Yesaya 1:1

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1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem ¹  that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah. ² 

Yesaya 1:12

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ³ 

Yesaya 1:24

1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ⁴ 

the powerful ruler of Israel, ⁵  says this:

“Ah, I will seek vengeance ⁶  against my adversaries,

I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁷ 

Yesaya 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ⁸  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ⁹ 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ¹⁰ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 5:1

A Love Song Gone Sour

5:1 I ¹²  will sing to my love –

a song to my lover about his vineyard. ¹³ 

My love had a vineyard

on a fertile hill. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 5:8

Disaster is Coming

5:8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ¹⁵ 

those who also accumulate landed property ¹⁶ 

until there is no land left, ¹⁷ 

and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ¹⁹  when he punishes, ²⁰ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ²¹ 

Yesaya 8:8

8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, ²²  O Immanuel.” ²³ 

Yesaya 8:21

8:21 They will pass through the land ²⁴  destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, ²⁵  and they will curse their king and their God ²⁶  as they look upward.

Yesaya 9:4

9:4 For their oppressive yoke

and the club that strikes their shoulders,

the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, ²⁷ 

you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. ²⁸ 

Yesaya 9:18

9:18 For ²⁹  evil burned like a fire, ³⁰ 

it consumed thorns and briers;

it burned up the thickets of the forest,

and they went up in smoke. ³¹ 

Yesaya 10:33

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ³² 

The tallest trees ³³  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Yesaya 13:3

13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ³⁴ 

I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ³⁵ 

my boasting, arrogant ones. ³⁶ 

Yesaya 13:10

13:10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations

no longer give out their light; ³⁷ 

the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,

and the moon does not shine. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 13:19

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ³⁹  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ⁴⁰ 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ⁴¹ 

Yesaya 14:9

14:9 Sheol ⁴²  below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses ⁴³  the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth; ⁴⁴ 

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones. ⁴⁵ 

Yesaya 14:22

14:22 “I will rise up against them,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

“I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, ⁴⁶ 

including the offspring she produces,” ⁴⁷ 

says the Lord.

Yesaya 16:7

16:7 So Moab wails over its demise ⁴⁸  –

they all wail!

Completely devastated, they moan

about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. ⁴⁹ 

Yesaya 16:9

16:9 So I weep along with Jazer ⁵⁰ 

over the vines of Sibmah.

I will saturate you ⁵¹  with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,

for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly

over your fruit and crops. ⁵² 

Yesaya 17:9

17:9 At that time ⁵³  their fortified cities will be

like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, ⁵⁴ 

which they abandoned because of the Israelites;

there will be desolation.

Yesaya 19:12

19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? ⁵⁵ 

Let them tell you, let them find out

what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

Yesaya 19:16

19:16 At that time ⁵⁶  the Egyptians ⁵⁷  will be like women. ⁵⁸  They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. ⁵⁹ 

Yesaya 22:23

22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; ⁶⁰  he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. ⁶¹ 

Yesaya 28:18

28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; ⁶² 

your agreement ⁶³  with Sheol will not last. ⁶⁴ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, ⁶⁵ 

you will be overrun by it. ⁶⁶ 

Yesaya 29:21

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, ⁶⁷ 

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate ⁶⁸ 

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. ⁶⁹ 

Yesaya 30:32

30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, ⁷⁰ 

with which the Lord will beat them, ⁷¹ 

will be accompanied by music from the ⁷²  tambourine and harp,

and he will attack them with his weapons. ⁷³ 

Yesaya 31:2

31:2 Yet he too is wise ⁷⁴  and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree. ⁷⁵ 

He will attack the wicked nation, ⁷⁶ 

and the nation that helps ⁷⁷  those who commit sin. ⁷⁸ 

Yesaya 31:5

31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, ⁷⁹ 

so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. ⁸⁰ 

He will protect and deliver it;

as he passes over ⁸¹  he will rescue it.

Yesaya 34:10

34:10 Night and day it will burn; ⁸² 

its smoke will ascend continually.

Generation after generation it will be a wasteland

and no one will ever pass through it again.

Yesaya 37:21

37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, ⁸³ 

Yesaya 37:32

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ⁸⁴  will accomplish this.

