthpangs, she will be snatched back from Bavel, and the nations that are gathered against her to look upon her to defile her will themselves
be threshed by the Daughter of Tsion. (Micha 4:9-13)

11. The oracle [concerning] Dumah: "He calls to me from Seir, �O watchman! What [is the news] of the night? O watchman! What [is the news] of the night?'

Dumah: a son of Yishmael. (Gen. 25:14) Watchman: or guard.

12. "A watchman says, �The morning is arriving, but also the night! If you will inquire, [then] inquire. Turn back! Come!'"

Morning...also night: Compare Zecharyah 14:7, where all nations gather against Yerushalayim on this unique day when it is neither day nor night, but it is dark at noon.

13. The oracle on the Arab: "You shall spend the night in the forest in Arabia, O Dedanite caravans.

Dedan: one of Kush's sons. Dedan had a son named Ashurim, the plural form of Ashur, which is a Semitic race. This is a picture of how Hebraic truth may be imitated and even multiplied by the Bavel system. (Bavel was also founded by a Kushite, Nimrod.)

14. "The inhabitants of the land of Theyma have brought water to the one who is thirsty; they met the fugitive with their bread,

Theyma: "desert"; possibly the same as Theyman, which is the Hebrew name for Yemen, and a grandson of Esau.(Gen. 36:11) Its people were known for their wisdom. (Yirm. 49:7) Again, perhaps this oracle indicates hope that a small remnant will be salvaged for YHWH even from the Muslim world.

15. "because they were fleeing from the face of swords, from before drawn swords, and from the presence of the bow bent [by the feet], and from the presence of the weight of battle.

16. "Because this is what Adonai has told me: �Still, within a year, according to the year of a hired worker, all the splendor of Qedar will come to an end,

Qedar: a son of Yishmael. The name means "dark". These people were known for their tents.

17. "and the ones left of those who were counted archers--the mighty men of the sons of Qedar--will be few, because YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, has spoken."

CHAPTERS 28 - 33

CHAPTER 28

1. Alas [for the] crown of pride of Efrayim's drunkards and the shining head-plate [that is] fading, the decoration of his rank which is on the head of the valley of fatness of those who are overcome with wine!

Drunkards: LXX, hirelings. Head-plate: Aramaic, turban. Fading: or "drooping", "dropping down".

2. Behold! Adonai has a strong and courageous one, like a hailstorm or a terror of destruction, like a flood of powerful, overflowing waters [that] He lets down onto the Land by hand.

Hailstorm: or perhaps a meteorite shower. Overflowing: or "washing off, rinsing", as in cleaning it up. The Aramaic targum's interpretation is that this refers to a Gentile army.

3. The crown of pride of Efrayim's drunkards will be trampled underfoot,

4. along with the shining head-plate [that is] fading, the decoration of his rank which is on the head of the valley of fatness, like the firstfruit before the summer, which the inspector looks at; he swallows it while it is still in the palm of his hand.

5. In that Day YHWH of Armies will become the crown of decoration and the diadem of rank for the remnant of His people,

No one will boast about rank once He demonstrates His own power and authority.

6. and a spirit of justice for the one who sits on the court of judgment, and bravery for those who turn back the battle at the gate.

At the gate: metaphorically, this also refers to the strength He gives us to battle temptation at our own "eye gate", "ears gate", etc. (Gen. 4:7)

7. But even these have swerved into error through wine, and wandered off course due to intoxicating liquor. Cohen and prophet have swerved into error due to intoxicating liquor; they have been swallowed up because of wine. They have wandered off course due to strong drink. They meander in [their]
prophetic vision; they stumble when reasoning out a verdict, This may be an allusion to the "wine mixed for Meni [fate]", and the next verse to the "table set for Gad [fortune]". (65:11) I.e., those who should
have grown to maturity by being taught the Torah (v. 9) are being tossed about by every wind of pagan doctrine. Intoxicating beverage is not forbidden (Ps. 104:5; Prov. 31:6), but we need to weight he profit of using it, for it can deceive us. When we need to be clear-headed, not just for our own sakes, but for the sake of the people of Israel, it may not be wise. (Prov. 20:1; 23:31; 31:4) Interestingly, wine was not drunk in the wilderness, and YHWH tied that to knowing Him. (Deut. 29:5-6) Even the prophets are caught up in the paganism of this Bacchanalia and such paganism.

8. because every table is full of vomit and excrement, without a place.

LXX: "A curse will devour this counsel, since it is counsel for the sake of covetousness." A place: or standing-place, often an idiom for the Temple, where everyone stood while worshipping YHWH. The rabbis teach that a table is full of vomit if we eat at it without recognizing Him.

9. To whom should He direct knowledge? And to whom should He explain the message? To those being weaned from milk, [who are] moving on from the breasts.

Direct: or teach, impart. Moving on: ready to advance beyond the basics--those who are grown up.

10. Because [it is], "Tzav l'tzav, tzav l'tzav, qav l'qav, qav l'qav", a little there, a little [over] there,

Possibly, "order for order, order for order, line for line, line for line". The LXX has, "expect affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope". The targum goes into more detail about the concepts of "commands" and "hope". On the surface this may be so. But more likely, because none of them are mature enough to explain the Torah to the people, and are too drunk to listen, it sounds like babbling or baby-talk to them, when in fact it is "baby food"! (Heb. 5:12) It is the most basic knowledge one must have before he can move on to anything deeper. Paul's writings are meat, and cannot be properly understood without a strong foundation in the Torah. (2 Kefa/Peter 3:16). Meat needs to be left until we can digest it, and the "milk" of Torah makes that possible. The Holy Spirit can only bring to our remembrance (Yochanan 14:26) what we have already learned. Feeding a child too much meat too early will make him fat--which is what made Israel turn from YHWH (Deut. 32:15).

11. because with mocking lips and a different language will this people be spoken to,

12. to whom He had said, "This is the restingplace; give rest to the weary! This is the refreshing!" But they were not willing to listen.

