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.

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.

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

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

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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 that 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.

Consent: not just "are willing", but a very strong term: to pant after, to want very badly. (Compare Gen. 24:8)

A sword and mouth are again linked when Y'shua returns. (Rev. 19:15, 21)

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?

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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)

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.

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.

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".

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.

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

Fortified: to the point of being insurmountable.

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?

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.)

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)

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

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".

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

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.

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".

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.

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".

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

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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).

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)

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.

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.

Compare the forsaken sukkah in 1:8.

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

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.

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.

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)

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

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)

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.

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)

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)

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.

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).

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!

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

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".

Uzziyahu: A king held up as the paradigm of a righteous king (2 Kings 15:34), he brought Israel great gains, but let it go to his head; he overstepped his limits and usurped the role of the priests, ignoring their rebuke. He was struck with leprosy and quarantined until he died. (2 Chron. 26) Here, the imagery is of a king in His sedan chair, reminding us that, even with such a disappointment, YHWH is still on the throne and in control. YHWH: The Masoretic text says "Adonai", but this and vv. 8 and 11 are some of the 134 times the Scribes admitted to having changed "YHWH" to "Adonai". Train of his robes: or bottom edge of His throne". Temple: or palace, especially in this context of royalty.

Burning angels: Heb., s'rafim.

Holy: in a separate class of His own. The famous complete Isaiah scroll found at Qumran says "Qadosh" (holy) only twice. Perhaps this is why it was found intact; if it was a copyist's error, it would have been "buried" in a geniza, or "graveyard" for scrolls that had YHWH's name on them. They would never be destroyed, but would not be used after a mistake was discovered, so it would survive longer than one that had been worn out. Earth: or Land (i.e., of Israel).

5. And I said, "Alas for me, because I am finished, since I myself am a man of impure lips, and I live among a nation of impure lips--since my eyes have seen the King, YHWH of Armies!"

Lips: or "language". Perhaps he heard them speaking perfect Hebrew, and after Israel had allowed so much influence from the nations to enter the Land that even the Hebrew they spoke was no longer pure. Finished: brought to an end, undone, cut off--perhaps "doomed". In common terms, "a goner". He realized he had no way of communicating with YHWH, though He was standing right in front of him! Impure: with the connotation of selfish, as it is the term for "ritually unclean". Yaaqov (James) tells us the same mouth should not bless YHWH and curse those who are in His image. Among: as part of.

Live coal: or a hot stone.In his hand: thus the tongs were not due to its heat, but because he must not touch the altar. The altar was always the first part of the sanctuary to be built.

Similarly, Yochanan the Immerser said Y'shua would bring a "baptism of fire".

9. So He said, "Go, and tell this people, ‘Listen, hearing, but do not distinguish! And look, seeing, but do not perceive!

Perceive: come to know or be intimately acquainted with. Perhaps the indistinctness is due to the Hebraic nature of the revelation, which we cannot fully understand in a translation. We must not forget that the existence of many languages came about as the result of a curse, and the fact that we do not understand Hebrew is a reminder of our continued exile.

Y'shua's parables had the same purpose (Mat. 13:13), since he had a work to do which he could not accomplish if Israel repented too soon. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 11:8, and relates it to Israel. In fact, this verse is quoted six more times in Scripture, meaning that it appears a total of seven times. But chapter 10 had asked how the scattered "lost sheep of Israel" would be able to hear unless someone was sent to teach them. These "smeared eyes" parallel the man Y'shua healed of blindness, but he viewed men as if they were trees. There were two stages of healing. He could see enough to avoid --much as the House of Israel has met Y'shua as Savior (thus having the most essential factor) yet missed the context in which He is best understood. When he was sent to the Pool of Shiloach ("sent") his vision was completely restored. Those sent to regather the rest of the House will see more than those who merely bask in what we have received, since the focus is no longer on self. (The context here mainly addresses Yehudah, but still applies to both houses, since Uzziyahu died before the Northern Kingdom was fully scattered.) Lest it should: what follows is the order of the journey back after this curse is rescinded, and that is the stage where we are today; we must follow these steps very carefully.

12. "But when YHWH has removed the human [population] far away, and the abandonment of the land is abundant,

The human [population]: simply "the Adam" in Hebrew.

A tithe: a tenth, a remnant reserved for YHWH's special use, untouched by this curse. Yaaqov promised that he would give YHWH a tenth of all that was his (Gen. 28:22), so a tenth of his descendants belong to YHWH in a special way. Holy seed: in a broad sense, the descendants of Avraham. In a narrow sense, as a lead-up to the virgin birth spoken of in the next chapter, this is a "seed" in a class of its own (one way of describing what "holy" means). It was promised in Gen. 3:15 as being the seed of a woman--an anomaly in itself, and thus a signal of the deep significance this phrase holds. Arthur Custance's research showed that the woman carries "immortal" eggs, which begin the process of corruption and death only when fertilized by male sperm. The female lineage preserves the same seed through a series of such "perfect" eggs, so Adam's pre-fallen state was still preserved as long as Miryam's "seed" was not fertilized. Thus, though all humanity, and most specifically, Israel and the line of David in particular, were all gone astray and under a curse, still, true and complete life remained within this "stump", and could thus send forth a new shoot, and the pristine Adam could be revived. Y'shua is described as the Head of this "last Adam", and we who join ourselves to him are the rest of the Body, which will all be rejuvenated once it is brought completely together.

Achaz began his reign at age 20 in the seventeenth year of Peqach's reign. [c. 735 B.C.E.] So Peqach was substantially older. The story is detailed in 2 Kings 16. R'tzin means "firm", and Remalyahu, "wealth/abundance of YHWH".

House of David: the current king of Yehudah, Achaz. "Resting on": an idiom for encamping on Efrayim (the Northern Kingdom)'s land, or being allied with them. Wavered: being double-minded with fear, they were" unstable in all their ways" (Yaaqov/James 1:8).

Sh'ar-Yashuv means "a remnant will return". This is part of his message to the king. (See 8:18) Though he is about to prophesy the fall of the Northern Kingdom, he prefaces it, for those with ears to hear, with this promise that keeps the severity of the punishment in perspective. The upper pool: the same place the Assyrians would later meet King Hizqiyahu (36:2; 2 Kings 18:17) Launderers': or "fullers"--cleansing the fibers of cloth of their natural oils and bleaching them before dyeing them.Sometimes the dyeing was done by the same man.

