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ISAIAH 32

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. Isaiah 31-32 are the fifth of the six woes (Isa. 28:1; 29:1,15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1) which deal with Hezekiah's attempt to form a political military alliance with the Nubian Pharaoh of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty of Egypt.
   
   
2. Judah trusted in Egypt, but not YHWH, for protection. Isaiah saw this as a violation of trust/faith in His covenant promises and presence.
   
   
3. This chapter focuses on the future government of a Righteous King in Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 32:1; 9:6-7; 11:1-5; Micah 5:2-5a). This was what Hezekiah should have been. He came close in his faith, seen in Isa. 37:14-20,30.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 32:1-8
¹Behold, a king will reign righteously
And princes will rule justly.
²Each will be like a refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,  
Like streams of water in a dry country,
Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.
³Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
⁴The mind of the hasty will discern the truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
⁵No longer will the fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
⁶For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart inclines toward wickedness:
To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And to withhold drink from the thirsty.
⁷As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He devises wicked schemes
To destroy the afflicted with slander,
Even though the needy one speaks what is right.
⁸But the noble man devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.

32:1 "a king. . .princes" Isaiah 32:1-8 reflects the reign of a godly king and his/His government (cf. Isa. 9:6-7; 11:1-5; 16:5; Micah 5:2-5a). There seems to be a purposeful ambiguity so that Hezekiah (possibly the immediate fulfillment of Isa. 7:14-15) and the coming Messiah (the ultimate fulfillment, cf. Isa. 7:14, cf. Matt. 1:23) are both reflected in this passage.

32:2 This verse describes in "desert" imagery the reign of this godly leader and his associates.

1. a refuge (BDB 285, lit. "hiding place," this form is found only here) from the wind
2. shelter (BDB 712) from the storm (parallel to #1)
3. streams of water in a dry country
4. the shade (BDB 853) of a huge rock in a parched land

Similar imagery is used of YHWH in Isa. 25:4. Now they describe all of God's people or at least the leadership (i.e., "rulers will rule," VERB, BDB 979, KB 1362, Qal IMPERFECT).

The VERB "each will be" (BDB 224, KB 243 Qal PERFECT with waw) could refer to "the princes" of Isa. 32:1 or to the people of the "new covenant" described in Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-36.

32:3-4 This reflects the spiritual condition of the restored covenant people as contrasted with Isa. 6:9-10 (cf. Deut. 29:4).

1. they will see
2. they will hear
3. they will discern truth
4. they will speak truth ("the stammerers," BDB 748, occurs only here)

32:5-8 "fool. . .rogue" These two groups will still be present in society, but they will be seen for what they are (Isa. 32:6-7). Isaiah 32:6-7 seems to describe the two wicked persons, while Isa. 32:8 describes the "true" noble person.

1. the "fool" (BDB 614) described in Isa. 32:6
   1. speaks nonsense
   2. inclines the heart toward wickedness
      (1)  practices ungodliness
      (2)  speaks error against the Lord
   3. does not feed the hungry
   4. does not give drink to the thirsty
2. the "rogue" (BDB 647, found only here, twice) described in Isa. 32:7
   1. has evil weapons
   2. devises wicked schemes
   3. destroys the afflicted with slander
   4. disregards the true testimony of the needy
3. the noble man (BDB 622), Isa. 32:8
   1. devises noble (or "generous") plans in contrast to those mentioned in Isa. 32:6 and 7
   2. his plans stand, remain

32:6 One wonders if this is alluded to in Matt. 25:31-46.

▣ "inclines toward. . .to practice" The VERB (BDB 793, KB 889) is used twice in this verse, once as a Qal IMPERFECT and again as a Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT. This was a grammatical way to show intensity. The "fool" tries to convey a false message about Israel's God and His will for an obedient covenant people.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 32:9-20
⁹Rise up, you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.
¹⁰Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, O complacent daughters;
For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,
¹²Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
¹³For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up;
Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
¹⁴Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken.
Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks;
¹⁵Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
¹⁶Then justice will dwell in the wilderness
And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.
¹⁷And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
¹⁸Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
¹⁹And it will hail when the forest comes down,
And the city will be utterly laid low.
²⁰How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.

32:9-12 This strophe speaks of the rich, wealthy society women of Jerusalem (cf Isa. 3:16-4:1; see SPECIAL TOPIC: WEALTH). Notice how they are addressed.