13. So YHWH's word to them was , "Tzav l'tzav, tzav l'tzav, qav l'qav, qav l'qav, a little there, a little [over] there", in order that they may proceed, then stumble backward, and be crippled, then ensnared, then captured.

I.e., YHWH will mock them back, confounding them with the languages of the peoples to whose lands they will be exiled, to see if they still think so smugly of themselves.

14. So listen to what YHWH says, you arrogant scoffers who govern this people who are in Yerushalayim!

Now Judah is acting like the Northern Kingdom did.

15. Because you have been saying, "We have made a covenant with death, and have cut a deal with the grave: when the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not come upon us, because we have set up a lie as our shelter [something], and have hidded ourselves within what is fraudulent."

A lie: or "what will disappoint us". I.e., the enemy will not recognize us. This sounds like "selling onbe's soul to the devil" in exchange for great riches. But "death" here could also mean "the dead", and we can also see in it the Christian emphasis on Yahshua's death more than His resurrection (as seen in crucifixes, etc.) As well as the Rabbinic Jewish practice of praying at the graves of great men. They may only be making requests in the name of the merit of these great men, and there is Scriptural precedent for that, but some teach that even if there is a voice from heaven, the rabbis can overrule it. Egypt's focus was on death, while the Torah focuses on life, so much so that the High Priest may never touch any dead
body.

16. Therefore, this is what the Master YHWH says: "Here I am, laying as a foundation in Tsion a building stone--a stone [that has been] tested and proven, a cornerstone appraised at high value, a well-established foundation; whoever firmly trusts will not act [so] hastily.

The Aramaic targum says this "stone" is a "great, mighty, and terrifying king. Compare "The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (Ps. 118). It is the Messiah. Act hastily: Aramaic, "be shaken when distress comes".

17. "Then I will appoint justice as the measuring line, and righteousness as the plumb-bob, and hail will sweep away the disappointing shelter, and the waters will wash away your hiding place.

As the measuring line: Heb., "l'qav", one of the phrases they used above in drunken mockery. Plumb-bob: righteousness thus "hangs" on justice, or a system of right ways to rule in court, based on Torah, which upholds it. Righteousness cannot be complete in isolation.

18. "Then your covenant with death will be buried, and your deal cut with the grave will never be ratified. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be directly in its path.

Buried: or "void". Ratified: or "established", but in this context it is somewhat sarcastically used, because the word is also commonly used for "resurrected". Directly in its path: literally, "the place for it to
trample" or "stampede upon".

19. Every time it passes through, it will take you, because morning after morning it will pass through, both by day and by night, and making the message understood will be pure horror,

Making the message understood: LXX, "Understanding this report". Aramaic, "Before the moment of the curse comes, you will consider the sayings of the prophets."

20. because the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the cover is too narrow to wrap oneself in.

I.e., Egypt is inadequate; you will find no rest in her. If you are not listening to My word, you will remain cold. You will not have a covering (atonement), because faith without works is dead.

21. For YHWH will rise up like Mount Pratzim, and he will be stirred up like the Valley of Giv'on to accomplish His work--His strange work--and to bring about His servitude--His foreign servitude.

Mt. Pratzim ["breaches"]: Possibly Baal-Pratzim, the scene of David's victory over the Filistines in the Valley of Refayim between Yerushalayim and Beyth Lechem. However, the targum identifies this as "the day the mountains shook when YHWH's glory was revealed in the days of Uzziyahu the king", which
would be in the memory of those listening to Yeshayahu's prophecy. Valley of Giv'on: Giv'on is in the mountains, but was the place Y'hoshua told the sun to stand still while he was fighting in the Valley--of the Ayalon. The targum identifies this reference with that time "when YHWH listened to a man" (Y'shoshua 10:14).

22. So now, do not show yourselves to be scorners, lest the bonds [of your chastening] be made severe, because a complete destruction and one that is decisive, is what I have heard from YHWH of Armies in regard to the whole Land.

I.e., "Your punishment is guaranteed to come, but it can be minimized. Do not prove to be unteachable."

23. Cup your ear and listen to my voice! Pay attention, and listen to what I am saying!

24. Does the plowman plow all day in order to sow? Does he loosen and break the clods of his ground?

LXX: "Or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the soil?" The Aramaic targum identifies the plowman with the prophet and asked what could be done for sinners (the "clods") if they would only listen.

25. When he has made its surface level, doesn't he scatter the black cummin abroad, then toss the cummin, then set the wheat in straight rows, and mark off the barley with spelt as its border?

Black cummin: a plant with small black, acrid seeds used as a spice. Aramaic: "If the House of Israel set their face to perform the Torah, would He not turn back and gather them from among the Gentiles, among whom they are scattered, as dill and cummin which are strewn?"

26. He has even corrected it so it is fitting, as his Elohim directs him,

LXX: "So you will be chastened by your Elohim's judgment, and will rejoice." The Aramaic interpretation is similar: YHWH teaches them the correct way through judgment.

27. because black cummin is not threshed with something sharp, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin, since black cummin is to be beaten out with a branch, and cummin with a club.

Threshing is part of the process of making bread, which Paul says we are becoming. (1 Cor. 10:17) The different ministry gifts (Eph. 4) parallel the process of turning grain into bread. But different types of grain are prepared in different ways, and likewise different congregations have different purposes, and different people must be brought to fruitfulness through different means and methods. YHWH has made us all unique, and we each have a unique part to play in His overall plan, but all must be working toward the same goals, as in Hebraic dance we have to lean so far in one direction as to be unbalanced alone, but we hold each other up. But some people are ideal for dealing with one type of problem, or one type of person,
but not for another.

28. Grain is crushed, yet one does not always trample on it to thresh it, but impels it forward with the wheel of his cart, but his horse-team does not pulverize it.