Nehemyah understood this principle better than Achaz. Stay calm: or "quiet"; keeping one's mouth shut is closely tied to being unafraid. By voicing "what if's", we erode the rock that YHWH sets us on, convince ourselves of the worst scenario, and get others thinking fearfully. This misdirected energy creates additional problems that were not really there to start with. Fear is an invitation to evil spirits, if not an actual act of worshipping them. Smoking firebrands: compare 65:5.

Efrayim (the scattered Northern Kingdom while it was out of fellowship with Yehudah) under Peqach (meaning "open") teamed up with Aram, the nation of Lavan ("the white one" and a "relative" of Israel, thus a picture of the institutional Gentile church) and together they persecuted the Jews, not realizing that they were closer relatives than the pagans who masquerade as friendly, but really seek only their own advantage. By being "open" to their influence, Israel came very close to destroying his true brothers.

Terrorize: Heb., cause to feel a sickening dread. Tav'el: means "El has been good", or "Elohim is pleasing"--a clue as to whose son the Counterfeit Messiah is seen as. ("The good Lord"?) But it is also a code name for Remalyahu through a form of Hebrew encryption in which one letter is substituted for another by substituting letters from the first half of the alphabet for those in the second half. (Missler)

8. "‘because the capital of Aram is Dameseq, and the head of Dameseq is R'tzin, and within sixty-five years, Efrayim will be broken from [being] a people,

Dameseq was where Achaz went to meet the king of Ashur (Assyria), on whose help he called in this crisis. (2 Kings 16:7) But that king then attacked Israel, taking many captive. (2 Kings 15:27) Sixty-five years: long after the fall of the Northern Kingdom, which came only about 10 to 15 years after this prophecy.

Believe: or "stand firm". Shomron: Samaria. Not to be established: Because he turned out to call on the help of a human king, and ended up giving away the Temple treasury in order to pay him, rather than simply asking YHWH for help.

11. "Ask for a sign for yourself from YHWH your Elohim; make the request [as] deep [as you wish], or make it from as high above [as you wish]!"

Sign: in Heb., "what distinguishes"--i.e., something clear-cut. This was a merciful offer to a king who lacked assurance of YHWH's good intentions toward Yehudah.

Put to the test: or tempt. YHWH responded favorably to one of the greatest tests ever given Him, that of Eliyahu's soaked sacrifices on Mount Karmel. (1 Kings 18) Achaz had the opposite of this spirit of faith. Since he proved that he would not be established, Yeshayahu broadens the scope of his audience:

He had been commanded to ask; "to obey is better than sacrifice"! This was not true humility. Apparently it was mainly the prophet he did not trust, because he thought he knew these two armies well enough to predict what they would do.

Young woman: of marriageable age, in the broadest sense of the term. It probably has an immediate point of reference to a particular young woman present to Yeshayahu and the king (especially in context of v. 16, perhaps even a betrothed of the king himself, who was quite young. But how would that be an unmistakable sign of something contrary to Achaz's expectations? What would be so special or miraculous about a young woman conceiving a son? The term is translated by the LXX (some 200 years prior to the birth of Y'shua and thus long before the controversy about the virgin birth) as parthenos, a term contrasted in 1 Cor. 7:28 with a married woman, hence, a virgin. Thus, perhaps there was even a virgin birth at the time of Achaz, because how would an event 700 years later serve as a sign to Achaz? The other signs Y'shua did had been done before by prophets, even raising the dead. Ecclesiastes says that "what has happened once will happen again." But prophecies usually have a two-pronged reference: a partial fulfillment in the prophet's own day, and a fuller one relating to the Messiah, which includes the same elements as the prior fulfillment, but more. Also, Matithyahu (1:23) takes the prophecy as relating to a virgin birth, as it is explicitly stated that Yoseyf did not have relations with Miryam until after Y'shua was born (1:25; cf. Luk. 1:27). He did not take this verse out of context, for the preservation of the royal Davidic line is also Matithyahu's theme. Immanu-El means "El [is] with us". This was meant to comfort the king, and is repeated in 8:10. Avi Ben Mordechai reports that El is a name sometimes correlated with YHWH's attribute of mercy or lovingkindness, and this is the aspect of His nature that He incarnated in Y'shua's first coming. (In contrast, for example, Elohim is a name that emphasizes YHWH's judgment.) Y'shua indeed said that whoever saw Him had seen the Father (Yochanan 14:9), though of course, no one has ever seen the Father Himself. (Yochanan 1:18; 6:46) So the entirety of YHWH was not present when Y'shua walked the earth. Indeed, He drew some clear distinctions between himself and the Father (e.g., Yochanan 14:28), probably to counter the deductions that would one day be made about his deity when the Gospels and Paul were interpreted through Gentile grids. Everything he did perfectly communicated exactly what the Father was like; if the Father Himself were to become visible, no one could have survived the intensity of His presence. So He sent us a Mediator, fleshing out His Word, which is Himself in a way, yet is a separate entity.

Butter and honey: in the context of the House of David (v. 13), it is interesting that some of the foods chosen to strengthen David's people when they were especially weary. (2 Shmuel 17:29) Y'shua, too, would strengthen the House of David, being the only way it is preserved from extinction. See also v. 22.

Both of her kings: Aram apparently was considered to own the Land due to a treaty.

18. "Now what will happen in that day [is that] YHWH will whistle for the [stinging] fly that is at the farthest reaches of the rivers of Egypt, and the bee that is in the land of Ashur,

19. "and they will all come and lie down in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the crags, and among all the thornbushes and among all the pastures [with watering places].

YHWH is telling Achaz, "You do not have to worry about stopping these two kings; I already have someone else lined up to deal with them. You just learn from what is going to happen to the House of Israel."

Shave the head: normally not allowable, except in the cases of cleansed lepers, Nazirites terminating their period of being set apart by a vow; otherwise, only pagans did so. But it would serve as a sign of the humiliation coming for a people who had disregarded YHWH's Torah. In Hebrew, the term for "legs" is also used for the pilgrimage festivals YHWH prescribed. (E.g., Ex. 23:14) The Talmud explains that the beard is the glory of a male. "Glory" in Hebrew really has the sense of "weightiness", "importance", and thus "authority". So having the beard shaved symbolizes a loss of authority or self-rule, as well as the fact that they were no longer a set apart as a people, and that they were essentially becoming pagans. (Hoshea 7:8 vouches for this.)

