In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NASB The Word – Richard Rubenstein’s book, When Jesus Became God, investigates the battle between Arius and Athanasius in the early centuries of the Church. That battle ended with Athanasius as the victor, and established the Latin Roman Church’s…
Learn to do good, seek justice. Make the oppressed happy, defend the orphan, argue the widow’s case. Isaiah 1:17 Robert Alter Justice – andralamousia. Do you remember that Greek word? It is a summary description of the Flood. And a terrifying prediction of situation. God doesn’t ask for individual purity alone. He is a communal…
Wash, become pure, remove your evil acts from My eyes. Cease doing evil. Learn to do good . . . Isaiah 1:16-17a Robert Alter Cease – Yesterday we learned that God rejects all religious acts if the underlying principle of compassion for others is missing in society. Oh, perhaps you need to read that sentence…
And when you spread your palms, I avert My eyes from you. Though you abundantly pray, I do not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Isaiah 1:15 Full of blood – If you read the context of this verse, you’ll discover that God rejects all the usual acts of worship. Sacrifices mean nothing to…
Change your perspective. Look at the universe inside.
Why would you be beaten more, swerving from the way? Every head is sick and every heart in pain. Isaiah 1:5 Robert Alter Why – The Hebrew phrase ʿal me(h) is translated “where” by the NASB but “why” by Robert Alter. The meanings are not the same. Is God asking (metaphorically) the location of the…
Woe, offending nation, people weighed down with crime, seed of evildoers, sons acting ruinously. They have forsaken the LORD, scorned Israel’s Holy One, they have fallen behind. Isaiah 1:4 Robert Alter Have forsaken – Now we turn to the first of three verbs describing the cause of Israel’s crime wave: ʿāzab. “The basic meaning of…
Woe, offending nation, people weighed down with crime, seed of evildoers, sons acting ruinously. They have forsaken the LORD, scorned Israel’s Holy One, they have fallen behind. Isaiah 1:4 Robert Alter Woe, offending nation – Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible attempts to use the same English words for the same Hebrew words whenever…
The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s stall. Israel did not know, my people did not pay heed. Isaiah 1:3 Robert Alter Did not pay heed – Robert Alter’s translation captures the urgency of God’s warning. Most translations render bîn with the usual “understand” or “perceive,” but that isn’t strong enough. It’s…
Hear , O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken. Sons I have nurtured and raised but they rebelled against Me. Isaiah 1:2 Robert Alter Nurtured and raised – Let’s look at Isaiah. For centuries believers have turned to the prophecies of the son of Amoz for understanding and inspiration: understanding…
