Yesaya 1:5

1:5 ¹ Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel? ² 

Your head has a massive wound, ³ 

your whole body is weak. ⁴ 

Yesaya 1:15

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ⁵ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ⁶ 

Yesaya 3:9

3:9 The look on their faces ⁷  testifies to their guilt; ⁸ 

like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. ⁹ 

Too bad for them! ¹⁰ 

For they bring disaster on themselves.

Yesaya 5:30

5:30 At that time ¹¹  they will growl over their prey, ¹² 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ¹³ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 6:2

6:2 Seraphs ¹⁵  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ¹⁶  and they used the remaining two to fly.

Yesaya 6:9

6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

Yesaya 7:2

7:2 It was reported to the family ¹⁷  of David, “Syria has allied with ¹⁸  Ephraim.” They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 8:3

8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,

Yesaya 8:21

8:21 They will pass through the land ²⁰  destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, ²¹  and they will curse their king and their God ²²  as they look upward.

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, ²³ 

including the offspring she produces,” ²⁴ 

says the Lord.

Yesaya 15:4

15:4 The people of ²⁵  Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,

their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.

For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;

their courage wavers. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 17:3

17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,

and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ²⁷ 

The survivors in Syria

will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 19:7

19:7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river. ²⁸ 

All the cultivated land near the river

will turn to dust and be blown away. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 19:25

19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, ³⁰  “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, ³¹  Israel!”

Yesaya 24:15

24:15 So in the east ³²  extol the Lord,

along the seacoasts extol ³³  the fame ³⁴  of the Lord God of Israel.

Yesaya 28:25

28:25 Once he has leveled its surface,

does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant,

sow the seed of the cumin plant,

and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? ³⁵ 

Yesaya 28:27

28:27 Certainly ³⁶  caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,

nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. ³⁷ 

Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick,

and cumin seed with a flail.

Yesaya 29:9

God’s People are Spiritually Insensitive

29:9 You will be shocked and amazed! ³⁸ 

You are totally blind! ³⁹ 

They are drunk, ⁴⁰  but not because of wine;

they stagger, ⁴¹  but not because of beer.

Yesaya 30:8

30:8 Now go, write it ⁴²  down on a tablet in their presence, ⁴³ 

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness. ⁴⁴ 

Yesaya 34:13

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ⁴⁵  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ⁴⁶ 

Yesaya 36:10

36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 37:3

37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: ⁴⁸  ‘This is a day of distress, insults, ⁴⁹  and humiliation, ⁵⁰  as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁵¹ 

Yesaya 40:15

40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales.

He lifts ⁵²  the coastlands ⁵³  as if they were dust.

Yesaya 41:1

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ⁵⁴ 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ⁵⁵ 

Yesaya 42:13

42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero,

like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; ⁵⁶ 

he shouts, yes, he yells,

he shows his enemies his power. ⁵⁷ 

Yesaya 43:6

43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’

and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’

Bring my sons from distant lands,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

Yesaya 44:21-22

44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob,

O Israel, for you are my servant.

I formed you to be my servant;

O Israel, I will not forget you! ⁵⁸ 

44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,

the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. ⁵⁹ 

Come back to me, for I protect ⁶⁰  you.”

Yesaya 48:8

48:8 You did not hear,

you do not know,

you were not told beforehand. ⁶¹ 

For I know that you are very deceitful; ⁶² 

you were labeled ⁶³  a rebel from birth.

Yesaya 58:8

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ⁶⁴ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ⁶⁵ 

your godly behavior ⁶⁶  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ⁶⁷ 

Yesaya 59:9

Israel Confesses its Sin

59:9 For this reason deliverance ⁶⁸  is far from us ⁶⁹ 

and salvation does not reach us.

We wait for light, ⁷⁰  but see only darkness; ⁷¹ 

we wait for ⁷²  a bright light, ⁷³  but live ⁷⁴  in deep darkness. ⁷⁵ 

Yesaya 62:1

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;

for the sake of Jerusalem ⁷⁶  I will not be quiet,

until her vindication shines brightly ⁷⁷ 

and her deliverance burns like a torch.”

Yesaya 62:10

62:10 Come through! Come through the gates!

Prepare the way for the people!

Build it! Build the roadway!

Remove the stones!

Lift a signal flag for the nations!

Yesaya 63:6

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ⁷⁸  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ⁷⁹ 

Yesaya 66:15

66:15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,

his chariots come like a windstorm, ⁸⁰ 

to reveal his raging anger,

his battle cry, and his flaming arrows. ⁸¹ 

[1:5]  ¹ sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).

[1:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ⁶ sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[3:9]  ⁷ sn This refers to their proud, arrogant demeanor.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “answers against them”; NRSV “bears witness against them.”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “their sin, like Sodom, they declare, they do not conceal [it].”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “woe to their soul.”