On that day: a common idiom that shifts the frame of reference also to the Messianic Kingdom.

Left in the midst: who remain in the "inner part" alive after the "opening scene", and who are not among those in the "outer darkness", but are favored by YHWH to inhabit the Land of Israel.

A thousand vines: an allusion back to the parable in chapter 5.

I.e., it would be so overgrown that it would become a game-hunting ground.

Compare Y'shua's parable of the thorns and weeds that choke out his words. (Mat. 13:22)

Maher-Shalal-Chash-Baz means "Plunder hurries, spoils come quickly". The context continues to be the overthrow of the Northern Kingdom and Aram by Ashur (Assyria).

Uriyah means "YHWH is my light"; Z'charyah, "YHWH has remembered", and Y'verechyahu, "May YHWH bless".

4. "because before the lad knows how to cry, "My daddy!" or "My mommy!", the strength of Dameseq and the plunder of Shomron will be carried off in front of the king of Ashur."

My daddy...My mommy: Much easier to say in Hebrew than in English ("avi" and "imi"), thus the child would not need to be very old at all. They could very well be his forst words.

6. "On account of this people despising the waters of Shiloach which proceed gently, and being excited about R'tzin and Remalyahu's son,

7. "therefore, behold, YHWH is bringing up over them the waters of the River, strong and numerous--the king of Assyria, and al his glory! And he will go up over his channels, and proceed over all his banks,

His banks: the proper boundaries of his empire.

Your Land: YHWH has deeded it specifically to him (Y‘shua), but this also suggests that the immediate reference may be to someone in whose hands the Land would be in the immediate context--perhaps Hizqiyahu, the next king? In his days, the Assyrians did try to capture Yerushalayim. (2 Kings 18:13) Hizqiyahu means "YHWH is my Strength". His wings: compare 18:1.

10. Take counsel and [make your] plan, but it will be frustrated. Speak a word, but it shall not stand, because El is with us--

El is with us: Heb., Immanu-El.

12. "Do not say, ‘A conspiracy!' for everything that this nation calls a conspiracy. Don't be afraid of what they are afraid of, and don't be terrified.

13. "YHWH of Armies--He is the One to treat as in a separate category. Let Him be the one you respect, and let Him be the One you makes you tremble with awe!

I.e., concentrate on Him, not on what men are doing. These things have to take place, much like the New World Order we see usurping our nations today, since a unified world is prophesied for the last days. He is still in control. The scattering of the Northern Kingdom was from Him (1 Kings 12:24)--part of an "expansion" that started when YHWH separated Chavvah from Adam, and continued through Bavel and Israel's dispersion until the "fullness of time", when Y'shua appeared (Gal. 4:4), and began to "let the rubber band snap back". He initiated the "restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21) by sending his apostles out to start regathering the "lost sheep of the House of Israel". After we have become a cohesive people, we will again be rejoined with Yehudah (Hos. 1:11), and keep continuing back through the repetition of what happened before (Eccles. 3:15; 6:10) in the "contraction" which will culminate in the "birthpangs" of one new Man (Eph. 4:13). History thus goes through a "mirror image" until Eden itself is restored. Paul speaks of seeing Y'shua as in a mirror and becoming like him. (2 Cor. 3:18; cf. 1 Yochanan 3:2) Yaaqov (James 1:23) says that mirror is the Torah, the perfect law of liberty, because Y'shua is the "word made flesh" and thus by reading YHWH's instruction, we see what He looked like and what we really are as well. Adam ("Man" in Hebrew) and Eden itself will be restored. When all is put under Messiah (the "Last Adam")'s feet, we will continue back even to the day when YHWH was "all in all" (1 Cor. 12:6; 15:28; Eph. 1:23). That is what He is doing in our day, and this is where we must put our energy, rather than focusing on the apparent physical threats.

Sanctuary: a set-apart place. The teachings inherent in the Temple are the "snare" that YHWH promised to use to regather the Northern Kingdom and recapture our hearts (Y'hezq'el/Ezk. 43). It corresponds with Y'shua, our sanctuary, who is indeed described as "a stumbling-stone" (Luk. 2:34; Rom. 9:33; 1 Kefa/Peter 2:8)

16. Tie up the confirmation; fix a seal on instruction to the ones I have taught,

17. and I will wait for YHWH, who causes His face to be hidden from the House of Yaaqov, and I will watch for Him with eager expectation.

18. Indeed, I and the children YHWH has given me are [to serve] as distinguishing signs and tokens in Israel from YHWH of Armies, who dwells in Mount Tsion.

19. "And since they tell you, ‘Consult those who invoke the dead or those who have familiar spirits, who chirp and mutter', shouldn't a nation consult its Elohim, rather than the living praying to the dead?

20. "To instruction and confirmation! If they do not speak in agreement with this, it is because there is no dawning in them!

Instruction: Heb., Torah. This is the way we must weight and test the words of any prophec, and any proper interpretation of the Renewed Covenant will only confirm what it already says. (Mat. 5:17-18; Rom. 3:31) Why look for new revelation, when He has already written His down? What He's told us before is the truth. The main point of any prophecy is to explain the Word that has already been given.

22. "And they shall turn their attention toward the Land, and behold distress and darkness, and gloom from anguish, and they will be thrust into calamity.

Calamity: or "thick darkness", from a word meaning that the sun had set on something. Compare 9:1.

I.e., the distress would make things turn out well for those YHWH favored. (cf. Rom. 8:28) All through the epistles to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of how the events that will come as a surprise to those who are in darkness will only benefit those who belong to the Light. Way of the Sea: a major trade route running from Mesopotamia, through the Yarden Valley, then through the Yezre'el Valley and past Megiddo, across the Karmel range, and down along the coast to Egypt. Galil of the Nations: west of Lake Kinnereth, a hilly region that by Y'shua's time had been under Gentile control, then resettled by both Jews and other Israelites, but had a strong Gentile influence. This makes it abundantly clear that these prophecies are Messianic. Galil, the tribal lands of Z'vulun and Nafthali, would be made very important because that is where Y'shua the Messiah would spend most of his life and public ministry. (Mat. 4:13-17) In some English Bibles this verse is 9:1.