Discernment is a must. If you want the right result, you need to use more than just one tool. One is used to get the grain to the first stage, then another to deal with the next. You can thresh all day, but you will not
have flour until it is also ground, roasted, etc. Preaching the Gospel over and over will not bring someone to maturity. We need everyone's giftings in place in order to build maturity, each in the right measure and at the right time. But unlike grain, a person has to also consent to be threshed.

29. This, too, emanates from YHWH of Armies, who has brought an extraordinary plan into being, and caused sound knowledge to increase.

CHAPTER 29

1. Alas, Ariel! Ariel! The town where David abode! Add year upon year; let the festivals run their circuit.

Ariel: "Lion of Elohim", another name for Yerushalayim, perhaps because the Temple appeared like a stylized lion from a distance, with its front facade higher than the rear part and the altar like its paws stretched in front of it. The Aramaic substitutes the word "altar". Run their circuit: i.e., one full year.

2. Then I will press Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation, and it will be like Ariel to Me.

Compare how YHWH says He will be like a lion to both Efrayim and Yehudah until they repent. (Hos. 5:14; 13:8-9)

3. So I will encamp like a circle over you, and impose a siege on you [with] entrenchment, and raise up ramparts against you.

Encamp: the same word as "abode" in v. 1. Ramparts: or battle-towers (the Assyrian style which were attached to battering rams).

4. Then you will be brought down, and will speak out of the earth, and your voice will be muffled by the dust. Your voice will come from the ground like a spiritist, and your speech will whisper from the dust.

Muffled: or "humbled", "laid low", "reduced".

5. And the great number of your enemies will be like fine dust, and the vast number of ruthless ones like the chaff that passes through, and it will come suddenly, as a surprise.

Enemies: literally, "strangers", "aliens"; the targum identifies them as "your dispersed".

6. You will be visited by YHWH of Armies, with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, whirlwind, storm, and a flame of devouring fire.

7. And the vast number of all the nations who fight against Ariel--those who swell up against her and her stronghold--will become like a prophetic dream and an oracular vision at night.

8. It will even be like when a hungry man dreams that he is eating, but then he wakes up and his appetite is in vain, or like when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but then he wakes up and is fainting [from thirst] after all. This is how it will be for all the vast numbers of Gentiles who fight against Mount Tsion.

9. Linger and be dumbfounded! Smear your eyes shut and be blind! They are drunken, but it is not wine; they stagger, but it is not intoxicating beverage,

10. because YHWH has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and will cause your eyes to be tightly shut. He has caused the prophets and your heads, the seers, to be concealed.

Spirit of deep sleep: insensibility, intense shock, dulled senses; Aramaic, "deception". The original Hebrew uses the same word as for the "deep slumber" that YHWH brought over Adam when He wished to create Chavvah/Eve (Gen. 2:21); In Romans 11, Paul quotes this verse and explains how He again uses this method to produce a bride by "putting Israel to sleep"! Compare1 Sh'muel 26:12; Yochanan/John 11:11ff; 1 Thess. 4:14.

11. So the whole vision has become for you like the words of a sealed book, which they give to one who is literate, saying, "Please read this", but he says, "I cannot, because it is sealed."

Is literate: Literally, "knows books". Only Yahshua can break the seal on a scroll in Revelation 5, which is probably the deed to the earth which Adam "sold". But it may also refer to the proper understanding of the Torah.

12. Then the book is given to one who does not know book[s], saying, "Please read this", but he says, "I am illiterate."

I am illiterate: literally, "I do not know books": But perhaps in this case it is because the book is in Hebrew, and they have already begun to think like Gentiles.

13. So YHWH says, "On account of the fact that this people has come close to Me with their mouth and honored Me with their lips, but have removed their heart far away from Me, and their respect for Me is drilled into them by the commandments of mortal men.

Yahshua quoted this in Matithyahu 15 in regard to the P'rushim (Pharisees). He quotes it as "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (quoting from the LXX, but in a slightly altered order). We have seen many other examples of that since, such as the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Jewish rabbis, who both say they can overrule the Scriptures for the sake of human traditions. (Mark 7:13) Hoshea was told that the remedy for this is to bring words back to YHWH as the sacrifice of our lips. (14:2)

14. "So here I am, once more doing something hard to understand with this people--something hard to understand and extraordinary--because the wisdom of their learned men has been lost, and the discernment of those who have insight will hide itself.

Doing something hard: Aramaic, "striking with comprehensive strokes."

15. Woe to those who go down to the depths to conceal their motives from YHWH, and have done their business in dark places, saying, "Who notices us?" or "Who [will] recognize us?"

Compare Psalm 94:7-15 and Y'hezq'el/Ezk. 8:12ff.

16. Your turning things upside down will be considered like the potter's clay. For will the thing that is made say of its maker, "He did not make me"? Or will what is formed say of the one forming it, "He has no understanding"?

Or, "You are turning things upside down; will the clay be esteemed like the potter?" No understanding: the Aramaic targum adds, "of me".

17. Isn't it only a very short while until Levanon returns to being an orchard, and the orchard will be counted as a forest?

Will be counted: Aramaic, "will cause many cities to be inhabited".

18. And in that Day, the deaf will hear the words of a book, and out of unresponsiveness and darkness, the eyes of the blind, will see!

This is one of the verses Yahshua alluded to when Yochanan the Immerser asked Him (Luk. 7:19) whether He or another like Him was the one who is to come--i.e., if He was both the first and the second Messiah (i.e., "Son of Yoseyf", the suffering Servant, and the "Son of David", the conquering King).
He answered by telling him of the miracles He was performing as signs, because they all foreshadowed the Kingdom when such healings would be the norm. Romans 11 tells us that the full understanding will not be restored to Israel until the "fullness of the Gentiles" (which is Efrayim's seed, Gen. 48:19) begins to return.

19. Then in YHWH the afflicted will again end up having joy, and the abused of humanity will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel,

Abused of humanity: literally, the "poor/needy of Adam".

