Isaiah - Chapter 1

1 The vision of Isaiah¹the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. . Chizkijáše. 

• according to Czech Study Translation [i.e. between 740 and 686 BCE] - that's 54 years, that's a long time
• when did he write it then? Under which of these kings? Or is this some sort of summary of his long-standing views on the subject? The political situation was necessarily changing². When I consider how many presidents or prime ministers I have seen in the 60+ years of my life³; and it was a bit different during everyone´s era
• I leave aside the so-called "historical-critical studies" which mostly claim that the book of Isaiah was not written by Isaiah or that there were several authors. I am not in a position to evaluate them professionally and their way of thinking is sometimes alien to me. Questioning authorship is a favorite "discipline" among liberal theologians. Bon mot: In the case of the books of Moses, liberal theologians are sure of absolutely nothing except that the author was definitely not Moses
  
• the visions concerned Judah, that was Isaiah's area of interest

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

• h.: raised up (of children means "brought up")
• Hear, O heavens: it is probably a mere rhetorical exclamation, a sigh of God, a shake of the head. Can you all see that? That's not possible. Listen to what happened to me and wonder
• or is the Lord really calling for universal attention: listen to me, all you angels, all you people. I will tell you what happened to me and you tell me if this is normal
• The Lord does not need to claim universal recognition that He is right, yet He does so at times. Perhaps when the things He experiences are already too "blatant" and He no longer wants to keep them to Himself. This need is inherent in humans - and it is possible that since we are created in His image, God experiences a similar need
• I reared and brought up, Education and training are long and difficult processes. It is hard work. Baby "babies" require many years of constant care: that night waking up, the diaper changing, the feeding those baby sicknesses, the getting ready for school, the shopping. Parents spend twenty years of their lives doing this. And there's no guarantee that it'll do any good. That their children will be good, that they won't "turn out". Christian parents have no guarantee that their children will adopt their faith. Etc.
• God the Father is here describing an even worse thing that happened to him in raising his people, his children: not only did the children fail, but they became so sickened that they actively rebelled against their Father and tutor
• they rejected their sonship, rejected their father, rejected all their father's values. I know very few cases like this in reality. I know of a family that had to disown their adopted son because of his drug addiction. There was a real-life example of a daughter who had her adoptive parents murdered because they demanded elementary discipline in The First Ward Cases (or a similar TV series, I'm not sure). But these are complete exceptions. It's not that rare for children to hurt or abuse their parents. And it is quite common for children to "dump" their parents.
• these are all tragedies that are very difficult for parents to overcome. So we can understand quite well the frustration that the Lord is experiencing with Israel.

3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” ale Izrael mě nezná, můj lid nerozumí.

• even the "stupid" animals understand things like who cares for them and behave accordingly. Not so my chosen people. They behave irrationally, stupidly, incomprehensibly badly.
• it's sad when we draw comparisons to a bull or a donkey. The bull is a rebellious animal, not particularly intelligent, yet it does not kick against its provider. A donkey is a chapter unto itself in its character traits, yet it also understands these things.
• Israel does not understand who their God is, they do not understand His speech, His instructions, they are unable to perceive even the simplest communication

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. 

• Czech Study Translation note: a frequent title of the Lord in Isaiah (22 times);
• n.: alienated from him 
• four addresses to the people, one worse than the other: my people sin and do nothing about it, their guilt remains on them. Their ancestors were just as bad.
• I suppose you could say that the Lord rebukes his people. Like a deceived husband shouting at his wife, calling her many ugly names.⁴
• they've embarrassed me by abandoning me. We all understand that - no one is happy when friends ask about your children and you have to admit that your children have abandoned you, are in prison or living in a squat and taking drugs. Parents in a retirement home don't brag that their children only show up once a month when their pensions are paid, etc. On the contrary, we are happy when our children make us happy and we can brag about them. In this we are obviously "the image of God" because He "has it likewise".
• after all that they (the Lord and his people) have been through together, it is truly disrespectful that the people turned back - chooses the misery of slavery over life with Him⁵

5 Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel?The whole head it sick, and the whole heart faint.