Note all the imagery of the feast of Sukkoth (Booths) in this chapter: great lights, joy, harvest, release from oppression, the birth of Y'shua, and his Kingdom.

The joy of YHWH seems to transcend our limitations; growth is not always lateral. When He deepens our capacity, we still grow larger. But it is only so we can hold more of what He wants to pour out to others, like the widow who fed Eliyahu (1 Kings 17).

Day of Midyan: or "a day of strife".

In commotion: or "skaing, quaking, trembling, confused noise". A garment rolled in blood: perhaps a reference to the day of Y'shua's execution, when the earth quaked and the Adversary's yoke was thrown off anyone who joins the Second Adam's restored race.

Dominion: The position must belong to someone from the tribe of Yehudah and a descendant in particular of David. The word carries the connotation of having fought for it. This may refer to a physical end-time battle and/or Y'shua's having won back the dominion Adam had over the earth before he surrendered it to the taskmaster mentioned above. Y'shua removed haSatan's right to the earth by allowing haSatan to kill him unjustly. HaSatan had a right to kill anyone else, but became a murderer through Y'shua's death, since he had done nothing deserving of death. Shoulder: Heb. sh'chem, the name of the city Levi and Shim'on destroyed, which Yoseyf deeded to Yoseyf and where he is buried (Nablus today). It was also the city where Y'shua met the Samaritan woman at the well, beginning to take his bride from the lost sheep of the House of Israel, just as Moshe and Yaaqov had met their wives at wells. (Yochanan 4) Wonderful: This identifies Y'shua as the Messenger who brought the news of Shimshon (Samson)'s birth (Judges 13:18), since he said his name was "wonderful" (a related form of the word, which means "incomprehensible and hard to understand). Counselor: or advisor, consultant. Prevailing judge: indeed he defeated the Adversary, and the term for prevailing has the connotation of being herroic. The word "judge" is again El. The term ranges from human judges (Ps. 82:6) to angelic beings to YHWH Himself. Thoma recognized that Y'shua was this type of judge (Yochanan 20:28) after he proved his doubting to have been erroneous. As Yoseyf was given Pharaoh's signet ring and was for nearly all intents and purposes treated as if he were Pharaoh himself, this "son" would have a unique association with YHWH, which to some extent is "incomprehensible". He would be YHWH's deputy and representative, having been given all authority (Mat. 28:18) by the One greater than He. Continuity: from a word meaning "to advance onward", and Y'shua was the "founder" of this opportunity for Adam, the restored human race, to continue into eternity rather than be burned up like the garments and boots in v. 4. Peace: Y'shua's Kingdom will be the first time true peace is known on earth, and it will be enforced with a "rod of iron". But the word "shalom" means more--complete soundness, total well-being, security, and prosperity of every type.

Set it in order: build a "skeletal" framework on which righteousness can be fleshed out. We cannot keep the Torah in all its fullness until we have the community of Israel again, under Messiah. Though Y'shua initiated it and made it possible, YHWH cannot ratify the Renewed Covenant with the two houses of Israel (Yirmiyahu/Jer. 31:31) until there is again a House of Israel to cut the covenant with! When there is a throne established, Y'shua can take his rightful place. He is beginning to build this framework again, but we need to trust the leaders He is again setting in place as there were under Moshe. Sustain: or establish, support. Jealousy for YHWH: exemplified well through Pin'chas (Num. 25:7), the Maccabees, and Y'shua (Yochanan 2:15), who single-handedly took on large-scale opposition to YHWH while others stood idly by. This type of heroic choices will again be part of what establishes the coming Kingdom. Notice the connection with armies, as they may be utilized in setting up this Kingdom.

8. and they will know--all of them: Efrayim and the inhabitant of Shomron, in her arrogance and greatness of heart, saying,

9. "Bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stones; sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars!"

In their arrogance, they did not recognize YHWH's punishment, and simply began to rebuild things in their own way, saying they could do even better this time. Cut stones: symbolizing being shaped by men's doctrines--the antithesis of the altars that could not have any human tool applied (Ex. 20:25), but had to be built with stones shaped only by running water, a symbol of YHWH's pure, unadulterated Word. Compare the Tower of Bavel, which also substituted humanly-processed materials for those in their natural form.

11. Aram in front, Filistines behind--and they devour Israel with the whole mouth.

Israel: In this context, only the Northern Kingdom.

Despite all this...: This phrase is repeated twice below as a "refrain", showing more clearly how prophets usually sang out their messages. Returning to Him who is striking them: for "whom YHWH loves He disciplines" (Prov. 3:12). Here He seems surprised that they would not come back for more correction; it only shows that they do not wish to be the best they can be. Perhaps the concept of "turning the other cheek" relates to this context of submitting to further sharpening.

14. An elder or honored one--he is the head, and the prophet who teaches falsehood, he is the tail,

Honored one: literally, "lifted of face".

16. Therefore, Adonai will not rejoice over its young men, nor will He have compassion on their orphans or widows, for everyone is profane and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks foolishness. Despite all this, His anger is not turned back, but His hand is still stretched out,

Profane: or a hypocrite.

18. The Land is scorched by YHWH's outburst, and the people will become like the fire's fuel; no man will even spare his brother,

19. and he will cut off on the right hand, yet be hungry; he will eat on the left, yet they will not be satisfied. Each man will eat the flesh of his own arm.

Eat the flesh of his own arm: This may include the practice of transubstantiation, in which some claim to actually eat the body of the one called YHWH's "right arm". Having a distorted view of Him, they are still hungry, and cannibalize the Body they too are a part of, rather than asking YHWH Himself for added sustenance.

CHAPTER 10

Wearisome things that they have prescribed: Aramaic, "toilsome writs", i.e., "legalese" in which the fine print is burdensome to read and simple justice is encumbered by numerous manipulative clauses. According to Torah, Israel's justice system is not to work that way; YHWH has no fellowship with injustice. (Ps. 58; 94:20) This, more than the pagan worship that was also going on, was the main reason He was about to bring trouble upon Yehudah, as at the Flood of Noach and the destruction of S'dom.