20. because the ruthless has been brought to nothing, the boastful one has proven to be a failure, and all those who look for [opportunities to make] trouble have been cut off--

The boastful one: broadly, a generic term, but specifically the Counterfeit Messiah.

21. those who induce a man to sin with a word, or lay a snare for one who convicts [them] in the gate, or cause the righteous to be turned aside by a fabrication.

Convicts: or reproves. In the gate: where the city's seat of judgment is, like a courtroom. Lay a snare: we saw the religious order trying over and over to do this to Yahshua. The righteous: Aramaic, "the innocent". Turned aside: either to change their minds about the verdict, or thrust aside, i.e., to have their case thrown out due to an "empty plea", defrauding them of their rights by "a meaningless argument", or literally, "that which is unreal".

22. Therefore this is what YHWH--the One who redeemed Avraham--says to the House of Yaaqov: "Yaaqov will not be disappointed now, nor will his face grow pale now!

Be disappointed: or "blush from shame".

23. "Because when he sees his children, the product of My hands, approaching him, they will be treating My Name as sacred, having come to regard the Holy One of Yaaqov as in a class of His own, and they will regard the Elohim of Israel with awe.

He will provide shepherds who do His will and truly feed His sheep. (Yirmiyahu 3:15-18) Efrayim will then say, "What do we have to do with idols?" (Hos. 14:8-9)

24. "And those who go astray [in] spirit [will] have learned discernment by experience, and those who talk back will learn to take [control of their] words."

Take control of their words: or "accept instruction", "insight", �persuasiveness�.

CHAPTER 30

1. Woe [to the] children insistent on making plans, but not from Me, and pouring out a libation, but not of My spirit, in order to heap sin upon sin;

Insistent: "stubborn" or "rebellious". Pouring out a libation: possibly a customary part of making an alliance. But not of My spirit: Aram., "but do not ask of My prophets.

2. who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking My advice, to be secure in Pharaoh's stronghold, and to seek refuge in the shadow of Egypt.

Seek refuge: from the threat of Sennacheriv of Assyria. It was all right for Yaaqov, Yaravam (Jeroboam), and even Yahshua's family to seek refuge there, since that was YHWH's will, but do not do so on your own. Egypt is often a picture of the church as sold out to the world system as opposed to being a continuum with the Temple. By doing so, it accepts rulers that are not of YHWH. Israel today is becoming more dependent on Christians and the United States, and therefore making compromises so as to survive
economically and find ways around United Nations treaty "solutions".

3. So Pharaoh's stronghold will become an embarrassment to you, and the refuge in Egypt's shadow, a disgrace,

4. because his princes were in Tsoan, and his messengers will reach Chanes.

Tsoan: Tanis, the capital of the Hyksos dynasty in Egypt. Chanes: possibly Tahpanhes, a fortified city on Egypt's eastern frontier.

5. They were all dried up on account of a people who could not profit them--neither help nor profit--because [they brought] shame and even scorn.

6. A burden of beasts of [the] Negev is in the land of distress and pressure, a young lion and a crushing lion, a hissing snake and a fiery flying serpent. They will carry their wealth on the shoulders of
donkey-colts, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who will not benefit them--

Burden: "what they bear" (as the Aramaic takes it), but also perhaps "oracle", according to Yeshayahu's pattern (as the LXX renders it). Land of distress: Heb., tzarah, which forms part of the name of Egypt (Mitzrayim, or "two distresses", "two narrow places", perhaps referring to the two green strips between the Nile and the desert, but perhaps also alluding to two occasions when Israel was or will be in straits there).

7. that is, Egypt: in vain and idly they will help. That is why I have called this proud bustling crowd [to] stop.

In vain: "like a vapor" or "breath"--the same as the name of Hevel, Adam and Chavvah's son. I have summoned this proud bustling crowd to cease: or, "I have cried out concerning this: their strength is to sit still!" I.e., as at the Red Sea, if they would only quiet down and watch, they would see YHWH's deliverance. (Compare v. 15) The word for "proud" or "strength" is Rahav, which is a legendary sea-monster associated with Egypt as well. In this context, it could read, "I have summoned this noisy Rahav to cessation." Or, "I called them Rahav". Stop: that is, abandon your trek to Egypt.

8. Now come, write it on a slab near them and inscribe it in a book so that it may be for the lattermost day, so it continues to exist forever,

Forever: literally, "all the way up to the age", i.e., the Messianic Kingdom or the age to come following it.. So it continues to exist: Aramaic, "for a witness to me".

9. because this is a rebellious people--deceptive sons, children who will not consent to listen to YHWH's instruction,

Instruction: Heb., torah.

10. who tell the visionaries, "Do not have a vision!", and to the seers, "Do not have a straightforward perception for us; proclaim smooth things to us! Prophesy illusions!

Straightforward: or "correct". Smooth: slippery, flattering. Illusions: or "trifles", "deceit". In other words, present an unrealistic pipe dream, but give it the seal of authoritativeness by your office, so that we can imagine there is hope of it coming true. This sounds very much like today's "Visualize World Peace".

11. "Turn aside from the path; stretch out from [that] way of life. Have the Holy One of Israel take a break from being in our face!"

12. Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: "On account of your rejecting this word, so that you may have bold confidence in extortion and devious ways, and may support yourselves on that,

13. "this is what will happen to you: this crookedness [will be] like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a secure, high wall, whose crack comes upon [you] as a sudden surprise.

14. "And its rupture will be like a jar that the potters have broken in pieces. He will not have pity, so there will not be found among its fragments a shard [big enough] to snatch fire from a hearth or to skim water
from a cistern."

15. For this is what Adonai YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, says: "By repenting and quieting down will you be delivered; your strength will be in being tranquil and trusting." But you were not willing,

Repenting: or "withdrawing", "turning back", i.e., from their journey from Egypt. It is not about how much noise we can make, but about returning to YHWH, and listening to Him. He doesn't need the press, but He will allow us to participate in His plan, on His terms.