• Parents of rebellious children probably experience something similar when all educational interventions fail. For better or for worse, all is in vain, Even if the child is "beaten like a rye", it will not bring anything, the child will only become even more hardened.
• When a child is "driving himself into self-destructive trouble", e.g. taking drugs, the parents' situation is all the more desperate, They know that the child is in danger of dying, that he is driving himself to destruction, but there is no way to warn, convince or stop them. Their love for the child does not allow them to wave their hands over the matter.
• God asks a similar question: who will advise me? What can I do? I have tried everything and my people are getting worse and worse. And with this one, they'll end up irrevocably in hell.
• The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.: apparently the head and heart of God's people, His children. They are ruined, devastated, unable to reason and mentally exhausted. All this as a result of the plagues that are coming upon them
• Could it be said that God's people are so destroyed as a result of the " beating" they receive from their Father? In part, yes - God is "cutting them to pieces" in an effort to save them. On the other hand, the people have chosen a self-destructive lifestyle.
• staying with the image of the child taking drugs: the father in desperation prefers to "break his leg"⁶"rather than allow him to go out on the street for another dose. So it's the father who caused his injuries. On the other hand, we all know that drug use is a self-destructive lifestyle that ends in devastation and death. In Israel, too, it's a combination of both.

6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.

• h.: from the sole of the foot 
• my people are completely devastated
• For parents, the sight of their sick or injured children is devastating. Seeing your child bandaged and bruised after a crash in an intensive care unit somewhere is a nightmare.
• at the time Isaiah writes this, God's people were much the same - we'll see soon
• .arents of such disabled children often wish to "take their place", to suffer in their place. We can't do that, but God has done it for us in Christ.

7 Your country it desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, of overthrown by foreigners. 

• there's nothing to say. God's punishment was through war, the "lifting up" of God's protection and the opening of the land to the enemy. They then do whatever they want in the country, which is always disastrous.

8 And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. 

• The result was that God's people were left insignificant, with no way to defend themselves. A booth in a vineyard or a booth in a field evokes a flimsy structure incapable of providing even rudimentary protection for its inhabitants. It is both open to the weather and open to "whoever passes by."

9 If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

• our devastation (Isaiah identifies with the nation, speaking in the first person plural) would be almost complete (Sodom and Gomorrah were totally destroyed)
• However, the Most High ensured that at least one survivor
• It follows that no matter what "happens," God is always in control of the situation. Even the turmoil of war, the chaos of a collapsed society, in short, no circumstances are out of the control of the "Most High"
• I find this fascinating - imagining the chaos of man-on-man fighting, swarms of arrows shot blindly, or crowds of people driven from their homes, the fact that God is in control is incredible
• but it is a "common" theological problem concerning God's intervention in the world - here just more "blatant"
  

10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

• "having already" referred to the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah now shifts to the second person and uses the address "the leaders of Sodom" for the leaders of Israel and "the people of Gomorrah" for the nation
• to express their utter depravity and perversity
• trying to reach them with the word of God despite their depravity.

11 “What to me it is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

• what then does the Lord reproach his wicked people with? The answer is perhaps surprising:
• we find that sacrifices are still being offered in Israel, burnt offerings according to the Law of Moses
• which the Lord does not see as at all positive or worthy of appreciation
• On the contrary: God makes it clear that He is "fed up with their sacrifices".⁷„
• I do not delight, I mean, they don't make me happy at all, they don't make me pleased
• to do something for the other person that does not please him, on the contrary, I "annoy" him, of course, does not make sense
• The Israelites, of course, offer sacrifices in order to please God, assuming that they are doing what the Most High expects of them
• why are their victims so counterproductive? Why do they irritate instead of pleasing the Most High? After all, He Himself ordained them. We´ll see in verse 16

12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts?