Y'shua also rebuked religious leaders for "plundering widows' houses", when the Torah tells us to afford them special protection, and making up new instructions which placed heavier burdens on people than YHWH intended. (Mat. 23:14)

4. "Apart from Me, you would have bowed down under the prisoner, and they will fall under the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned back, but His hand is still stretched out.

Apart from Me...: The Aramaic targum interprets this as meaning, "Outside your Land, you will..."

They were oppressing their own nearest kinsmen, so He sent distant cousins to punish them (for Ashur was the second son of Shem).

Hypocritical: or profaned, irreligious. He is speaking about Yehudah, who has turned away from YHWH.

8. "since he says, ‘Aren't my chieftains just like kings?

He: Apparently a collective reference to a series of Assyrian kings. nnacheriv, who ruled Ashur from 705-681 B.C.E., attacked Yehudah in 701 B.C.E. (See the story in chapters 36-37) By most chronologies this should be 21 years after Shomron fell to his predecessor Shalmaneser (traditionally 722), but 2 Kings 18 states that Sennacheriv attacked Yehudah only six years after Shomron fell. (See also 2 Chron. 32) Thiele's reckoning of the chronology of kings taking into account that sometimes the same year was counted as the last year of one king's reign and the next king's first allows all the chronologies in Scripture to agree, but might thus place the fall of Shomron as late as 709 B.C.E. This might then push the date of the end of the Northern Kingdom's "not being a people" (a 2,730-year sentence) back to as late as A.D. 2019 rather than 2008. However, this time clock may have started 12 years earlier when the Kingdom first began being exiled by Ashur, rather than the year the capital finally fell.

Kalno: Also called Kalneh, it was one of the cities that Nimrod founded (Gen.10:11), but was captured by Assyria during the 8th century B.C.E. Karchemish: the Hittite capital on the Ferath (Euphrates) River, until Assyria overtook it. Chamath: a major Syrian city in the Orontes Valley. Arpad: another major city in Syria. Shomron: Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. I.e., "Aren't they all the same to me?" This boast is also chronicled in 2 Kings 18:29-35. Hizqiyahu had the wisdom to tell the people to simply remain silent in the face of his taunts.

He is taking inventory of these cities that have maintained their prestige under subjection to him. Apparently they had remained prosperous, and he thought he was following the most successful method of conquest. Imaginary gods: literally, "nothings", "falsehoods", or "worthless things".

His intention was only to conquer, not to carry out YHWH's justice on Israel and Yehudah, but to add to his own repertoire of victories. Images: "shapes that grieve", "formed shapes", or "copies"; since Israel was not to make images of YHWH, any graven images in Yerushalayim would be copies of those from other nations. Was he mistaken about there being images in Yerushalayim? Or is this an indication that idolatry (even if in the Name of YHWH) had crept in there too? Shomron:

13. "since he says, ‘I have succeeded because of the strength of my hand and my wisdom, because I have the know-how! What's more, I have taken away the borders of nations, and plundered what they had made ready, and subdued their inhabitants like a mighty [man]!

Have the know-how: am intelligent, discerning, savvy. Taken away borders: just what every empire-builder wishes to do to others, adding them to his own territory. We hear the same calls today to unite all the nations of the world into one; the spirit of Bavel still remains.

I.e., "It's been so easy; those other gods did nothing to stop me. They must be on my side! I must be doing something right! Yet remember that sometimes the wicked prosper by their own wickedness; if they are not receiving any correction from YHWH, it must mean He is paying them little attention (Prov. 3:12), having turned them over to their own foolishness. (Rom. 1:21ff) That He does acknowledge it even to this degree is His mercy, which we see in the account of Yonah, for he prophesied to the Assyrian capital, Nin'veh.

The last phrases in Aramaic read, "When one lifts the rod to strike, the rod does not strike, but he who strikes with it." He's only a tool, but he thinks the power is his. But, as with Pharaoh, YHWH was only using Ashur's innate pride serve His purposes.

Y'shua said He had a fire to kindle after He underwent the "immersion" of His death. (Luk. 12:49; cf. 3:17) Scrawniness: Where is the Assyrian empire today?

The Light of Israel: YHWH. His Holy One: the Aramaic targum identifies this as His Memra (living Word), i.e., the Messiah.

Soul and body: or "life and flesh".

Apparently there were far more thorns and briars than trees.

21. A remnant will return--the remnant of Yaaqov--to [the] Mighty Prevailing Judge!

A remnant will return: the meaning of the name of Yeshayahu's son, Sh'ar-Yashuv. Mighty Prevailing Judge: El-Gibbor, one of the names of the "child who is born, the Son who is given" (9:5), i.e., Yahshua. He is the one to whom a remnant will return.

Decisive...righteousness: or "a mutilating annihilation, washing in with right-rulings”.

24. Therefore, thus says Adonai, YHWH of Armies, "O people of Mine, who dwell in Tzion, do not be afraid of Ashur! With the rod he will strike you, and he will lift up his staff against you on the way to Egypt,

Rod and staff: YHWH's instruments of comfort, though they are severe. (Psalm 23) On the way to Egypt: It was due to Hizqiyahu's conspiring with Egypt against Ashur that the letter attacked them both, but the phrase could also mean, "the way Egypt did". Note that the message that they should not be afraid only those in Tsion, and only those who are truly YHWH's people--i.e., those loyal to Him. Many other cities in Yehudah were besieged and conquered by the Assyrians, most notably Lachish, for their sins. (Micha 1:13)

Or, "My anger in regard to them will be spent." Their: i.e., Israel and Yehudah's being "used up" by Ashur (Assyria).

Rock of Orev: where Gid'on slew two Midyanite kings and their armies. (The story is in Judges 7 and 8.)

One yoke is traded in for another--an "easy yoke" (Mat. 11:29-30) because it is shared by "another called alongside to help" us, for oil is a symbol of the anointing of the Spirit of Holiness, especially upon Messiah (see 11:2 below). And that Spirit is upon His Body in a special way when we are assembled together.

29. They have crossed the ford! Geva was where they lodged. Ramah is trembling; Giv'ah of Sha'ul has taken flight!

Mikhmash, Geva, Ramah, Giv'ah, and Gallim (v. 30) are just north of Yerushalayim along the border between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. There is a progression in these towns that depicts the army moving closer and closer to Yerushalayim.

