Isaiah: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
6:1 BISHNAT MOT HA MELECH UZI-YAHU VA ER'EH ET ADONAI YOSHEV AL KIS'E RAM VE NISA VE SHULAV MELE'IM ET HA HEYCHAL
בִּשְׁנַת מוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ עֻזִּיָּהוּ וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת אֲדֹנָי יֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא וְשׁוּלָיו מְלֵאִים אֶת הַהֵיכָל
KJ (King James translation): In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
BN (BibleNet translation): In the year that king Uzi-Yah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and raised up, and his train filled the Temple.
So we go back in time, to the year of Uzi-Yah's death; or possibly King Azar-Yah's death, though surely those two must be different people and something is wrong somewhere. Where? 2 Kings 15 has him as Azar-Yah, but see the footnote at verse 1 of my link to it; 2 Chronicles 26 has him as Uzi-Yahu, but see the footnote at verse one of that link as well.
Whatever the king's name, Yesh'a-Yah (Isaiah) is a young priest, officiating at the sacrifices in the Temple, when he has a "vision of the deity enthroned" (do we understand this as the sick priest falling into a state of schizophrenia, or as the young poet finding his voice for the first time, and employing this metaphor? or see my first note to verse 4 as a third possibility), and the train of his robe filled the Temple.
Note that he calls him Adonai, which is not a way of saying YHVH in order to avoid pronouncing it as YHVH (Jehovah). Mostly he uses Adonai as a prefix for YHVH Tseva'ot, the Lord of the Hosts of the Heavens, which is a galactic sun-god or universal sky-god, the Tseva'ot being the constellations which are paralleled on Earth in the confederation of the twelve tribes (see Genesis 49). But Adonai is not simply a Yehudit way of saying "my Lord" as an indication of respect; it is a very specific form of the deity, the god Adonis, who was worshipped at that time` in various parts of the Middle East, especially Syria and Lebanon (where he can still be found - see, for example, Colin Thubron's splendid "The Hills of Adonis").
6:2 SERAPHIM OMDIM MI MA'AL LO SHESH KENAPHIM SHESH KENAPHIM LE ECHAD BISHTAYIM YECHASEH PHANAV U VISHTAYIM YECHASEH RAGLAV U VISHTAYIM YE'OPHEPH
KJ: Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with
twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain
he did fly.
BN: Seraphim were standing above him; each one had six wings: with one of the two it covered its face, with two it covered its feet, and with two it flew.
SERAPHIM: Seraphim with six wings needs explaining, especially as angelology of this kind was not mainstream among the Beney Yisra-El at that epoch; indeed, almost nobody before this epoch, from Adam until at least King Shelomoh (Solomon) and really well beyond, would have had the feintest notion what he was going on about (which may well infer that the text we have is a much later redaction): pagan idols, yes, those were commonplace, such as Babylonian Keruvim, Egyptian and Greek Sphinxes, Ashterot and Asherim; but this must have been something that somebody brought back from Hodu (India) or maybe further east, the land of the dragons, Sin (China). See my essay on Angels and the Heavenly Host.
ITS or HIS? Most translators go for "his", but "his" infers Adonai, and it is the Seraphim who are being described.
6:3 VE KARA ZEH EL ZEH VE AMAR KADOSH KADOSH KADOSH YHVH TSEVA'OT MELO KOL HA ARETS KEVODO
KJ: And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
BN: And each called out to the others, saying: "Holy, holy, holy is YHVH, the Lord of the Hosts of the Heavens; the whole Earth is full of his glory."
6:4 VA YANU'U AMOT HA SIPIM MI KOL HA KOR'E VE HA BAYIT YIMAL'E ASHAN
KJ: And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
BN: And the doorposts shook at the sound of their calling, and the Temple filled with smoke.
