Isaiah / Chapter 4

Isaiah 4

6 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Isaiah 4 opens with the desperate aftermath of the judgment described in chapter 3: seven women seize one man, offering to provide their own food and clothing if he will only let them bear his name and remove their disgrace. The chapter then pivots dramatically to the eschatological hope of the Branch of the LORD, the cleansing of Jerusalem's bloodguilt through a spirit of judgment and burning, and the restoration of God's protective glory-presence — a cloud by day and fire by night — over Mount Zion.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This short chapter executes one of the most dramatic rhetorical pivots in Isaiah: from the absolute nadir of judgment (women begging for a husband's name) to the absolute summit of hope (God's glory canopy over Zion). The 'Branch of the LORD' (tsemach YHWH) in verse 2 introduces a term that becomes a major messianic title in Jeremiah 23:5 and Zechariah 3:8, 6:12. The cloud-and-fire imagery in verse 5 deliberately echoes the Exodus pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21-22), casting the future restoration as a new Exodus. The word chuppah ('canopy') in verse 5 is the same word used for a wedding canopy, suggesting that the restored relationship between God and Zion is nuptial — God remarries the city that had become a prostitute (1:21). The phrase 'written for life' (katuv lachayyim, v. 3) anticipates the concept of the Book of Life that appears in Daniel 12:1 and Revelation 20:12. We rendered this chapter with particular attention to the Exodus typology, ensuring the cloud/fire/tabernacle language clearly evokes the wilderness period.

Translation Friction

The tsemach YHWH ('Branch of the LORD') in verse 2 required a decision about whether to render it as a messianic title or as agricultural imagery. The Hebrew allows both — tsemach literally means 'sprout, growth, what springs up.' We capitalized 'Branch' to signal its theological weight as a title while preserving the organic imagery in the notes. The phrase ruach mishpat ve-ruach ba'er ('spirit of judgment and spirit of burning,' v. 4) could mean 'a wind of judgment and a wind of burning' (natural phenomena) or 'the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning' (divine action). We rendered with lowercase 'spirit' and noted the ambiguity, since the Hebrew ruach does not distinguish between wind, spirit, and Spirit. The rare word chuppah ('canopy,' v. 5) and sukkah ('shelter,' v. 6) required notes clarifying their Exodus and festival associations.

Connections

The Branch of the LORD connects forward to Jeremiah 23:5 ('a righteous Branch'), Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12, and is widely read as messianic in both Jewish and Christian traditions. The cloud and fire echo Exodus 13:21-22 and the glory-cloud over the tabernacle in Exodus 40:34-38. The washing of Zion's blood (v. 4) connects to Ezekiel 16:9 where God washes Jerusalem. The sukkah ('shelter') in verse 6 evokes the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and the wilderness period. The 'Book of Life' concept in verse 3 connects to Exodus 32:32-33, Daniel 12:1, Philippians 4:3, and Revelation 20:12. The seven women of verse 1 complete the women's judgment from 3:16-4:1, creating a continuous literary unit.

Isaiah 4:1

וְהֶחֱזִ֜יקוּ שֶׁ֣בַע נָשִׁ֗ים בְּאִ֤ישׁ אֶחָד֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא לֵאמֹ֕ר לַחְמֵ֣נוּ נֹאכֵ֗ל וְשִׂמְלָתֵ֙נוּ֙ נִלְבָּ֔שׁ רַ֗ק יִקָּרֵ֤א שִׁמְךָ֙ עָלֵ֔ינוּ אֱסֹ֖ף חֶרְפָּתֵֽנוּ׃

On that day seven women will seize one man, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing — just let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!"

KJV And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This verse concludes the judgment section of chapter 3 rather than beginning a new theme. The number seven represents completeness — the male population has been so devastated (3:25) that seven women compete for one surviving man. Their offer to provide their own food and clothing waives the husband's legal obligations under Exodus 21:10, revealing extreme desperation. The cherpah ('disgrace, reproach') is the social shame of being unmarried and childless in ancient Israelite culture. The verse functions as the absolute low point before the redemptive pivot in verse 2.
Isaiah 4:2

בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִהְיֶה֙ צֶ֣מַח יְהוָ֔ה לִצְבִ֖י וּלְכָב֑וֹד וּפְרִ֤י הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ לְגָא֣וֹן וּלְתִפְאֶ֔רֶת לִפְלֵיטַ֖ת יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and splendor of the survivors of Israel.

KJV In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

צֶמַח יְהוָה tsemach YHWH
"the Branch of the LORD" — branch, sprout, growth, shoot; messianic title

Literally 'what springs up from the LORD.' We capitalize 'Branch' to mark its theological significance as a title that develops across the prophets into a recognized messianic designation.

פְלֵיטָה peletah
"survivors" — survivors, escapees, remnant, those who escape

Part of Isaiah's remnant theology: judgment is never total. A surviving core carries the covenant forward into the restored future.

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase tsemach YHWH ('Branch of the LORD') operates on two levels simultaneously: agricultural (the land's produce will again be bountiful after devastation) and messianic (a future figure will 'sprout' from the LORD). Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15, and Zechariah 3:8, 6:12 develop tsemach as a royal messianic title. The words tsevi ('beauty, ornament'), kavod ('glory'), ga'on ('pride, majesty'), and tif'eret ('splendor, glory') pile up four terms of magnificent description. The peleitat Yisra'el ('survivors, escapees of Israel') is the remnant — those who survive the judgment described in chapters 1-3.
Isaiah 4:3

וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ הַנִּשְׁאָ֣ר בְּצִיּ֗וֹן וְהַנּוֹתָר֙ בִּיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם קָד֖וֹשׁ יֵאָ֣מֶר ל֑וֹ כָּל־הַכָּת֥וּב לַחַיִּ֖ים בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

And the one who remains in Zion and the one who is left in Jerusalem will be called holy — everyone written for life in Jerusalem.

