Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 24 presents a complete description of devastation. The Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan adds a specific charge against political and religious leaders, accusing them of not following the Torah.
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Isaiah 24:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth and leave it in ruins; he will mar its surface and scatter its inhabitants. 2 Everyone will suffer—the priest as well as the people, the master as well as the servant, the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, the seller as well as the buyer, the borrower as well as the lender, the creditor as well as the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely devastated and thoroughly ransacked. For the Lord has decreed this judgment.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Jonathan Isaiah 24:1
Targum
1 Behold, the Lord shall spoil the land and deliver it over to the enemy; and confusion shall cover the faces of the princes, because they have transgressed the law, and scattered its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be, as with the laity, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the handmaid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the borrower, so with the lender: as with the giver of usury, so with the usurer. 3 The land shall be utterly destroyed, it shall be utterly trampled under foot; for the Lord hath spoken this word.
Date: 200-300 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The desolation which is to come from God is particularly directed against “princes because they transgressed the law” (verse 1); in view of chapters 22 and 23, the Temple hierarchy is at issue. The specific charge in verse 5, that they have “annulled the feasts,” has the same group in view. (A charge involving reference to “deceit” [verse 6] is also leveled against community leaders in 5:23) From verse 13, however, there is a radical shift in emphasis: all the ills that are to occur happen in order to leave “the righteous” alone ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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