Tectonic, or hallucinogenic? I ask, not so much because there is a distant hint of both possibilities here, as because the portrait of YHVH in Exodus, which I am ever-more-convinced Y-Y wrote, is of a volcano god at a time of serious eruption, and Mosheh at Chorev (Exodus 3:2 ff), witnessing the burning bush as his first vision of the deity, itself suggests a leaking of primordial flame from some crevice in the side of the volcano, a hint of an eruption already starting to rumble underground. We shall return to that moment of Mosheh's calling in the very next verse.
KJ: Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man
of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine
eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6:6 VA YA'APH ELAI ECHAD MIN HA SERAPHIM U VE YADO RITSPAH BE MELKACHAYIM LAKACH MEY AL HA MIZBE'ACH
KJ: Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
KJ: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
BN: And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquities are expunged, and your sin is expiated."
For which we need to take a detour to a very much later text, a Talmudic text indeed, Midrash Rabbah on Exodus 1:26… my link is to the Sefaria bilingual edition; make sure you have the bilingual button pressed, and read verse 26 to its conclusion. The Midrashim are a collection of tales that were left out of the Tanach, though we have no knowledge of why, and clearly they were not regarded as false or heretical, precisely because they were collected in the Midrashim, which is as officially endorsed as you can get.
That word TECHUPAR in the previous verse must also change our understanding of this verse. At the end of the ancient festival of Yom Kippur, a scapegoat was "sent" into the wilderness, or in the case of Yeru-Shala'im, was pushed over the cliff into the valley of Hinnom - or later still in Jerusalem was crowned with a crown of thorns, nailed to a Cross, given a vinegar sponge, and had a spear poked beneath its fifth rib, the one that is missing because it was taken from Adam to form Chavah (Eve): in every case a version of the Azaz-El, the one who takes the sins of the people on its back, and is dispatched into some version of the netherworld, so that the people can be expiated from their sins and start the new year with a clean slate.
KJ: And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
6:13 VE OD BAH ASIRIYAH VE SHAVAH VE HAYETAH LE VA'ER KA ELAH VE CHA ALON ASHER BE SHALECHET MATSEVET BAM ZERA KODESH MATSVETAH
KJ: But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
BN: "And if even a tenth is left, that too shall be burned up; like a terebinth oak, and like a holly oak, whose seed remains when they cast their leaves, so shall the holy seed remain." {P}
LEVA'ER: This is Be'er with an Ayin, not an Aleph. Be'er = "well" has the Aleph. See again Exodus 3:2, not for the angel-seraph this time, but for the verb used for the "burning bush". Then click here (and also note that the next occurrence is Exodus 22:5, and guess what, it's the vineyard again).
pey break
Note that he calls him Adonai, which is not a way of saying YHVH in order to avoid pronouncing it as YHVH (Jehovah). Mostly he uses Adonai as a prefix for YHVH Tseva'ot, the Lord of the Hosts of the Heavens, which is a galactic sun-god or universal sky-god, the Tseva'ot being the constellations which are paralleled on Earth in the confederation of the twelve tribes (see Genesis 49). But Adonai is not simply a Yehudit way of saying "my Lord" as an indication of respect; it is a very specific form of the deity, the god Adonis, who was worshipped at that time` in various parts of the Middle East, especially Syria and Lebanon (where he can still be found - see, for example, Colin Thubron's splendid "The Hills of Adonis").
6:2 SERAPHIM OMDIM MI MA'AL LO SHESH KENAPHIM SHESH KENAPHIM LE ECHAD BISHTAYIM YECHASEH PHANAV U VISHTAYIM YECHASEH RAGLAV U VISHTAYIM YE'OPHEPH
שְׂרָפִים עֹמְדִים מִמַּעַל לוֹ שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם לְאֶחָד בִּשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה פָנָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה רַגְלָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְעוֹפֵף
BN: Seraphim were standing above him; each one had six wings: with one of the two it covered its face, with two it covered its feet, and with two it flew.
ITS or HIS? Most translators go for "his", but "his" infers Adonai, and it is the Seraphim who are being described.