Anathoth: a town just north of Yerushalayim from which the prophet Yirmiyahu came.

32. He has continued on and today has taken his stand at Nov; he brandishes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Tsion, the hill of Yerushalayim.

Nov: a town on a hill overlooking Yerushalayim itself. Daughter of Tsion: one of the hills surrounding Yerushalayim, or the villages situated on them.

2 Kings 19 describes how Sennacheriv came up to the walls of Yerushalayim but was kept from attacking the city. Compare the theme of branches being cut off in Judges 9 and Romans 11.

The Levanon: a then-wooded mountain range north of Israel, snow-capped in winter, hence its name, which means "the very white". The Aramaic targum interprets all these trees to be Ashur's armies. The other biblical accounts refer only to Sennacheriv's coming from Lachish (the last of the cities fortified chiefly to defend Yerushalayim), but the Ascent of Beth-Horon (which passes the towns mentioned in vv. 28-32) would be the only major route by which a huge army could travel from Lachish to Yerushalayim due to the mountainous terrain between them.

Twig: The targum interprets this as "a king", and the "branch" specifically as the Messiah.

The Spirit...will alight upon Him: clearly, visibly fulfilled immediately after Y'shua's immersion by Yochanan. (Mat. 3:16; Mk. 1:10; Luk. 3:22) Seven spirits are mentioned here. (cf. Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6) In Hebrew, wisdom means "shrewd" and "able to put the pieces in place"; discernment means understanding and the ability to judge between one thing and another. Counsel means being able to both plan and give advice. Bravery means "strength" and "force". Knowledge means "intimate acquaintance" which leads to "certainty"; Yesh. 5:13 says the lack of this is why His people went into exile, so the way back out will be given through the recovery thereof. As His Body, none of us will have all of these in their completeness, but when we assemble together and all our gifts function as they are meant to, we will have an ample supply of all we need.

Breathe: from the same word as "spirit", it can also mean to "smell". Rabbinic scholars therefore say the Messiah will not judge by his eyes or ears, but by what He smells. But recall also when Y'shua breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Spirit of Holiness (Yochanan 20:22), just as YHWH breathed the spirit of life into Adam, since Y'shua was GIVEN the power to have life in Himself like the Father already had. (Yoch. 5:26; compare "MAKE Him breathe" here.) His salient case was the woman taken in adultery (Yoch. 8), but He always spent nights in prayer and listened for His Father's will rather than bowing to the will of the people. (Luk. 4:42, 43; 6:12, 13)

Y'shua said His judgment was righteous, because He was not seeking His own will, but His Father's. (Yoch. 5:30) He did not entrust Himself to men, because he knew what was in their hearts. (Yoch. 2:23) Equity: from a word meaning "level", "straightforward", and "direct"; i.e., all parties are on a "level playing field" when tried: the rich are not given an unfair advantage, and neither are the poor. (Lev. 19:15) Breath of His lips: or "Spirit of His language". The wicked: the Aramaic interpolates "Romulus", one name for the counterfeit Messiah, the head of the nations that oppose Israel, as borne out in Rev. 19:15, 21.

6. Then the wolf will stay with the lamb, and the leopard will stretch out along with the kids, with the calf and the lion cub and the well-fed cattle all together, and a little lad leads them along.

The United Nations has made this their theme, but they are out of season. Notice it is "THEN"--after the Messiah sets up His Kingdom--that all this will take place. (The Aramaic targum specifies that this refers to "the days of Messiah".) To be specific, the wolf is linked with the tribe of Binyamin (Gen. 49:27), and part of the Temple complex, where lambs are brought for sacrifice, is in Binyamin's tribal land. The leopard is linked with the Kushite in Yirmiyahu (Jer.) 13:23, and Kush (below, v. 11) is one of the places from which YHWH will bring His scattered people back. In the same context, Efrayim is called a "calf" (Yirm. 31:18), and the lion has always been linked to Yehudah (Gen. 49:9; and especially the Messiah, Rev. 5:5). A "little lad" is specifically what David is called (several times in 1 Shmuel 17), and the Messiah is sometimes called David since he is David's son (Y'chezq'el/Ezk. 34:23; 37:25).

Seven animals are mentioned, just like the seven women in ch.4 , and the seven spirits in ch. 10.

9. They will neither cause injury nor destroy on any [part] of My holy Mountain, because the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHWH, just as the waters cover the sea!

Earth: or "Land". Cause injury: "break" or "do evil". Destroy: or "bring corruption", "ruin", or "pervert". Knowledge: because of Yahshua's rod of iron which does not bend, there will be absolute certainty about what YHWH is like and what he wants.

Rallying point: standard, banner, or signal--something very conspicuous. Resort: or seek out diligently. His rest: or resting-place--the Kingdom, of which we get a preview each week in the Sabbath day. Splendid: glorious, full of abundance, dignity, and having the reputation for being important. The Root of Yishai is also called Yishai's branch. (v. 1)

12. and He will lift up a signal for the nations, and gather in those driven out of Israel, and assemble the dispersed of Yehudah from the four extremities of the earth.

Signal: or signpost, insignia, banner, standard, rallying point. Gather in: or "collect back". Israel and Yehudah are distinguished. Of the first, the Northern Kingdom, YHWH promised that though He would sift the House of Israel among the nations as with a sieve, not one would be lost. (Amos 9:9)

The targum clarifies that "the House of Efrayim" (not the man Efrayim, the son of Yoseyf) envies Yehu-dah's connection to her roots only while he does not have it; when he is reconnected, there is no reason to envy Yehudah anymore. The term for"cause distress" is a legal one, meaning "to bind". I.e., Yehudah oppresses Efrayim as we try to return, by saying we can only be part of Israel if we abide by their interpretations of how to "walk out" Torah, and by emphasizing the letter apart from its spirit, thus, as Y'shua said, placing an unbearable burden on him. (Mat. 23:4)

Shoulders: or "mountain-slopes". Aramaic, "ally themselves shoulder to shoulder, to strike the Filistines who are in the west" (seaward from Israel). Filistines: means "immigrants" or "sojourners". The ancient Filistine territory had no mountains, but was all coastal plain; Filistines on mountain slopes are the Palestinians of today, by their own title for themselves. And indeed the term "Palestine" was probably an epithet the Romans placed on the Land to erase the memory of Yehudah and "honor" their ancient arch-enemy, the Filistines (though the etymology is now being disputed by serious scholars). "Fly on the shoulders" may mean to chase them to the sea--the very thing they have often threatened to do to Yehudah. Stretch out their hand: possibly"enlarge the borders of their tent" (54:2), since they will "possess the remnant of Edom" (Amos 9:12). Alt. Reading: "the ones to whom they stretch out their hand" as in giving orders, as in the parallel final phrase of this verse.