1. rise up you women who are at ease, Isa. 32:9, BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal IMPERATIVE. The same VERB was used in the previous verse in the sense of "stand" or "remain," but here it means "stand up" when I the Lord (or His prophet) address you.
2. hear my voice, Isa. 32:9, BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERATIVE
3. give an ear to my word, Isa. 32:9, BDB 24, KB 27, Hiphil IMPERATIVE (cf. Isa. 28:23). Notice how the second and third VERBS are parallel, as are the descriptive phrases "women who are at ease," (cf. Isa. 32:11) and "you complacent daughters," and again in Isa. 32:10,11.
4. you will be troubled, Isa. 32:10, BDB 919, KB 1182, Qal IMPERFECT. This term denotes "agitation," "shaking," "being perturbed." Note the "time" elements in Isa. 32:10.
   1. within a year and a few days
   2. time of the vintage is ended
   3. the fruit gathering will not come
5. tremble, Isa. 32:11, BDB 353, KB 350, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Isa. 10:29; 19:16; 41:5. This is parallel to "troubled" in Isa. 32:10 (surprisingly all the IMPERATIVES of Isa. 32:11 are MASCULINE, but addressed to women).
6. be troubled, Isa. 32:11, BDB 919, KB 1182, Qal IMPERATIVE, same VERB as Isa. 32:10
7. strip, Isa. 32:11, BDB 832 II, KB 980, Qal IMPERATIVE. This could be a sign of (1) mourning (cf. Ezek. 26:16) or (2) humiliation (cf. Hos. 2:5).
8. undress, Isa. 32:11, BDB 792, KB 889, Qal IMPERATIVE
9. put sackcloth on your waist, Isa. 32:11, BDB 291, KB 291, Qal IMPERATIVE, also a sign of mourning. See SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES.
10. beat your breasts, Isa. 32:12, BDB 704, KB 763, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE, another sign of mourning, Luke 18:13; 23:48.

All of these relate to the period of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 B.C. Sieges were horrible experiences of deprivation and disease.

The Hebrew term (BDB 105, KB 120) normally means "security" or "confidence," though some scholars see another root (BDB 105 II, KB 121) meaning "fall to the ground" (NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 649).

This term also occurs in Isa. 32:17 and is translated "confidence" or "security" (NASB margin). These wealthy, elite women were over-confident (NJB).

32:10 "Within a year and a few days" This is a very specific time reference (possibly connected to the harvest season) and seems to relate to the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 B.C.

32:12 "Beat your breasts" There are three ways to deal with this phrase.

1. relate it to the stripped and bare-breasted women of Isa. 32:11
2. change the Hebrew "breast" (rare poetic term, BDB 994, שׁד) to "fields" (BDB 961, שדי, cf. Isa. 56:9), as JPSOA lists in a footnote. If option #2 is followed, then "fields," "the pleasant fields," and "the fruitful vine" become parallel for the loss of agricultural abundance.
3. see it as an idiom for mourning whether male or female (Peshitta, cf. Luke 18:13; 23:48)

32:13 "the joyful houses" This same term "joyful" (BDB 965) is used in Isa. 32:14 for "a delight for wild donkeys." Isaiah uses

1. doubling
2. word plays
3. repeated metaphors

to communicate his messages. The Hebrew text of Isaiah is far more dynamic and artistic than can be captured in translation. He was a master poet. One wonders if YHWH communicated the messages in poetry or Isaiah crafted them. Since all of YHWH's revelations are not in artistic poetry, it seems this was Isaiah's skill. Many of the word choices in Isaiah have far more to do with sound plays than lexical meaning. Rare words are used, as are unique meanings to common words. This is where the purposeful ambiguity is confusing for modern interpreters!

▣ "the jubilant city" See note at Isa. 24:10 and SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TWO "CITIES" IN ISAIAH. God wanted to uniquely bless the people of the covenant to attract the attention of "the nations," but because of Israel and Judah's rebellion, instead of abundance and peace came thorns and briars (cf. Isa. 5:6; 7:23-25; 9:18; 10:17; 27:4; Gen. 3:18).

32:14 This verse describes the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 6:11; 64:10), which is unusual for Isaiah who usually sees its deliverance (cf. Isa. 1:8-9; 8:8; 29:1-8; 37:36-37). Isaiah asserts Jerusalem's sanctity because of YHWH's presence there (i.e., the temple), but later Jeremiah clearly adds to this theological issue by focusing on the conditional nature of YHWH's promises to His covenant people (i.e., Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-28). Isaiah trusts God's word, but His promises must be matched by appropriate human faith and obedience. Covenant is a two-way street!

Notice how the destruction is characterized.

1. the palace has been abandoned (i.e., the Davidic seed forsaken)
2. the populated city has been forsaken (i.e., the Abrahamic seed forsaken)
3. NASB ‒ "hill"
   NJB ‒ "Ophel" (BDB 779), a section of the southeastern ridge of ancient Jerusalem (or a metaphor for the whole city, similar to "Zion"). It is mentioned in 2 Chr. 27:3; 33:14; Neh. 3:26-27; 11:21
4. #3 is parallel to "watch-tower"; both would denote the fortifications of Jerusalem being destroyed
5. a delight for wild donkeys
6. a pasture for flocks, both #5 and #6 denote a deserted, destroyed city, inhabited only by animals (cf. Isa. 13:21; 34:13)

There are two parallel VERBS.