6:3 VE KARA ZEH EL ZEH VE AMAR KADOSH KADOSH KADOSH YHVH TSEVA'OT MELO KOL HA ARETS KEVODO
וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל זֶה וְאָמַר קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ
KJ: And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
BN: And each called out to the others, saying: "Holy, holy, holy is YHVH, the Lord of the Hosts of the Heavens; the whole Earth is full of his glory."
KADOSH: Recognisable to every synagogue Jew, regardless of denomination, as the key lines of the Kedushah section of the daily Amidah; and to every Catholic as central to the Mass.
6:4 VA YANU'U AMOT HA SIPIM MI KOL HA KOR'E VE HA BAYIT YIMAL'E ASHAN
וַיָּנֻעוּ אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים מִקּוֹל הַקּוֹרֵא וְהַבַּיִת יִמָּלֵא עָשָׁן
KJ: And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
BN: And the doorposts shook at the sound of their calling, and the Temple filled with smoke.
Tectonic, or hallucinogenic? I ask, not so much because there is a distant hint of both possibilities here, as because the portrait of YHVH in Exodus, which I am ever-more-convinced Y-Y wrote, is of a volcano god at a time of serious eruption, and Mosheh at Chorev (Exodus 3:2 ff), witnessing the burning bush as his first vision of the deity, itself suggests a leaking of primordial flame from some crevice in the side of the volcano, a hint of an eruption already starting to rumble underground. We shall return to that moment of Mosheh's calling in the very next verse.
On the other hand, a young priest in the Temple, all that intoxicating incense, whose main purpose is the same as perfumeNumbers 12, a way of covering up the nauseating smell of putrifying, dead, high, bleeding, sacrificial meat. And all those flies, swarming like Seraphim! And probably a hundred spices, used for the preparation of the take-out menu. But wait - wasn't it precisely the incense, which was part of the duty of the Temple priests, that was regarded as the cause of Uzi-Yah's leprosy (see the link to his name at the top of the page), and we have just been told that this is taking place in the very year of Uzi-Yah's death... and that too parallels the Mosheh story, because Mir-Yam's "leprosy" in Numbers 12 is quite clearly volcanic dust, and also explained as a punishment for breaking the rules of protocol and priority.
6:5 VA AMAR OY LI CHI NIDMEYTI KI ISH TEM'E SEPHATAYIM ANOCHI U VETOCH AM TEM'E SEPHATAYIM ANOCHI YOSHEV KI ET HA MELECH YHVH TSEVA'OT RA'U EYNAI
6:5 VA AMAR OY LI CHI NIDMEYTI KI ISH TEM'E SEPHATAYIM ANOCHI U VETOCH AM TEM'E SEPHATAYIM ANOCHI YOSHEV KI ET HA MELECH YHVH TSEVA'OT RA'U EYNAI
וָאֹמַר אוֹי לִי כִי נִדְמֵיתִי כִּי אִישׁ טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי וּבְתוֹךְ עַם טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב כִּי אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת רָאוּ עֵינָי
BN: Then I said to myself: "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips; yet I have seen the King, YHVH the LORD of the Hosts of the Heavens, with my own eyes.
OY-LI: Once again I am intrigued to note a distinction between OY (אוֹי) here, and HOY (הוֹי) on several previous occasions in this book, both translated as "Woe"; why would Biblical Yehudit have had a variation of this kind on a word of such minor insignificance?
OY-LI: Once again I am intrigued to note a distinction between OY (אוֹי) here, and HOY (הוֹי) on several previous occasions in this book, both translated as "Woe"; why would Biblical Yehudit have had a variation of this kind on a word of such minor insignificance?
ISH TEM'E SEPHATAYIM ANOCHI: Again alluding to the calling of Mosheh on Mount Chorev. Go to Exodus 4:10, and see my note there as well as the text.
6:6 VA YA'APH ELAI ECHAD MIN HA SERAPHIM U VE YADO RITSPAH BE MELKACHAYIM LAKACH MEY AL HA MIZBE'ACH
וַיָּעָף אֵלַי אֶחָד מִן הַשְּׂרָפִים וּבְיָדוֹ רִצְפָּה בְּמֶלְקַחַיִם לָקַח מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
KJ: Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
BN: Then one of the seraphim flew towards me, with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.