• The Lord continues to describe (pour out His heart) His disgust at the sacrifices the Israelites were practicing. It is not until verse sixteen that we learn what it is that God actually resents about the sacrifices and what He expects
• to appear before somenone It connotes a kind of "strutting", showing off in order to be admired. The Israelites assume that the Lord, watching their sacrifices, will "nod his head in satisfaction" and say to himself something to the effect of: What a great people these Israelites of mine are.
• word "appear before the Lord" is biblical, showing oneself before the Lord is required by God: cf. e.g. Deuteronomy 31:11: when all Israel comes to appear before the Lordby thy God, in the place which he shall choose, Ex 23:17: Three times in the year shall appear every male that is with thee before the Lord GOD.
• So we see that "appearing is not like appearing". What is undesirable is formal and ostentatious showing off without an adequately "attached heart"
• trampling of my courts is another of God's "disgusted" formulations; something to the effect of: I didn't invite you to my "home", I don't enjoy watching you waling over here
• who was required is also unexpected: the logical answer would be: Well, you, God. Who else? The books of Moses are clear on this. So what is the problem? We'll see in a moment, but before that, God's disgust will continue for a few more verses
• what we can say already is that one of the problems is formal compliance with the Law. To do things just because they are commanded, without putting one's heart into them, is useless, even repulsive.

13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— ⁽I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.^.

• h.: wickedness and assembly
• we see that besides animal sacrifices, burning incense and keeping the feasts (all "of course" commanded in the Law) does not please God
• we see here already the first answer to the question why: because the sacrificial offerings are false . evil is present in the gatherings. In what meaning? If they were bringing "fake money" as a gift, something like straw animal figurines, it would be clear. But that's not what's happening, the animals are real, it cost the Israelites something to bring them as a sacrifice.
• so what is their falsity? The answer is that the Israelites don't really mean their sacrifices, they don't really repent of their sins. In that case, however, the sacrifice is worthless or, on the contrary, annoying.
• A typical example is the "godliness" of members of the Sicilian mafia. On the one hand they commit the worst crimes, including murder, without blinking an eye, on the other they are avid churchgoers. I suppose in that case, attending church services is really an abomination
• I'm also reminded of the old movie The Occupation in Twenty-seven Pictures. One of the villains, who murders sadistically, then prays in church when his wife falls ill.
• not all examples are this escalated, but it's a fairly common thing - many times I've heard the argument in discussions about faith: I hate believers - they pray in church every Sunday, but they just come out and gossip like hell
• in what way evil is "present" at the gatherings remains to be seen

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

• again: any religious act that is empty, without inner content, is not only useless, but is even abominable to God
• those formulations are very strong (hate, burden, exhausted, endure), the word disgusting is quite appropriate. When the (formally deflated) celebrations and services take place, God is anxious for them to end, disgusted and nauseated

When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

• we are used to God being "on call 24/7". That our cries always get God's attention
• But here we see clearly that this is not absolute - just because we speak to God is no guarantee of God's attention. Unless prayers are sincere and from the heart, they are just empty words that God pays no attention to. On the contrary, it distracts him.
• the quantity of prayers makes no difference - quantity cannot make up for a lack of quality⁸
• we will soon begin to learn why this is so
• let us now recapitulate that any formal and empty religious act, including prayers, is useless or even counterproductive
• We have already learned just why the Lord refuses to pay attention to the religious acts of His people: the presence of evil in the congregation. Now we learn that the hands of the people are full of blood. It usually refers to killing and violence. We'll see what's going on next.

16 Wash yourselves;make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,

• my advice is simple: end evil. Stop doing it.
• confess your sins, receive forgiveness from Me, begin again

17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

•  n.: encourage the oppressed;
• h.: lead the dispute 
• you can't do anything good, but that can be taught.
• you have to care about it, you have to be concerned about it.
• e.g. you must care about social justice - it is the duty of the authorities in the state to stand up for disadvantaged groups and punish violence.
• v Božích očích znamená spravedlivé fungování společnosti používat moc k vyvažování společenské nerovnosti, tedy pomáhat sirotkům, vdovám a podobným zranitelným skupinám a naopak tlumit agresivitu silných a arogantních. This is the right, God's desired approach.
• and this is clearly what was not happening in Israeli society at the time: the rich, the aggressive and the "loudmouths" were tearing away and oppressing those who couldn't defend themselves, the silent ones
• You don't do that at all - you give aggressive individuals a free hand and people without advocacy stay unprotected
• widows and orphans can't help themselves - that's up to you
• this is the Lord's "Achilles heel" - He's particularly sensitive to someone hurting those who can't defend themselves
• hurting these groups automatically arouses the great wrath of God
• it is evident that social sensitivity and justice are not an invention of Marxism, but a concept that comes from God
• It is not about taking money from the successful and hard-working and redistributing it to the incompetent and lazy, but about considering the truly needy.
• who is among the truly needy group is a complex topic to discuss, but simplistically we can say that The biblical view of social assistance to the needy is very strict for today. The social states of Western Europe are set far beyond biblical levels in this
• and this is clearly what was not happening in Israeli society at the time: the rich, the aggressive and the "loudmouths" were tearing away and oppressing those who could not defend themselves