The River: usually refers to the Ferath (Euphrates). But since this event is to be even bigger than the original Exodus (Yirmiyahu/Jer. 16:14), and by Jewish tradition there were twelve paths through the Red Sea when Moshe led all of Israel across, this may refer to seven tribes coming across a whole ocean dryshod from the West...

Highway: literally, a raised path. Left from Ashur: or possibly "left behind by Ashur". Steve Collins reports that only a small percentage of the Northern Kingdom were actually taken captive by Ashur; many were already abroad in colonies set up by the Phoenician alliance that included Israel as well as Tzur (Tyre) and Tsidon, and others fled by ship when the Assyrian army was approaching. Others escaped from bondage to Ashur but did not return to the Land (while a few did, some mingling with the Samaritans). But YHWH promises to bring the remnant back, which is why many of us have felt this strong pull back to Torah and the Land of Israel.

The imagery is of a parent comforting his child after punishing him.

El is: Aramaic, "In the Memra of [El]..." Everything after "because" is a quote from the Song of Moshe (Ex. 15:2) YHWH is my song of Yah's praise: This appears to be telling us to sing His own name back to Him. Become a deliverance: salvation or liberation; Aramaic, "He has spoken by His Memra, and become for me a Savior". How much more clearly could this refer to Y'shua? This is the traditional opening line for the liturgy for Havdallah [distinguishing], the time when the pressures of ordinary life rush back upon one after the Sabbath's respite.

This is a song traditionally sung at Sukkoth (just after harvest) as a prayer for rain for the next growing season.

Call on His Name: The name specified just beforehand, not the names of the "bride's old boyfriends", is literally the one we are meant to call on. While He may listen to the ignorant and immature using the only names they have heard, once we know better, we have no excuse. The first of the "Ten Declarations" is "I am YHWH." That in itself should set our tone. Aramaic: "Pray in His Name."

Excellent: in the literal sense--excelling, swelling up majestically, rising or growing like a column of smoke. Aramaic, "He does prodigious things."

Aramaic, "the great one has promised to rest His Sh'khinah in your midst, the Holy One of Israel".

Oracle: or burden; "that which is lifted up". The Aramaic targum adds "of a cup of cursing". Bavel: Babylon. Perceived: the term specifically pertains to his role as a seer.

Banner: in the rabbinical view, always a reference to the Messiah. Barren: or "wind-swept", "cleared off"--i.e., one from which a clear signal can be sent with nothing obstructing the view. But "mountain" often signals a reference to the Temple, and if its mountain is barren, it means the Muslim shrines the t now occupy it are gone. Voice: or the sound of a shofar. Wave a hand: i.e., get their attention! But the Messiah is also often called YHWH's "right hand". So all of this imagery points to Messiah's involvement in Babylon's fall.

Holy ones: or in this case, poerhaps, "special forces", set apart to a particular task. Valiant ones: LXX, "giants". The same thing that happened to Bavel that happened to Ashur, its predecessor. (Chapter 10) Like Pharaoh also, YHWH punishes an oppressor for carrying out His judgment because they enjoyed it. So YHWH's warriors will rejoice at Bavel's fall. "Rejoice" here more specifically means "jump for joy."

5. "YHWH and His instruments of wrath are coming from a distant Land on the horizon, to bring ruin to the whole Land.

Horizon: literally, end of the heavens. Ruin: or twisting destruction,or being tied up.

Devastation: havoc or violent destruction. Shaddai is the name of YHWH in His nurturing aspect, since the word is rooted in "breast". So here He is like a mother bear attacking those who threaten her cubs.

8. "and they have panicked; cramps and pangs will take hold of them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. Each will be astounded at his fellow; their faces [will be] a sight for [their] glittering!

Astounded: as confusion was brought on Bavel once before (Gen. 10), He will do so again. Glittering: LXX, "will change their countenances as a flame". Like a woman in labor: but they will not truly be a woman in labor. They "give birth only to wind" (or spirit, without substance, 26:18). The unified entity that Babyblon has always tried to build ends up being only an image of One New Man, haSatan's counterfeit, an idol which only seems real. 2 Kefa (Peter) chapter 2 details ways in which this system infiltrated YHWH's congregations through false prophets who were only out for material gain, entangling again those who had escaped its grip once before. Tsion gives birth to the real new Man. (66:7-8)

An appalling wasteland: as in Mark Twain's 19th-century description of the Huley Valley in which "not even a chicken could scratch out a living". But the main reference point seems to be still to come.

Constellations: or more specifically, Orion.

Bring punishment on the evil order: or "visit the civilized world with trouble". Though it is not our assignment at present, as more people recognize that they are really Israelites, we will begin to bring this impact upon the Babylonian system by keeping the Sabbath (doing no commerce on that day) and abstaining from Christmas purchases, for both of these are what prop the economy up and keep it running.

Aramaic, "I will love those who fear Me more than the gold in which the sons of men glory."

Shake: or unsettle, perturb, disturb; LXX: "enrage". Move out of its place: LXX, "be shaken from its foundation". On the literal level, it appears there will be a change in the orbit of the earth--perhaps back to the 360-day years that existed prior to 701 B.C. (only a few years after this prophecy was given). Patten, Hatch, and Steinhauer trace it to a near passby of Mars, whose orbit used to cross earth's until the close encounter threw both into their current paths. On a deeper level, this verse is alluded to in Heb. 12:26-27, where it speaks of spiritual principles that hold men in bondage. We are seeing the beginning of this now as some of the doctrines held precious by Christianity are proving not to stand up to proper biblical interpretation.

15. "Everyone who is discovered will be shot, and everyone who is caught will fall by the sword.

Shot: or wounded by somehow being pierced through or run through.

17. "Indeed, I am stirring up Madai against them, who will not place any value on silver, and [as for] gold, they will have no interest in it.