16. and you said, "No, we can flee on horseback!" So you will [indeed need to] flee. And [you said], "We will mount and ride the fleet-footed!" Therefore your pursuers will [also] be light-footed.

They want fleshly solutions, so they will have to test their natural strength against other natural powers that are superior to their own, and, as with Shimshon (Samson), their added supernatural strength would not be available once they decided to disobey.

17. One thousand [will flee] from the presence of one's roar; you will flee from before the roar of five, until you have been left like a flagpole on the top of a mountain, or like a signpost on top of the hill.

One thousand will flee: compare Psalm 91. Flagpole: or "beacon". Signpost: or "rallying-point".

18. YHWH will wait, longing to show you favor, and for this He will rise up to have mercy on you, because YHWH is an Elohim of justice; happy are those who wait for Him,

Gen. 49:17-18 contrasts the "snake" of Dan (a picture of the Counterfeit Messiah, whose ruse many will fall for) with waiting just a little longer for YHWH's true salvation (Heb., yeshuah).

19. because the people in Tzion will dwell in Yerushalayim. You will no longer cry tears; He will indeed show you pity at the sound of your cry for help, and as [soon as] He hears, He will answer you.

20. Though Adonai has given you the bread of affliction and the waters of oppression, your teachers will no longer be hidden away in a corner; but instead your eyes will see your teachers,

Your teachers: Aramaic, "the Sh'kinah in the sanctuary".

21. and your ears will hear a word from behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk on it", when you turn right or go left.

From behind: the direction from which a teacher goads one on. The way: the earliest disciples' name for the maner of "walking out the Torah" as taught by Yahshua.

22. Then you will you will declare the metal plating of your silver engraved images and the decorative covering of your golden cast images to be defiled; you will throw them away like a menstruous cloth, and you will tell it, "Get out!"

This is the first thing He had told them upon entering the Land, but they went back and rebuilt them.

23. Then He will [certainly] provide the rain [for] your seed, so you can sow the ground, and the bread of the yield of the ground, and it will be robust and plentiful. In that Day your cattle will graze spacious pastures!

24. Likewise, the oxen and young donkeys that work the soil will eat seasoned fodder that is winnowed with the shovel and the pitchfork.

I.e., they will not just eat the provender that humans would not eat, but choice grain will be plentiful enough for the animals to enjoy as well.

25. Then on every high mountain and on every uplifted hill there will be [channeled] rivulets and [irrigated] streams of water in a day of abundant slaughter, when towers fall.

26. Then the light of the moon will be like the light of the hot sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times as [bright], like the light of the seven days, on the day when YHWH binds up the fracture of His people, and heals a severe wound [from] His blow.

Binds up the fracture: or "restrains the breach" (as in vv. 13-14).

27. Behold, the Name of YHWH comes from far away; His anger has been kindled, and its burden is heavy. His lips are full of rage, and His tongue like a devouring fire!

Its burden is heavy: or "its uplift is vehement".

28. His breath also is like a torrent that sweeps in up to the neck. He will divide nations to sift [them] in the sieve of worthlessness, and a halter in the jaws of peoples that leads them off course.

29. The song you will have will be like the night when a feast is consecrated, and gladness of heart like one who marches with a flute to the Mountain of YHWH, toward the Rock of Israel.

These are customs from the feast of Sukkoth.

30. Then YHWH will make the majesty of His voice heard, and will make the lowering of His arm to be seen with [the] rage of [the] nostril, with the flame of a devouring fire, with cloudburst and flood and hailstone,

Hailstone: or a meteorite.

31. for by the voice of YHWH the Assyrian who was attacking with a club will be shattered.

32. And every [time] the foundation-laying rod which YHWH will lay on it passes over, it will be with tambourines and harps, and with battles of brandishing He has waged war,

Tambourines: or any percussion instruments. Harps: any stringed instruments that "twang". Brandishing: the same word for "wave offerings". So a spiritual battle is carried out through music and worship. (Note the example of this in 2 Chron. 20.)

33. because Tofeth is being prepared in advance; indeed, it is being made ready for the King! He has made it deep and broad; its burning-pyre [is] piled high with wood. [The blast of] YHWH's breath burns it up like a seam of brimstone!

Tofeth: the site of this future judgment at the confluence of the Hinnom Valley [Ge-henna] and the Qidron (known as the "Valley of the Shadow of Death").

CHAPTER 31

1. Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are numerous or in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek out YHWH!

Go down: Relying on anything less than YHWH is a descent. Hagar, Sarai's servant, went down to Egypt for help, but YHWH turned her back to the household where she now belonged. (Gen. 16) In the same way, YHWH's congregations have turned back to the Babylonian-Egyptian-Roman system,
because there is power in numbers. When confronted with what Scripture really says, many say, "Let me ask my pastor about this." But pastors are often swayed by what will keep more sheep in the fold; it is YHWH whom we must seek instead. We must not even trust in any Israelite organizations, but only YHWH Himself.

2. He, too, is shrewd, and will bring what is disagreeable, and has not retracted His words, but has taken His stand against the house of evildoers and against the one who helps those who do mischief.

LXX, "Therefore He is wise in bringing evils upon them, and His word will not be frustrated."

3. Moreover, Egypt is human and not divine, and their horses are flesh and not spirit. When YHWH stretches out His hand, both the helper will stumble and the one who is helped will fall down, and they will all come to an end together,

Flesh and not spirit: This is the story of Yishmael, the child born when Avram tried to fulfill a vision YHWH had given, but by his own natural ingenuity. (Gen. 16)

4. because this is what YHWH has said: "Just as the lion or young lion growls against its prey, and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, will not be discouraged by their voice or slowed down by the noise they [make], likewise YHWH of Armies will descend to wage war on account of Mount Tzion and its hill.

"Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing?" (Psalm 2) Band: literally, "fullness". YHWH's intentions in regard to Israel will be opposed, and it is shepherds (pastors) who try to prevent Israel from being reunited, but that will not deter Him. (See Y'chezq'el/Ezek. 34) But we
too, must keep our eye on the prize and ignore the threats. On account of Mount Tzion and its hill: or, "against Mount Tzion and its place of illicit worship".

5. "Like flying birds is how YHWH will bring defensive cover over Yerushalayim. In shielding [it] He will also rescue it, and by passing over it, He will let it escape.

Shielding it: or "hedging it about" or "encompassing it", like a sheepfold. Becoming a dwelling place is our deliverance. Angus Wootten says this verse was in part fulfilled during World War I by British General Allenby, who sent airplanes over Yerushalayim, dropping leaflets in Arabic stating that it was time for the Arabs to surrender the city. It was taken without a battle because in Arabic his name appeared like "Allah's prophet" and there was an Arab prophecy that sais that the Muslims would occupy the city until the waters of Egypt were brought into Palestine. Allenby had done just that through a pipeline from the Gulf of Suez to Beersheva. Let it escape: or "cause it to give birth". Defensive cover: In the war on
Afghanistan, it has already become evident that even with modern weaponry, cloud cover is a major deterrent to many military maneuvers, and if Israel is again protected by a cloud and fire as in the wilderness the first time, the unified world's army will be held at bay.

6. "Turn back to Him [against whom] the sons of Israel have made a deep defection!

Defection: or "apostasy", "withdrawal", "revolt"--a deliberate rebellion, not just veering off course.

7. "Because in that Day, each [one] will despise his worthless [images] of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for yourselves--a missing of the target!

Worthless images: or "good-for-nothings", with the sense of not really existing. Modern examples might be things like artificial intelligence, credit cards, or virtual reality. Even our money is no longer really worth anything concrete. Mammon is always deceitful. Missing the target: or "sin", which is defined as breaking YHWH's law, so we might do better to think of it in terms of "crime". But despising the worthless things we have relied on is part of repentance and the road back to being counted guiltless. Of course it is better to never sin at all, but as long as we make the required restitution, Torah is upheld, and we can again, like many in the Hebrew Scriptures, be called "blameless"--and all the more so with the overwhelming atonement provided through Yahshua's blood. (Hebrews 10)

8. "Then will Ashur fall, but not by a man's sword, and a sword not of humanity will devour it, and he will flee to Him from the presence of a sword, and its choice young men will become a gang of forced laborers.

Ashur: or "the Assyrian".

9. "And it will cross over to its cliff [of safety] as a refugee, and its princes have become dismayed at the signal", declares YHWH, whose firelight is in Tzion and whose kindling-place is in Yerushalayim.

As a refugee: or "from terror", but with the sense of sojourning away from home. LXX: "They will be surrounded with rocks as with a trench, and shall be worsted." Signal: "rallying point", "banner", or "miraculous sign". Kindling-place: or "furnace", which finally burns off the dross and purifies us. It also recalls the torch and smoking furnace in Avram's covenant-vision, which was fulfilled in Yerushalayim.

CHAPTER 32

1. Behold, a king will [begin His] reign for what is right, and for princes, they will govern with right ruling[s].

Aramaic: "...and the righteous will be exalted to take a just retribution from the Gentiles."

2. Then a man will become like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like rivulets of water in a dry place, like the shade of a heavy rock in a weary land.

A man: the king, specifically Yahshua. Will become a hiding place: LXX, "will hide his words". A dry place: Heb., Tzion, which is how the LXX takes it. A heavy rock: Such a rock cannot be taken away.

3. And the eyes of those who see will not avert their gaze, and the ears of those who listen will incline [attentively],

LXX: "And they will no longer trust in men..."

4. and the heart of the one who acts rashly will begin to understand how to discern, and the tongue of those who speak inarticulately will be quick to speak clearly.

5. The fool will no longer be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be generous,

Be called noble: LXX, "be told to rule". Scoundrel: literally, "one who withholds"; there are numerous proverbs that parallel this. Yahshua also reminded the leaders in His Kingdom not to be like the rulers of the Gentiles who "lord it over" those who call them "benefactors" or "philanthropists". (Luke 22:25-26)

6. because the fool will speak foolishness, and his mind will fashion mischief to carry out profane acts and to speak perverse things against YHWH, [with the effect of] keeping the hungry person's soul empty and cause the drinking vessel of the thirsty one to be lacking.

Foolishness: senselessness, disgrace, profane things. Soul: or appetite. If we twist YHWH's words, though we appear to be feeding someone, it is just "empty calories".

7. The scoundrel's tools are evil; he invents wicked plots to bring the humble to ruin with deceptive promises, even when the needy says what is proper.

Says what is proper: or perhaps, "threatens justice".

8. The generous person, on the other hand, invents noble things, and by his generosity he will be established.

Invents noble things: or "counsels giving". A Hebrew idiom for a generous person is that "He has a good eye." Yahshua said this was the key to one's whole life being full of light. (Luke 11:34) It goes far beyond
money; sons of the Kingdom are not taxed. It applies with time, patience, edification, teaching, and giving of ourselves in general. It is a kingdom law to keep giving out what we receive, both so it can flow on to others and so we have room to receive the "more" that He wants to give us. Otherwise, we become like the Dead Sea, having no outlet and no life.

9. Get up, [you] women who rest securely [in your arrogance]! Listen to My voice, complacent daughters; cup your ear to what I utter!

Women: Aramaic, "provinces". Securely: Security is the demon who perhaps receives more acclaim than any other today. But it turns out to be a cruel taskmaster that fattens us up like a calf for slaughter. YHWH has just told us (v. 8) where the real security is. We are free to choose into which our energy and resources will go. Security is no match for YHWH, unless we give it permission to be. Daughters: Aramaic, "fortresses". But Yehudah and Efrayim are also called YHWH's daughters by the prophets. Complacent: confident enough to be careless. What I utter: or "My speech"--an idiom also
for the Torah.

