Isa 4:2 | NETfull | STEP | At that time the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight to those who remain in Israel.

Isaiah 4:2

The Branch of the Lord

2 At that time ^{▼▼ Or “in that day” (KJV).}
the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; ^{▼▼ Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh y^ehvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23; 5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23–24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26–29; and Amos 9:13–14).}
the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight
to those who remain in Israel. ^{▼▼ Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”}