Yesaya 1:13

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ¹  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ² 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ³ 

Yesaya 1:26

1:26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,

wise advisers as in earlier days. ⁴ 

Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,

Faithful Town.’”

Yesaya 36:17

36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Yesaya 48:8

48:8 You did not hear,

you do not know,

you were not told beforehand. ⁵ 

For I know that you are very deceitful; ⁶ 

you were labeled ⁷  a rebel from birth.

Yesaya 57:6

57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;

they, they are the object of your devotion. ⁸ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ⁹ 

Yesaya 62:6

62:6 I ¹⁰  post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

they should keep praying all day and all night. ¹¹ 

You who pray to ¹²  the Lord, don’t be silent!

Yesaya 65:10

65:10 Sharon ¹³  will become a pasture for sheep,

and the Valley of Achor ¹⁴  a place where cattle graze; ¹⁵ 

they will belong to my people, who seek me. ¹⁶ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ² sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ³ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[1:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.

[48:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”

[48:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[48:8]  ⁷ tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “among the smooth stones of the stream [is] your portion, they, they [are] your lot.” The next line indicates idols are in view.

[57:6]  ⁹ tn The text reads literally, “Because of these am I relenting?” If the prefixed interrogative particle is retained at the beginning of the sentence, then the question would be rhetorical, with the Niphal of נָחָם (nakham) probably being used in the sense of “relent, change one’s mind.” One could translate: “Because of these things, how can I relent?” However, the initial letter he may be dittographic (note the final he [ה] on the preceding word). In this case one may understand the verb in the sense of “console oneself, seek vengeance,” as in 1:24.

[62:6]  ¹⁰ sn The speaker here is probably the prophet.

[62:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all day and all night continually they do not keep silent.” The following lines suggest that they pray for the Lord’s intervention and restoration of the city.

[62:6]  ¹² tn Or “invoke”; NIV “call on”; NASB, NRSV “remind.”

[65:10]  ¹³ sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.

[65:10]  ¹⁴ sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.

[65:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”

[65:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”