10. [For] days on a year will you be disquieted, O confident women, because the vintage has failed; the gathering [of the harvest] will not come.

Days on a year: LXX, "a full year", or possibly "[just a few] days over a year". We may seem to have it made, since if all else fails, the government usually picks up the basics for our survival. But this, too, will ultimately prove unreliable.

11. Tremble, you women who rest securely; be disquieted, you confident women, to [the point of] stripping and lay yourselves bare, but cover your loins of delivery [with sackcloth],

12. mourning over the breasts, over the desirable fields, over the fruitful vine.

Breasts: i.e., that are now unused (v. 11); LXX, "beat on your breasts". Fields: from a word meaning "spread out", possibly alluding to the childbirth process. Vine: perhaps an idiom for the umbilical cord.

13. Thorns and briers will spring up on My people's ground, because [they will be] upon all the houses of rejoicing in the triumphant city,

Thorns and briers: The same curse that followed Adam's sin in Eden.

14. because [the] palace has been abandoned; the city's crowd has been deserted. The towers and lookout stations have instead become dens--[the] joy of wild donkeys, a feeding-place for flocks--for an age,

Palace has been abandoned. For an age: or "perpetually", but a time limit is set (v. 15); literally, "until an age". Wild donkeys: what Yishmael was called, so perhaps this refers to the fact that Yerushalayim was
inhabited by his descendants for many centuries.

15. until the spirit from on high will be poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful plantation, and the orchard will be counted as a forest.

This curse is thawing out already in our day, as the spring of this spirit of repentance is beginning to come.

16. Then justice will be at home in the wilderness, and righteousness will settle in the fruitful plantation,

Justice will be at home in the wilderness: there will be no more highway robbery, but the word for "justice" also means "a correct system of rulings", so this also refers to the time when both houses of Israel are back together under one king, and He puts in place or confirms a framework that is really viable.

17. and the product of righteousness will be total well-being, and the effect of the righteousness, tranquility and security forever.

18. Then My people will remain in a peaceful home, in secure dwelling places and in quiet rest without a care,

19. though it hails when the forest is felled, and the city in the lowland sinks down.

LXX: "If the hail should come down, it will not come upon you, and they that dwell in the forests will be in confidence, like those in the open country." Aramaic, "Hail will come down and kill the armies of the
Gentiles", reminiscent of Yehoshua chapter 10.

20. You who sow beside any waters are blessed, you who send forth the feet of ox and donkey.

Sow beside waters: compare Psalm 1. Isaiah spent much time in the palace, which was quite close to the Temple, so he was very familiar with many psalms and proverbs, to which he often alludes. Send forth: the Aramaic adds "to gather". When crops are plentiful and abundant, the animals can be allowed to roam the fields and eat, with no substantial loss being felt by their owners. Ox and donkey are also sometimes metaphors for the two houses of Israel.

CHAPTER 33

1. Woe to you who despoil but are not despoiled, and to the one who deals treacherously without himself having been betrayed! When you finish destroying, you will be destroyed, and when you complete your betrayal, they will betray you!

Woe...despoiled: LXX, "Woe to those who afflict you; but no one makes you miserable." Aramaic, "Woe to you who come to plunder; will they not plunder you?" When you complete...: LXX, "like a moth on a garment, so shall they be spoiled."

2. O YHWH, look upon us with favor! We have waited expectantly for You! Be their arm in the mornings, our deliverance also when [we are] in straits.

Favor: or "grace"; LXX, "mercy". Arm: i.e., strength. For You: Aramaic, "for your Memra" (living Word). We have waited: compare Yaaqov's prophecy in regard to Dan in Gen. 49:16-18. It appears he is contrasting the Counterfeit Messiah, whom tradition says will come from the tribe of Dan, with the true
Messiah, who will come only a short time afterward for those willing to persevere just a little while longer.

3. At the sound of the roaring crowd, the peoples retreated; nations were scattered because You raised Yourself up.

Raised Yourself up: when He bursts forth from the Tabernacle upon the nations who are besieging Israel in the latter days, shocking them with the fact that He is indeed real--and on Israel's side--after all. (26:21)

4. Your plunder will be gathered [like] the caterpillar gathers, running to and fro on it just as locusts run to and fro.

LXX, "...as if one could gather locusts; so shall they mock you." Aramaic, "Israel will gather the possessions of the Gentiles."

5. YHWH is inaccesibly high, because He resides on the elevated place. He has filled Tzion with just rulings and righteousness,

He resides: Aramaic, "He causes His Sh'khinah to dwell..."

6. and He has become the fixed point of your experiences--a treasure-store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of YHWH is His supply.

Fixed point of your experiences: Aramaic, "That which You promised, You will bring and establish in its time." A treasure-store...supply: LXX, "Salvation is our treasure. There are wisdom and knowledge and piety toward YHWH; these are the treasures of righteousness." The fear of YHWH: See Prov. 9:10.

7. Behold, their valiant heroes are crying for help on the outside; the ambassadors of peace will shed bitter tears.

This is reminiscent of the legends of the people who knocked on the door of Noach's ark, and may be the "outer darkness" to which Yahshua refers. Ambassadors of peace: i.e., they are begging with tears for a truce so that their lives will at least be spared. Also, "peace" is the Counterfeit Messiah's deceitful tactic (Dan. 8:25), and we already see this concept of "peace ambassadors" and "peace-keeping forces". Aram., "Those who went to announce peace return to weeping in soulful bitterness."

8. The highways have become deserted; [people] have stopped travelling the roads. He has violated the covenant. He has despised cities; he regards mortal man as of no account.

Travelling the roads": or "transgressing the way". Violated: Aramaic, "changed" (truly a characteristic of the counterfeit Messiah, Dan. 7:25); LXX: "The covenant with these is taken away, and you shall by no means deem them men." So while the "he" here is probably primarily speaking of the Counterfeit Messiah, the final instance may refer to YHWH. Just as some meats are not considered food for Israelites, when YHWH has decreed a particular group's destruction, they are no longer to be treated as "people".

