Yesaya 26:3

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ¹ 

Yesaya 32:15-18

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ² 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ³ 

32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert

and fairness will live in the orchard. ⁴ 

32:17 Fairness will produce peace ⁵ 

and result in lasting security. ⁶ 

32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,

in secure homes,

and in safe, quiet places. ⁷ 

Yesaya 48:18

48:18 If only you had obeyed my ⁸  commandments,

prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, ⁹ 

deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 55:12

55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;

you will be led along in peace;

the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,

and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

[26:3]  ¹ tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[32:15]  ² tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.

[32:15]  ³ sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.

[32:16]  ⁴ sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.

[32:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”

[32:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”

[32:18]  ⁷ tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”

[48:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”

[48:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.

[48:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.