Habakuk 2:13

2:13 Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed:

The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke;

their exhausting work will be for nothing. ¹ 

Yesaya 44:20

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ² 

his deceived mind misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself,

nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ³ 

Yesaya 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ⁴ 

Why spend ⁵  your hard-earned money ⁶  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ⁷  to me and eat what is nourishing! ⁸ 

Enjoy fine food! ⁹ 

[2:13]  ¹ tn Heb “Is it not, look, from the Lord of hosts that the nations work hard for fire, and the peoples are exhausted for nothing?”

[44:20]  ² tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ³ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[55:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ⁵ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ⁷ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[55:2]  sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).