9. The land has been mourning and growing feeble; Levanon demonstrates shame and has decayed. Sharon is like a sparsely-vegetated plain; Bashan shakes off [its fruit] along with Karmel.

Sharon: the very fruitful coastal plain. Sparsely-vegetated plain: LXX, "marshes". Bashan: the Golan Heights where some of the best rainfall and runoff water is found in Israel. Karmel: a mountain range dividing the Yezreel Valley from the Sharon. I.e., even these have become drought-ridden because those who occupied the Land were earth-worshippers and thus the earth cannot be allowed to respond to them..

10. "Now I will rise up", says YHWH. "Now I will be lifted up; now I will be exalted!

11. "You will conceive dry grass; you will give birth to stubble; your breath, like fire, will devour you.

Dry grass: Aramaic, "wicked conceptions". LXX: "...Now you will see; the strength of your breath will be vain."

12. "The peoples will be the burnings of lime; like thorns that are cut off, they will be burned with fire.

Burnings of lime: Some plaster was made by burning bones.

13. "You who are far off, listen to what I have done! And you who are nearby, acknowledge My mighty deed!"

Aramaic, "Hear, you righteous, who have kept My law from the beginning..., and you who have turned back to the law recently..."

14. The offenders in Tzion have become terrified; trembling has seized the faithless: "Which of us can remain [with] a consuming fire? Which of us can live with them burning all the time?"

Faithless: irreligious, profane, or hypocritical. They no longer consider Yerushalayim a "nice place to live"! Or perhaps, "Who among us can survive this consuming fire...everlasting burning?", with the answer found in the next verse. Therefore these verses, while having primarily a frame of reference in the days still to come, have an immediacy for us now, who need to already be preparing to be those survivors.

15. The one who walks righteously and speaks from uprightnesses, who despises unjust gain gotten through extortion, who signals with his hands that he will not take hold of a bribe, who stops his ears from consenting to bloodshed, who shuts his eyes so he will not see what is evil.

Unjust gain: Aram., "Mammon of deceit". Consenting to bloodshed includes gossip; the rabbis say unjustly bringing blood to one's face is equivalent to murder. (Mat. 5:22; Prov. 18:21; Yaqv./James 3:5-8)

16. He [is the one who] will dwell on the heights; his secure refuge will be strongholds of rocks. His bread will be provided; his waters are guaranteed.

Heights: LXX, "high cave". Rocks: the plural form of the Hebrew name of the Nabatean fortress, Petra. Thus this appears to be the time when Israel is reunited and renews the covenant of "marriage" to YHWH (through His visible Messiah) in the wilderness (v. 17). Bread: Perhaps it will be manna again! Guaranteed: faithful, lasting, confirmed, reliable.

17. Your eyes will behold the King in His pleasant appearance; they will perceive a land of far-off places.

18. Your heart will imagine a terror: "Now where is the one who does the counting? Where is the one who does the weighing out? Where is the one who takes account of the towers?"

Aramaic: "Your mind will reckon up great things... Let them come if they can reckon the number of the slain heads of the armies of the mighty ones." I.e., "towers" is an idiom for great leaders.

19. You will not see a barbarous people--a people of deeper speech than you can understand, of a stammering tongue that there's no telling [what it means].

A barbarous people: Aram., "the mastery of a strong people". Deeper: i.e., unfathomable, unintelligible; Aramaic, "obscure". Stammering...means: or, "a mocking tongue that has no discernment" (as the Aramaic does interpret it). The LXX gives the sense of not counting the growing people with whom no counsel was taken. After YHWH roars forth, those who were provided for in the wilderness will start moving toward their home (v. 20), but will expect to encounter battle on the way, but instead they will find that YHWH has already brought about their defeat, and we only need to carry out the mop-up assignments.

20. Behold Tzion, town of our appointed meetings! Your eyes will see Yerushalayim, a secure home, a tent that will not travel on; not one of its stakes will ever be pulled up, nor any of its cords ever snapped.

Secure home: a place of quietness where one can be at ease; the term "home" can mean "abode of shepherds" or "pasture", so it includes the idea of plentiful provision; LXX, "a rich city". Aramaic, "in its prosperity, in its contentedness". A tent: probably the Tabernacle, which has again been moving throughout the wilderness with His people, but now has reached its final resting-place.

21. But though the majestic YHWH is for us a place of rivers with spacious channels in both directions, no galley with oars will ever travel in it, nor any gallant ship pass through it,

Directions: literally, "hands". Galley with oars: Aramaic, "fisherman's ship". Gallant ship: Aram., "sailboat". Perhaps merchant vessels, since there will no longer be merchants in His house in that Day
(Zech. 14:21), or warships, since no one will destroy on His holy mountain anymore. (Yeshayahu 11:9) In any case, Yerushalaym will no longer depend on foreign trade, but will be brought tribute from every nation. (Rev. 21:24)

22. because YHWH is our governing judge, YHWH is the one who enacts our decrees, YHWH is our King; He will give us the victory!

Victory: or "deliverance". (Heb., Yeshuah)

23. Your tacklings have been allowed to go slack; they were too worn out to sustain their mast-pedestal. They could no longer spread out the sail. That is when the spoils of a tremendous plunder will be shared; the lame will seize the booty.

Your: Aramaic, "the Gentiles'". The lame: among the Israelites. (Aram.)

24. No one who lives [there] will say, "I have become sick." The nation that settles there will have the guilt of their perversity forgiven.

Sick: The tree of life, on both sides of the river (v. 21, brings healing to the nations (Rev. 22:2). "Nations" can also mean "tribes", and this seems to fit, since each of the gates to the city is named after one of the tribes of Israel. The Aramaic interpretation of the final sentence says, "The people, the house of Israel, will be gathered and return to their place, forgiven of their sins."

	PROPHETS: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) Part 1
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