RITSPAH: Surprising to discover this is the word for "stone". A Ritspah is surely an entire piece of the floor, ath the very least a flagstone, and not just some pebble; and yet it is taken from the altar... this needs more thought. I have translated it as coal, because that is what we would use for a barbecue today - and what else was the Temple altar if not a latter-day barbecue? But did they use coal then? And if not, did they simply use wood, and any stone could provide a bed provided that it didn't crack when heated? In which case, a stone of the standard flooring type would probably suffice, and so RITSPAH would indeed mean "stone" in this case.
6:7 VA YAGA AL PI VA YOMER HINEH NAGA ZEH AL SEPHATEYCHA VE SAR AVONECHA VE CHATA'T'CHA TECHUPAR
RITSPAH: Surprising to discover this is the word for "stone". A Ritspah is surely an entire piece of the floor, ath the very least a flagstone, and not just some pebble; and yet it is taken from the altar... this needs more thought. I have translated it as coal, because that is what we would use for a barbecue today - and what else was the Temple altar if not a latter-day barbecue? But did they use coal then? And if not, did they simply use wood, and any stone could provide a bed provided that it didn't crack when heated? In which case, a stone of the standard flooring type would probably suffice, and so RITSPAH would indeed mean "stone" in this case.
6:7 VA YAGA AL PI VA YOMER HINEH NAGA ZEH AL SEPHATEYCHA VE SAR AVONECHA VE CHATA'T'CHA TECHUPAR
וַיַּגַּע עַל פִּי וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה נָגַע זֶה עַל שְׂפָתֶיךָ וְסָר עֲוֹנֶךָ וְחַטָּאתְךָ תְּכֻפָּר
KJ: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
BN: And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquities are expunged, and your sin is expiated."
For which we need to take a detour to a very much later text, a Talmudic text indeed, Midrash Rabbah on Exodus 1:26… my link is to the Sefaria bilingual edition; make sure you have the bilingual button pressed, and read verse 26 to its conclusion. The Midrashim are a collection of tales that were left out of the Tanach, though we have no knowledge of why, and clearly they were not regarded as false or heretical, precisely because they were collected in the Midrashim, which is as officially endorsed as you can get.
TECHUPAR: Note that the key word here is "atonement" (as in Yom Kippur), but translating it as "expiated" misses that (though "expiated" is precisely what is intended).
AVONECHA...CHATA'T'CHA: See my note at Isaiah 1:2.
6:8 VA ESHMA ET KOL ADONAI OMER ET MI ESHLACH U MI YELECH LANU VA OMAR HINENI SHELACHEYNI
KJ: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
BN: And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Who shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said: "Here I am. Send me."
LANU: note "us" - the era of the Omnideity has not yet come; though YHVH is speaking for them, the Elohim are still Multiple Plural.
HINENI: One more to add to the lengthy list! See my note at Genesis 22:1, and note that the list there includes Mosheh at Chorev in Exodus 3:4 (I wonder if the angel in the bush at Exodus 3:2 was really a seraph!)
AVONECHA...CHATA'T'CHA: See my note at Isaiah 1:2.
6:8 VA ESHMA ET KOL ADONAI OMER ET MI ESHLACH U MI YELECH LANU VA OMAR HINENI SHELACHEYNI
וָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת קוֹל אֲדֹנָי אֹמֵר אֶת מִי אֶשְׁלַח וּמִי יֵלֶךְ לָנוּ וָאֹמַר הִנְנִי שְׁלָחֵנִי
KJ: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
BN: And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Who shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said: "Here I am. Send me."
LANU: note "us" - the era of the Omnideity has not yet come; though YHVH is speaking for them, the Elohim are still Multiple Plural.
HINENI: One more to add to the lengthy list! See my note at Genesis 22:1, and note that the list there includes Mosheh at Chorev in Exodus 3:4 (I wonder if the angel in the bush at Exodus 3:2 was really a seraph!)