Yesaya 40:12

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters ⁸⁵  in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully ⁸⁶  measured the sky, ⁸⁷ 

or carefully weighed ⁸⁸  the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales? ⁸⁹ 

Yesaya 40:31

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ⁹⁰  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ⁹¹ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Yesaya 42:10

42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!

Praise him ⁹²  from the horizon of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, ⁹³ 

you coastlands ⁹⁴  and those who live there!

Yesaya 42:13

42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero,

like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; ⁹⁵ 

he shouts, yes, he yells,

he shows his enemies his power. ⁹⁶ 

Yesaya 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Yesaya 48:1

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ⁹⁷ 

you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’

and are descended from Judah, ⁹⁸ 

who take oaths in the name of the Lord,

and invoke ⁹⁹  the God of Israel –

but not in an honest and just manner. ¹⁰⁰ 

Yesaya 48:14

48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!

Who among them ¹⁰¹  announced these things?

The Lord’s ally ¹⁰²  will carry out his desire against Babylon;

he will exert his power against the Babylonians. ¹⁰³ 

Yesaya 53:5

53:5 He was wounded because of ¹⁰⁴  our rebellious deeds,

crushed because of our sins;

he endured punishment that made us well; ¹⁰⁵ 

because of his wounds we have been healed. ¹⁰⁶ 

Yesaya 53:8

53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial ¹⁰⁷  –

but who even cared? ¹⁰⁸ 

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; ¹⁰⁹ 

because of the rebellion of his own ¹¹⁰  people he was wounded.

Yesaya 58:8

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ¹¹¹ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ¹¹² 

your godly behavior ¹¹³  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ¹¹⁴ 

Yesaya 60:5

60:5 Then you will look and smile, ¹¹⁵ 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ¹¹⁶ 

For the riches of distant lands ¹¹⁷  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

Yesaya 61:8

61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice

and hate robbery and sin.

I will repay them because of my faithfulness; ¹¹⁸ 

I will make a permanent covenant with them.

[1:1]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

[1:1]  sn Isaiah’s prophetic career probably began in the final year of Uzziah’s reign (ca. 740 b.c., see Isa 6:1) and extended into the later years of Hezekiah’s reign, which ended in 686 b.c.

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.

[1:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”

[1:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”

[1:24]  ⁷ sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.

[3:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[5:1]  ¹² tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.

[5:1]  ¹³ sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.

[5:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).

[5:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death.

[5:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”

[5:8]  sn This verse does not condemn real estate endeavors per se, but refers to the way in which the rich bureaucrats of Judah accumulated property by exploiting the poor, in violation of the covenantal principle that the land belonged to God and that every family was to have its own portion of land. See the note at 1:23.

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.”

[5:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.”

[5:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

[5:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

[5:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

[5:16]  sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.

[8:8]  ²² tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.

[8:8]  ²³ sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)

[8:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he will pass through it.” The subject of the collective singular verb is the nation. (See the preceding note.) The immediately preceding context supplies no antecedent for “it” (a third feminine singular suffix in the Hebrew text); the suffix may refer to the land, which would be a reasonable referent with a verb of motion. Note also that אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) does appear at the beginning of the next verse.

[8:21]  ²⁵ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[8:21]  ²⁶ tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).

[9:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “for the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the scepter of the oppressor against him.” The singular pronouns are collective, referring to the people. The oppressed nation is compared to an ox weighed down by a heavy yoke and an animal that is prodded and beaten.

[9:4]  ²⁸ sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.

[9:18]  ²⁹ tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[9:18]  ³⁰ sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.

[9:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).

[10:33]  ³² tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  sn As in vv. 12 (see the note there) and 18, the Assyrians are compared to a tree/forest in vv. 33-34.

[10:33]  ³³ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[13:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.

[13:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”

[13:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”

[13:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”

[13:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”

[13:19]  ³⁹ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

[13:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

[13:19]  sn The Chaldeans were a group of tribes who lived in southern Mesopotamia. The established the so-called neo-Babylonian empire in the late seventh century b.c. Their most famous king, Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Judah in 605 b.c. and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 b.c.

[13:19]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.

[14:9]  ⁴² sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.

[14:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.

[14:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant” (ASV, NAB, and NRSV all similar).

[14:22]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “descendant and child.”

[16:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”

[16:7]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”

[16:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).