“Come now, let us reason together, hassays the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

• n.: let´s discuss; n.: let´s judge;
• famous verse, one of the most beautiful
• (It has been said that in countries where they don't know snow, there is a problem with how to express its whiteness in Bible translations. Similarly, how to bring the white wool to the Eskimos when they don't know sheep)
• that the Lord "proposes to meet" is really unexpected, this is probably a unique place in the Bible
• yet we know that the Lord is interested in us "talking things over" with Him, spending time with Him, talking with Him, pouring out our hearts to Him. This is certainly true, but this is not a meeting of two close friends who have an unadulterated ongoing relationship with each other - such conversations are what Christians who "walk with God" have with the Most High. Rather, this is more the conversation of a desperate parent with a failing offspring: look, we can't go on like this, your mother and I are completely ruined by you. If you don't do something about yourself, we're going to have to throw you out of the house and disinherit you.
• or perhaps a suggestion from one warlord to another when a fatal battle is about to take place: let's meet and discuss the situation - I have a hundredfold advantage, you don't stand a chance. But I'm not interested in killing you all.
• I offer you a solution, no situation is unsolvable
• you may feel that your sins have passed the point where they can be forgiven. But this is not the case.
• the contact of purple and scarlet with whiteness is enormous. Similarly, blood contrasts with snow. God is saying that even the most "screaming" sins can be "whitened"

19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the ⁽good of the⁾ land; 

• h: goodness;
• the problem is not unsolvable - just "acknowledge" it, give me the truth, submit to me
• repent and start acting differently
• if you react in this way, your situation can change dramatically - you are devastated now, but you will live in peace again in your own country

20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

• the choice before you is to submit and obey or to refuse and continue the rebellion
• this is the choice for every human being from Adam and Eve to today
• and every decision has consequences, consequences: eternal life with God or hell without God
• the mouth of the Lord has spoken. means that this is the way it is, this is the way it will be. "There's no train through here."

21 21 How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. 

•  when we hear about submission and obedience, we automatically rebel within us - this is exactly what we humans don't want to do.
• the problem is that when we refuse to submit and insist on making our own decisions, it has disastrous consequences
• Most people believe that "walking after the flesh" (as our rebellion is also called) is innocent. After all, what could be so bad about doing things your own way?
• here we see that the consequences are always disastrous. Gradually, there is always a complete breakdown - from justice to murder
• many people will say that they are not murderers. However, when we consider abortion or consider Jesus' words that a murderer is a hater, the perspective changes very quickly

22 Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water. 

• (or: your silver has crumbled)
• [meaning a strong drink by which one can get drunk (?wine, beer); ]
• has become worthless. You used to be pure, true, you were my son. Now you're just a reflection of yourself, a poor imitation, a "fake wine"

23 Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.

• God continues to speak to His people, to His possession: those who lead you are a bunch of profiteers. They're just after money, take it where you want it. For the sake of raising money, they have no time to deal with the really important things, like advocating for needy groups.
• bribes are evil. Over twenty links popped up, the first one being typical: 2M 23:8: Nepřijmeš úplatek, neboť úplatek oslepuje ty, jež vidí, a podvrací jednání spravedlivých.
• a ta knížata jsou ve svém jednání umíněná: nedají se říct, nedají se korigovat
• fatální chybou není chyb se dopouštět – ale nedat se z nich korigovat