Madai: the Medes, who took Babylon on the same night King Belshazzar had seen the "handwriting on the wall". (Daniel 5) Silver...gold: i.e., they will not accept these as a ransom.

This has never yet happened, because the city was taken without a battle; the king and a few key rulers were killed, but most inhabitants of Babylon were unaware the next day that anything had taken place. It went as smoothly as any coup d'etat. So this prophecy remains to be fulfilled. Revelation 18 speaks of a larger "Babylon"--the system that had its origin in Bavel under Nimrod, but has spread into a whole "world order" (the "evil order" spoken of in v. 11, which now encompasses the entire civilized world through paganism, commerce, politics, and financial dependencies foisted upon the masses.)

Splendor of the majesty: Aram., "boast of the pride". Khasdim: Chaldeans (Mesopotamians).

If it were not for the last portion of this verse, one might think that this prophecy had already been fulfilled, if the only analogy between S'dom and Bavel were that it would be uninhabited. But now Saddam Hussein is rebuilding it and, even if it is not dwelt in as such, it is again becoming a focus of some attention, and it appears that one day it will become quite the hub of activity again, and a future, more complete destruction awaits it. (Yirmiyahu 50-51; Zech. 5:7ff)

Hairy goats will skip about: Aramaic, "demons will play". Revelation 18 upholds this interpretation, saying that after Babylon's fall it will become a "abode of demons and the prison of every unclean spirit". (v. 2) I.e., the only thing that remains in the Babylonian system will be demons and the selfish (which ritual impurity depicts). That chapter warns us strongly to come out of that system (when it is time, and not let it rule our decisions while we still need to live within it), lest we inadvertantly become participants in the judgments that must come upon it for all its robberies and harlotries. All nations are participants, but the description in Revelation seems to clearly include the overt institutional church because of its many compromises with this system. "Hairy goat" is the meaning also of the mountains of Seir, which Esau inherited, and Edom (Esau's other name) is often identified with the church in many rabbinic writings.

Jackals: or "wild island-beasts". All these terms and those in v. 21 can also refer to different types of demons in Hebrew. This is the most likely interpretation, in light of Zech. 5:5-11, where "Wickedness" personified is sent back to Shinar (where Bavel is) and a house is built for her there. Desolate houses: the same term in Hebrew as "widows". Postponed: or "drawn out", "deferred", "prolonged". I.e., it will be right on time, and we cannot fend it off with excuses.

Y'shua saw the multitudes and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mk. 6:34, an allusion to Y'hezq'el/Ezk. 34). Choose: The term connotes approving her after testing her by fire, and also delighting in her and preferring her over all else. Yet: or "again"--after treating her as less than significant, less than a nation, He will again turn special attention to her and focus especially on her. We are seeing this begin to take place. House of Yaaqov: the physical, natural side of the patriarch, as opposed to the spiritual, hence the more readily identifiable of the two kingdoms, Yehudah, in contrast to Israel, though the Aramaic substitutes "Israel" here (a common rabbinical tradition).

Servants: in Israel, servants have the full right of a member of a household, except for authority. I.e., they will be better off as slaves in Israel than freemen elsewhere, except that they will have no right to make rulings within Israel.

Sorrow: can also mean pain, or even an idol; YHWH will provide relief from these as well.

Tyrant: LXX, "extortioner". Ceased: literally, "has taken a sabbath".

6. "The one who attacked the peoples with arrogance, with relentless blows--the one who subjugated the nations with anger--is being pursued, and there is no one to hold them back.

7. "The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they burst forth into resounding song!

Once the wars cease and we realize that the Kingdom is fully upon us, how can we help but break out into singing? YHWH loves such contrasts in our worship as quietness and exuberance.

9. "The underworld from below is excited to welcome you at your arrival; for you it awakens those who have sunk down [into it]--all the rams of earth. It has caused all the kings of the nations to rise up from their thrones.

10. "They all testify and tell you, ‘You too are made as weak as we are! You have become just like us!'

11. "‘Your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the clamor of your musical instruments. The maggots make a bed under you, and the worms cover you!'

Maggots also appear in Scripture when enough manna was gathered for two days, but not on the day before the Sabbath. Those who did this were not trusting YHWH for daily bread, so they tried to forge their own security. Bavel, too, tried to do things their own way and in their own timing, so they receive the same curse.

O bright star: or, "Howl!" (Another root word can take the same form.) Aram., "shining star among the stars". It was translated "Lucifer" in Latin, and indeed this calumny of the king of Babylon can (like the king of Tsur/Tyre in Y'hezq'el 28) be carried further and seen as representing the arch-Adversary (haSatan). When we compare all the jewels that grace haSatan there with those on the New Yerushalayim that comes down from heaven (Rev. 21:19-20), it becomes clear that haSatan was once in the position of YHWH's bride. The word for "shining star" in Hebrew is Heylel, which is related to Hallel (brighten up, praise, and celebrate), so on a deeper level, when we say "HalleluYah", it can be broken down into "Hallel and Yah"--a wedding announcement. The infamous pride of Nevuchadnezzar (Dan. 4) is a microcosm of the pride--the downfall--of the former "anointed covering cheruv". So it is easy to see why the human race--and especially those of us who are in Messiah, and thus part of YHWH's new bride--are so hated by haSatan. Y'shua, too, is called the "bright and morning star" (Rev. 22:16). O disabler of nations: or "lying prostrate over nations".

The heavens: sometimes an idiom for YHWH Himself. Higher than the stars of El: The meaning the builders of Bavel probably intended by their name was "Gate of El". Their tower was intended to reach the heavens, and they never lost that idea. Mount of Appointment: HaSatan co-opted worship of many of YHWH's people by replacing His holidays with different ones that glorify "her". North: or "hidden place". HaSatan gains worship through the pagan holidays by hiding within them and controlling them from behind the scene.

This is the prospect haSatan in turn used to tempt Chavvah (Eve). But the Hebrew word for Most High is Elyon. YHWH promised Israel that if we would be obedient, He would make us "elyon" of the nations (Deut. 28:1) --i.e., not just LIKE Elyon, but actually "elyon". As His promise to make a name for Avram followed right after Bavel's attempt to make a name for themselves, His gifts are always superior to what we try to take fro