1. has been abandoned, BDB 643, KB 695, Pual PERFECT, the Pual occurs only here
2. forsaken, BDB 736, KB 806, Qal PASSIVE (or Pual) PERFECT, cf. Jer. 49:25

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT, last paragraph

The term (BDB 792) means "cave," but in this context, "an animal's den." It is possible that Isaiah chose this term because of its sound similarity to

1. "sepulcher" (Arabic root), ערר (context of death and destruction)
2. "strip oneself," ערר, rare VERB used in Isa. 32:11
3. "bare field," מערה from Arabic root (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 1034)

▣ "forever" This is the relative use of the Hebrew term 'olam. This term has a large semantical usage and must be interpreted in context.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam)

32:15-20 This strophe describes a new day, a righteous day for Jerusalem.

1. The Spirit is poured out from God. The exact relationship between YHWH and "the Spirit" in the OT is difficult to relate to the full personal revelation of the NT. The Spirit is often associated with creation (cf. Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:29-30). Now the Spirit is active in the new creation!
2. The wilderness becomes a fertile field. . .a forest, Isa. 32:15. This is the reversal of Isa. 32:12-13. See the same metaphor of fertility in Isa. 29:17.
3. Justice. . .righteousness abide, Isa. 32:16
4. Peace, quietness, and confidence forever, Isa. 32:17. This means no invasions (cf. Isa. 32:18).
5. Isa. 32:19 may refer to the destruction of Assyria.
6. Isa. 32:20 is another blessing, but it is somewhat ambiguous.

SPECIAL TOPIC: PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT

The Hebrew text has no ARTICLE, PRONOUN, or descriptive phrase (i.e., "of the Lord," as in Isa. 11:2 or "My," Isa. 44:3; 59:21; Joel 2:28) linked to the NOUN "spirit" (BDB 924). The question is to whom does it refer.

1. the spirit of the new age
2. the Holy Spirit
3. a spirit of repentance and trust from God

Grammar suggests #1 or #3, but context suggests #2.

This is a radical break in the context. Similar passages which speak of God's Spirit are Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 39:29; Joel 2:28-29; Zech. 12:10; Acts 2:1-21. The same VERB is used in a sacrificial sense of the Messiah in Isa. 53:12. There is a series of seven blessings that will result because of the Spirit's presence: (1) fertility, (2) justice, (3) righteousness, (4) peace, (5) quietness, (6) confidence, and (7) secure dwelling.

SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE

▣ "from on high" This is an idiom for "heaven," the place of YHWH's abode (cf. Job 16:19; 31:2; Isa. 33:5).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HEAVENS AND THE THIRD HEAVEN

32:16 "justice. . .righteousness" These are a common pair in the OT (cf. 2 Sam. 8:15; 1 Kgs. 10:9; 1 Chr. 18:14; 2 Chr. 9:8; Ps. 99:4; Isa. 9:7; 32:16; 33:5; 59:14; Jer. 4:2; 9:24; 22:3,15; 23:5; 33:15; Ezek. 18:5,19, 21,27; 33:14,16,19; 45:9; Amos 5:7,24). They denote the kind of society (cf. Isa. 32:17-18) where all people are honored and treated fairly as covenant partners. They then characterize the unique presence of God among His people.

SPECIAL TOPIC: IMMANUEL'S PERSON AND REIGN

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE MESSIANIC ERA

32:17 "peace" See SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (shalom, OT)

▣ "quietness and confidence" These two terms (BDB 1052 and BDB 105) also occur in Isa. 30:15, which characterizes the new age of justice, righteousness, and peace (cf. Isa. 32:1,16).

32:19 This is a very difficult verse which seems out of place. It may refer to Assyria.

1. The phrase "the forest" is used of Assyria in Isa. 10:18-19,33,34.
2. The phrase "the city" is used of Assyria in Isa. 24:10; 25:2,3; 26:5.

The ancient versions see the MT's וברד (unknown form) as ברד, BDB 135, "hail," cf. NOUN in Isa. 28:2,17.

REB sees it as coming from the same root in Arabic meaning "become cool" (BDB 135, NEB).

The NJB and JPSOA see the MT's first two words as being from the same VERBAL root, דרי,

1. Qal PERFECT
2. Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT

denoting a total and complete destruction ("descent," RSV).

The UBS Text Project, p. 73, gives "hail" a "B" rating (some doubt).

32:20 This verse is also very difficult to fit into the context. However, the consensus seems to be that in the days of God's blessings, the crops will be so abundant that the cattle could roam freely and eat without really affecting the outcome of the crop.

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