KJV And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

קָדוֹשׁ qadosh
"holy" — holy, set apart, sacred, consecrated, other

The same root as Qedosh Yisra'el ('the Holy One of Israel'). Applied here to the human remnant, it signals that the surviving community will be transformed to reflect God's own character.

Translator Notes

  1. The surviving remnant is described with the same word — qadosh ('holy') — used for God himself. This is a remarkable theological claim: the purified community will share God's defining attribute. The phrase katuv lachayyim ('written for life') introduces the concept of a divine register of the living — a proto-Book of Life. The passive voice ('will be called') indicates that this holiness is divinely conferred, not self-achieved. The double reference to Zion and Jerusalem emphasizes the specific geographic location of the restoration.
Isaiah 4:4

אִ֣ם ׀ רָחַ֣ץ אֲדֹנָ֗י אֵ֚ת צֹאַ֣ת בְּנוֹת־צִיּ֔וֹן וְאֶת־דְּמֵ֥י יְרוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם יָדִ֣יחַ מִקִּרְבָּ֑הּ בְּר֥וּחַ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט וּבְר֥וּחַ בָּעֵֽר׃

when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and rinsed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from her midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning.

KJV When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

רוּחַ ruach
"spirit" — wind, breath, spirit, Spirit; the moving power of God or of nature

Hebrew does not capitalize, so ruach can mean natural wind, the human spirit, or the divine Spirit. In this context, the agency is divine but the instrument may be understood as both natural (burning wind) and supernatural (God's Spirit). We render lowercase and note the productive ambiguity.

Translator Notes

  1. The washing imagery reverses 1:15 ('your hands are full of blood') and 1:16 ('wash yourselves'). God does for Jerusalem what she could not do for herself. The tso'ah ('filth, excrement') is the strongest word for impurity — the luxury that masked corruption is now named for what it truly was. The demei Yerushalayim ('bloodstains of Jerusalem') refers to the social violence of 1:15, 21. The instruments of cleansing — ruach mishpat ('spirit/wind of justice') and ruach ba'er ('spirit/wind of burning') — combine legal and purificatory imagery. The ambiguity of ruach (wind? spirit? the Spirit?) is intentional in the Hebrew; we preserve it with lowercase 'spirit.'
Isaiah 4:5

וּבָרָ֣א יְהוָ֡ה עַל֩ כָּל־מְכ֨וֹן הַר־צִיּ֜וֹן וְעַל־מִקְרָאֶ֗הָ עָנָ֤ן ׀ יוֹמָם֙ וְעָשָׁ֔ן וְנֹ֛גַהּ אֵ֥שׁ לֶהָבָ֖ה לָ֑יְלָה כִּ֥י עַל־כָּל־כָּב֖וֹד חֻפָּֽה׃

Then the LORD will create over every site on Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and the glow of a blazing fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a canopy.

KJV And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

חֻפָּה chuppah
"canopy" — canopy, covering, bridal chamber, wedding canopy

The nuptial associations of chuppah are significant in context: after the extended indictment of chapters 1-3, God remarries purified Zion under a canopy of glory. The word also functions as a protective covering — shelter and intimacy combined.

כָּבוֹד kavod
"glory" — glory, weight, honor, splendor, visible divine presence

In Isaiah, kavod refers to the manifest presence of God — the visible, weighty reality of the divine that fills the Temple (6:3) and here covers all of Zion.

Translator Notes

  1. The verb bara ('create') is the same verb used in Genesis 1:1 — God does not merely restore but creates something new over Zion. The cloud by day and fire by night directly echo the Exodus pillar (Exodus 13:21-22), casting the restoration as a new Exodus. The word makhon ('site, established place') may refer to every household or every foundation on Mount Zion — the glory-presence covers the entire community, not just the Temple. The miqra'eha ('her assemblies, her convocations') suggests that the gathered worship community is the occasion for the manifestation. The chuppah ('canopy') over all the kavod ('glory') means that God's manifest presence is both displayed and sheltered — visible but protected.
Isaiah 4:6

וְסֻכָּ֛ה תִּהְיֶ֥ה לְצֵל־יוֹמָ֖ם מֵחֹ֑רֶב וּלְמַחְסֶה֙ וּלְמִסְתּ֔וֹר מִזֶּ֖רֶם וּמִמָּטָֽר׃

And there will be a shelter for shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and a hiding place from the storm and the rain.

KJV And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

סֻכָּה sukkah
"shelter" — booth, shelter, tabernacle, temporary dwelling

The sukkah evokes both the Feast of Tabernacles and the wilderness period. In 1:8, Daughter Zion was a vulnerable sukkah; here God himself becomes the sukkah over his people — a deliberate reversal of the earlier image.

Translator Notes

  1. The sukkah ('shelter, booth') recalls the temporary structures of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and the wilderness wandering shelters. In 1:8, Daughter Zion was compared to a lonely sukkah in a vineyard — now God himself provides the sukkah. The reversal is complete: what was an image of vulnerability becomes an image of divine protection. The four functions (shade from heat, refuge, hiding place from storm and rain) describe comprehensive protection from every threat. The chapter ends not with a dramatic climax but with domestic comfort — God's restored people are simply safe. This quiet ending after three chapters of escalating judgment is itself a profound theological statement: the goal of all God's work is a sheltered people at home with their God.
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