Yesaya 1:20

1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,

you will be devoured ¹  by the sword.”

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ² 

Yesaya 8:2

8:2 Then I will summon ³  as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

Yesaya 14:24

14:24 ⁴ The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:

“Be sure of this:

Just as I have intended, so it will be;

just as I have planned, it will happen.

Yesaya 37:26

37:26 ⁵ Certainly you must have heard! ⁶ 

Long ago I worked it out,

in ancient times I planned ⁷  it,

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins. ⁸ 

Yesaya 38:20

38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me, ⁹ 

and we will celebrate with music ¹⁰ 

for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” ¹¹ 

[1:20]  ¹ sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.

[1:20]  ² tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[8:2]  ³ tn The form in the text is a cohortative with prefixed vav (ו), suggesting that the Lord is announcing what he will do. Some prefer to change the verb to an imperative, “and summon as witnesses,” a reading that finds support from the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a. Another option is to point the prefixed conjunction as a vav consecutive and translate, “So I summoned as witnesses.” In this case Isaiah is recalling his response to the Lord’s commission. In any case, the reference to witnesses suggests that the name and the child who bears it will function as signs.

[14:24]  ⁴ sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.

[37:26]  ⁵ tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.

[37:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.

[37:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).

[37:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.

[38:20]  ⁹ tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate that an action is imminent. See GKC 348-49 §114.i, and IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.

[38:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and music [or perhaps, “stringed instruments”] we will play.”

[38:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.”

[38:20]  sn Note that vv. 21-22 have been placed between vv. 6-7, where they logically belong. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.