That word TECHUPAR in the previous verse must also change our understanding of this verse. At the end of the ancient festival of Yom Kippur, a scapegoat was "sent" into the wilderness, or in the case of Yeru-Shala'im, was pushed over the cliff into the valley of Hinnom - or later still in Jerusalem was crowned with a crown of thorns, nailed to a Cross, given a vinegar sponge, and had a spear poked beneath its fifth rib, the one that is missing because it was taken from Adam to form Chavah (Eve): in every case a version of the Azaz-El, the one who takes the sins of the people on its back, and is dispatched into some version of the netherworld, so that the people can be expiated from their sins and start the new year with a clean slate.
And of course every sacrifice on the altar in the Temple, whether animal or vegetable, serves as a personal Azaz-El.
Yesh'a-Yah appears, based on the Mosaic references and allusions previously, to be making a direct contrast between his response to being called and that of Mosheh at the time of the burning bush. Mosheh was reluctant, had to be argued with, argued back, made excuses, pretended feebleness, but was eventually convinced to go. Y-Y on the other hand ...
6:9 VA YOMER LECH VE AMARTA LA AM HA ZEH SHIM'U SHAMO'A VE AL TAVIYNU U RE'U RA'O VE AL TEDA'U
KJ: And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
BN: And he said: "Go, and tell this people: you hear what it is said to you, but you do not apprehend it. You see what is shown you, but you do not register it."
LECH: bringing to mind YHVH's sending of Av-Ram from Padan-Aram with the simple command "LECH LECHA" (Genesis 12). For readers today, though Y-Y would not have known the story, there is also the calling of Yonah (Jonah), whose book opens with the same LECH.
SHIM'U SHIMO'A: KJ's adding of "indeed" is an excellent way of making the key point here. Shimo'a indeed! Shem'a indeed! Again it is a contrast with the Mosaic that is being made. Somewhat arrogantly too, it must be said. Y-Y appears to regard himself as superior.
6:10 HASHMEN LEV HA AM HA ZEH VE AZNAV HACHBED VE EYNAV HASHA PEN YIR'EH VE EYNAV U VE AZNAV YISHMA U LEVAVO YAVIN VA SHAV VE RAPHA LO
KJ: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
BN: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and become healed.
Is the deity using irony? even sarcasm? actually it's a much more effective strategm than sulks, tantrums and misanthropic rants from the pulpit.
6:11 VA AMAR AD MATAI ADONAI VA YOMER AD ASHER IM SHA'U ARIM ME EYN YOSHEV U VATIM ME EYN ADAM VE HA ADAMAH TISHA'EH SHEMAMAH
KJ: Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Yesh'a-Yah appears, based on the Mosaic references and allusions previously, to be making a direct contrast between his response to being called and that of Mosheh at the time of the burning bush. Mosheh was reluctant, had to be argued with, argued back, made excuses, pretended feebleness, but was eventually convinced to go. Y-Y on the other hand ...
6:9 VA YOMER LECH VE AMARTA LA AM HA ZEH SHIM'U SHAMO'A VE AL TAVIYNU U RE'U RA'O VE AL TEDA'U
וַיֹּאמֶר לֵךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ לָעָם הַזֶּה שִׁמְעוּ שָׁמוֹעַ וְאַל תָּבִינוּ וּרְאוּ רָאוֹ וְאַל תֵּדָעוּ
KJ: And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
BN: And he said: "Go, and tell this people: you hear what it is said to you, but you do not apprehend it. You see what is shown you, but you do not register it."
LECH: bringing to mind YHVH's sending of Av-Ram from Padan-Aram with the simple command "LECH LECHA" (Genesis 12). For readers today, though Y-Y would not have known the story, there is also the calling of Yonah (Jonah), whose book opens with the same LECH.
SHIM'U SHIMO'A: KJ's adding of "indeed" is an excellent way of making the key point here. Shimo'a indeed! Shem'a indeed! Again it is a contrast with the Mosaic that is being made. Somewhat arrogantly too, it must be said. Y-Y appears to regard himself as superior.
