It is characteristic of Isaiah that the renovation of society is represented as commencing at the top, with the king and aristocracy. (Cf. ch. Isaiah 1:26; Isaiah 3:1-7) The ideal king has already been described (ch. Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-4) as supernaturally endowed with the virtues of a perfect ruler; here the emphasis lies on the manifestation of these qualities in righteous government; and this, according to the constitutional principles of Isaiah's time, required an order of state officials animated by the same spirit as the king himself.

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