[16:9]  ⁵¹ tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).

[16:9]  ⁵² tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”

[17:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[17:9]  ⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “like the abandonment of the wooded height and the top one.” The following relative clause appears to allude back to the Israelite conquest of the land, so it seems preferable to emend הַחֹרֶשׁ וְהָאָמִיר (hakhoresh vÿha’amir, “the wooded height and the top one”) to חֹרֵשֵׁי הָאֱמֹרִי (khoreshe ha’emori, “[like the abandonment] of the wooded heights of the Amorites”).

[19:12]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.

[19:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.

[19:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.

[19:16]  ⁵⁸ sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.

[19:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.

[22:23]  ⁶⁰ sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.

[22:23]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”

[28:18]  ⁶² tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.

[28:18]  ⁶³ tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).

[28:18]  ⁶⁵ tn See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”

[29:21]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”

[29:21]  ⁶⁸ sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.

[29:21]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”

[30:32]  ⁷⁰ tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).

[30:32]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”

[30:32]  ⁷² tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).

[30:32]  ⁷³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvÿmilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.

[31:2]  ⁷⁴ sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.

[31:2]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”

[31:2]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”

[31:2]  ⁷⁷ sn That is, Egypt.

[31:2]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”

[31:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:5]  ⁸⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:5]  ⁸¹ tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.

[34:10]  ⁸² tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”

[37:21]  ⁸³ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”

[37:32]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[40:12]  ⁸⁵ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.

[40:12]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).

[40:12]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[40:12]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”

[40:12]  ⁸⁹ sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.

[40:31]  ⁹⁰ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[42:10]  ⁹² tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.

[42:10]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”

[42:10]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”

[42:13]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).

[42:13]  ⁹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”

[48:1]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”

[48:1]  ⁹⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.

[48:1]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”

[48:1]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”

[48:14]  ¹⁰¹ sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).

[48:14]  ¹⁰² tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.”

[48:14]  sn The Lord’s ally is a reference to Cyrus.

[48:14]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”

[53:5]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The preposition מִן (min) has a causal sense (translated “because of”) here and in the following clause.

[53:5]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “the punishment of our peace [was] on him.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is here a genitive of result, i.e., “punishment that resulted in our peace.”

[53:5]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Continuing to utilize the imagery of physical illness, the group acknowledges that the servant’s willingness to carry their illnesses (v. 4) resulted in their being healed. Healing is a metaphor for forgiveness here.

[53:8]  ¹⁰⁷ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The present translation assumes that מִן (min) here has an instrumental sense (“by, through”) and understands עֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט (’otser umimmishpat, “coercion and legal decision”) as a hendiadys meaning “coercive legal decision,” thus “an unjust trial.” Other interpretive options include: (1) “without [for this sense of מִן, see BDB 578 s.v. 1.b] hindrance and proper judicial process,” i.e., “unfairly and with no one to defend him,” (2) “from [in the sense of “after,” see BDB 581 s.v. 4.b] arrest and judgment.”

[53:8]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “and his generation, who considers?” (NASB similar). Some understand “his generation” as a reference to descendants. In this case the question would suggest that he will have none. However, אֶת (’et) may be taken here as specifying a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3). If “his generation” refers to the servant’s contemporary generation, one may then translate, “As for his contemporary generation, who took note?” The point would be that few were concerned about the harsh treatment he received.

[53:8]  ¹⁰⁹ sn The “land of the living” is an idiom for the sphere where people live, in contrast to the underworld realm of the dead. See, for example, Ezek 32:23-27.

[53:8]  ¹¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads “my people,” a reading followed by most English versions, but this is problematic in a context where the first person plural predominates, and where God does not appear to speak again until v. 11b. Therefore, it is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a עמו (“his people”). In this case, the group speaking in these verses is identified as the servant’s people (compare פְּשָׁעֵנוּ [pÿsha’enu, “our rebellious deeds”] in v. 5 with פֶּשַׁע עַמִּי [pesha’ ’ammi, “the rebellion of his people”] in v. 8).

[58:8]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  sn Light here symbolizes God’s favor and restored blessing, as the immediately following context makes clear.

[58:8]  ¹¹² tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ¹¹³ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ¹¹⁴ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[60:5]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:5]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

[60:5]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.

[61:8]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”