[5:30]  ¹¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ¹² tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[5:30]  sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).

[6:2]  ¹⁵ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ¹⁶ sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “house.” In this context the “house of David” includes King Ahaz, his family, and the royal court. See also Jer 21:12; Zech 12:7-8, 10, 12, for a similar use of the phrase.

[7:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “rests upon.” Most understand the verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”), but HALOT 685 s.v. II נחה proposes that this is a hapax legomenon which means “stand by.”

[7:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and his heart shook and the heart of his people shook, like the shaking of the trees of the forest before the wind.” The singular pronoun “his” is collective, referring to the Davidic house/family. לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) here refers to the seat of the emotions.

[8:21]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).

[14:22]  ²³ tn Heb “I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant” (ASV, NAB, and NRSV all similar).

[14:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “descendant and child.”

[15:4]  ²⁵ tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[15:4]  ²⁶ tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[17:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”

[19:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the plants by the river, by the mouth of the river.”

[19:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “will dry up, [being] scattered, and it will vanish.”

[19:25]  ³⁰ tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.

[19:25]  ³¹ tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[24:15]  ³² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).

[24:15]  ³³ tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

[24:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.

[28:25]  ³⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “place wheat [?], and barley [?], and grain in its territory.” The term שׂוֹרָה (shorah) is sometimes translated “[in] its place,” but the word is unattested elsewhere. It is probably due to dittography of the immediately following שְׂעֹרָה (sÿo’rah, “barley”). The meaning of נִסְמָן (nisman) is also uncertain. It may be due to dittography of the immediately following כֻסֶּמֶת (kussemet, “grain”).

[28:27]  ³⁶ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB).

[28:27]  ³⁷ sn Both of these seeds are too small to use the ordinary threshing techniques.

[29:9]  ³⁸ tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahmÿhu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittammÿhu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.

[29:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.

[29:9]  ⁴⁰ tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.

[29:9]  ⁴¹ tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.

[30:8]  ⁴² tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.

[30:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.

[30:8]  ⁴⁴ sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.

[34:13]  ⁴⁵ tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ⁴⁶ tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)

[36:10]  ⁴⁷ sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.

[37:3]  ⁴⁸ tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).

[37:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”

[37:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”

[37:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”

[40:15]  ⁵² tn Or “weighs” (NIV); NLT “picks up.”

[40:15]  ⁵³ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV, NLT).

[41:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:1]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.

[42:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).

[42:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”

[44:21]  ⁵⁸ tc The verb in the Hebrew text is a Niphal imperfect with a pronominal suffix. Although the Niphal ordinarily has the passive sense, it can have a reflexive nuance as well (see above translation). Some have suggested an emendation to a Qal form: “Do not forget me” (all the ancient versions, NEB, REB; see GKC 369 §117.x). “Do not forget me” would make a good parallel with “remember these things” in the first line. Since the MT is the harder reading and fits with Israel’s complaint that God had forgotten her (Isa 40:27), the MT reading should be retained (NASB, NKJV, NRSV, ESV). The passive has been rendered as an active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style (so also NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[44:22]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “I blot out like a cloud your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud your sins.” “Rebellious deeds” and “sins” stand by metonymy for the guilt they produce. Both עָב (’av) and עָנָן (’anan) refer to the clouds in the sky. It is tempting for stylistic purposes to translate the second with “fog” or “mist” (cf. NAB, NRSV “cloud…mist”; NIV “cloud…morning mist”; NLT “morning mists…clouds”), but this distinction between the synonyms is unwarranted here. The point of the simile seems to be this: The Lord forgives their sins, causing them to vanish just as clouds disappear from the sky (see Job 7:9; 30:15).

[44:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:8]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”

[48:8]  ⁶² tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[48:8]  ⁶³ tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[58:8]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ⁶⁷ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.

[59:9]  ⁶⁸ tn מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which refers to “justice” in the earlier verses, here refers to “justice from God,” or “vindication.” Because the people are unjust, God refuses to vindicate them before their enemies. See v. 11.

[59:9]  ⁶⁹ sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.

[59:9]  ⁷⁰ sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing.

[59:9]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”

[59:9]  ⁷² tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[59:9]  ⁷³ tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.

[59:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.”

[59:9]  ⁷⁵ tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.

[62:1]  ⁷⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[62:1]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”

[63:6]  ⁷⁸ sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).

[66:15]  ⁸⁰ sn Chariots are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way that they kick up dust.

[66:15]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “to cause to return with the rage of his anger, and his battle cry [or “rebuke”] with flames of fire.”