24 Therefore it the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. 

• what your leaders are doing is so disastrous, it's so disgusting, it makes me so unbelievably angry that it would be a pleasure to knock them down and take my anger out on them
• we know it from movies or literature - when the villain is punished, it brings us a deep inner satisfaction. It's probably one of the reflections of God's spark placed in us (we are made in His image)
• The desire for justice is deeply rooted in us, a profound part of who we are. The distinction between justice and injustice is common to all human beings and has present been since childhood.
• we can also see this from the fact that when, on the contrary, we do not see the punishment of evil, we are left with an odour and dissatisfaction
• (in this respect, today's fairy tales, where evil often goes unpunished, are less satisfying)

25 I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.

• h.: I will melt; 
• h.: potaší; 
• Know, my people, that it cannot remain thus. Things must change. I will deal with you - and it will not be pleasant. But I must get the evil out of you.
• removal of impurities is only possible by heat or lye. Neither process is pleasant. But it is effective

26 6 And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, ⁽the faithful city.”⁾

• n.: bring back 
• n.: the seat (h. qirjâ) of loyalty. 
• good authorities are essential to the country. Good counsellors and fair judges alone will help the country to recover
• and vice versa: if the counsellors advise wrongly and the judges do not respect the law, it is practically impossible for the country to emerge from the marasmus.
• if the authorities are advised by incompetent people and/or if the law is unenforceable, all efforts at restoration are futile

27 ⁽27 Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness.⁾

• h.: In court... in justice.
• the hope for you, for my people, is that I will judge you. After the judgment of the evil has taken place, after justice has been done and the injustice that you are committing has been removed, only then can you be redeemed -so I can re-appropriate you as my people
• or I can take ownership of those of you who respond to the lawsuit by turning to God.. So they will forsake their wicked ways and turn and follow me.

28 But rebels and sinners it will be shall be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

• those who do not respond to the lawsuit by turning themselves in, i.e. rebelswho continue to insist on going their own way - they will be eliminated

For they[e] shall be ashamed of the oaks that you desired; and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen. 

• ajil; "huge tree", probably does not denote a particular kind of
• when I confront you with the idols you have served, you will be terribly ashamed
• The pitifulness of your models will come out clearly. As I mentioned before - bowing down to statues will prove as embarrassing as your beautiful wife discovering a blow-up doll in your closet.
• it will be utterly incomprehensible how you could do something so poor
  

30 For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water. 

• because of your idolatry, you are falling and will fall so badly - you will be barren and parched

31 And ⁽the strong shall become tinder,⁾ and his work a spark, has and both of them shall burn together, by to with none to quench them.

• or (use of another root): the gathered wealth becomes a tow, and he who gathered it (h.: its maker), ...; var.: your strengths become a tow, and your deeds ...
• Whichever translation is correct, it's clear what the point is: it doesn't matter how powerful or rich you are. Your evil deeds will cause you to lose everything and be destroyed

1. The book of Isaiah was found among the Qumran scrolls. Their photo is on the illustrative photo of this book ↩︎
2. Web compilation: Isaiah lived 8th-7th century BC. He was a descendant of Amos and Hosea, a contemporary of Micah. He lived during the reigns of Jotham (c. 742-735), Ahaz (743-727), and Hizkiyahu. He was married and had children. He ascended about 740 and prophesied for about 40 years, at least until 701. He related to Judah, but also in part to Israel. According to the Babylonian Talmud and Apocrypha, he died a martyr's death during the reign of Menashe (698-642). The political situation during his lifetime was varied and complex. ↩︎
3. Novotný, Svoboda, Husák, Havel, Klaus, Zeman, Pavel - enough for one ordinary life ↩︎
4. the image of the deceived husband is used by the Lord several times, sometimes in a very sexually explicit way. Most brutally in Ez 16 ↩︎
5. I repeatedly use the parable of the "children of the sewers" in my reflections. When you rescue someone from a life in the gutter and allow them to live in a good family, it is incomprehensible and hurtful to you when they decide to return there ↩︎
6. it sounds crazy, but there really are situations where it is possible to "break someone's leg" out of love ↩︎
7. it seems to me that this phrasing captures well the feeling of God that Isaiah wants to express ↩︎
8. We cannot but recall the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:7) When you pray, do not repeat words in vain like the Gentiles, for they think they will be heard because of the multitude of their words. ↩︎