6:10 HASHMEN LEV HA AM HA ZEH VE AZNAV HACHBED VE EYNAV HASHA PEN YIR'EH VE EYNAV U VE AZNAV YISHMA U LEVAVO YAVIN VA SHAV VE RAPHA LO
הַשְׁמֵן לֵב הָעָם הַזֶּה וְאָזְנָיו הַכְבֵּד וְעֵינָיו הָשַׁע פֶּן יִרְאֶה בְעֵינָיו וּבְאָזְנָיו יִשְׁמָע וּלְבָבוֹ יָבִין וָשָׁב וְרָפָא לוֹ
KJ: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
BN: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and become healed.
Is the deity using irony? even sarcasm? actually it's a much more effective strategm than sulks, tantrums and misanthropic rants from the pulpit.
6:11 VA AMAR AD MATAI ADONAI VA YOMER AD ASHER IM SHA'U ARIM ME EYN YOSHEV U VATIM ME EYN ADAM VE HA ADAMAH TISHA'EH SHEMAMAH
וָאֹמַר עַד מָתַי אֲדֹנָי וַיֹּאמֶר עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם שָׁאוּ עָרִים מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב וּבָתִּים מֵאֵין אָדָם וְהָאֲדָמָה תִּשָּׁאֶה שְׁמָמָה
KJ: Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
BN: Then I said: "Lord, how long?" And he answered: "Until cities have been laid waste, without a single inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land has become utterly desolate...
YHVH actually answered! Not in a whirlwind, nor a still small voice, nor as thunder, but in human language! Wow! Few have they been in human history who were able to make that claim, and be respected for it.
6:12 VE RICHAK YHVH ET HA ADAM VE RABAH HA AZUVAH BE KEREV HA ARETS
YHVH actually answered! Not in a whirlwind, nor a still small voice, nor as thunder, but in human language! Wow! Few have they been in human history who were able to make that claim, and be respected for it.
6:12 VE RICHAK YHVH ET HA ADAM VE RABAH HA AZUVAH BE KEREV HA ARETS
וְרִחַק יְהוָה אֶת הָאָדָם וְרַבָּה הָעֲזוּבָה בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ
KJ: And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
BN: "And until YHVH has removed men to a place far away, and the abandoned places have increased in the midst of the land...
VE RICHAK YHVH: Is this still YHVH speaking, or is Y-Y adding words on his behalf? I have kept the quotation marks, and for the next verse as well, because the flow of the verses suggests it is YHVH, but odd that he should refer to himself by name, and in the third person.
VE RICHAK YHVH: Is this still YHVH speaking, or is Y-Y adding words on his behalf? I have kept the quotation marks, and for the next verse as well, because the flow of the verses suggests it is YHVH, but odd that he should refer to himself by name, and in the third person.
AZUVAH: Reflecting the loss of the Nine Tribes, but also, perhaps, predicting the events of 2 Kings 15 ff and those of Isaiah 7 ff.
6:13 VE OD BAH ASIRIYAH VE SHAVAH VE HAYETAH LE VA'ER KA ELAH VE CHA ALON ASHER BE SHALECHET MATSEVET BAM ZERA KODESH MATSVETAH
וְעוֹד בָּהּ עֲשִׂרִיָּה וְשָׁבָה וְהָיְתָה לְבָעֵר כָּאֵלָה וְכָאַלּוֹן אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁלֶּכֶת מַצֶּבֶת בָּם זֶרַע קֹדֶשׁ מַצַּבְתָּהּ
KJ: But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
BN: "And if even a tenth is left, that too shall be burned up; like a terebinth oak, and like a holly oak, whose seed remains when they cast their leaves, so shall the holy seed remain." {P}
LEVA'ER: This is Be'er with an Ayin, not an Aleph. Be'er = "well" has the Aleph. See again Exodus 3:2, not for the angel-seraph this time, but for the verb used for the "burning bush". Then click here (and also note that the next occurrence is Exodus 22:5, and guess what, it's the vineyard again).
pey break
Isaiah:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
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