Yesaya 4:4

4:4 At that time ¹  the sovereign master ²  will wash the excrement ³  from Zion’s women,

he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst, ⁴ 

as he comes to judge

and to bring devastation. ⁵ 

Yesaya 6:1

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ⁶  I saw the sovereign master ⁷  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

Yesaya 6:8

6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” ⁸  I answered, “Here I am, send me!”

Yesaya 6:11

6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,

“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,

and houses are uninhabited,

and the land is ruined and devastated,

Yesaya 7:14

7:14 For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. ⁹  Look, this ¹⁰  young woman ¹¹  is about to conceive ¹²  and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him ¹³  Immanuel. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 7:20

7:20 At that time ¹⁵  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ¹⁶  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ¹⁷  it will also shave off the beard.

Yesaya 21:8

21:8 Then the guard ¹⁸  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ¹⁹ 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

Yesaya 21:16

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master ²⁰  has told me: “Within exactly one year ²¹  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

Yesaya 22:5

22:5 For the sovereign master, ²²  the Lord who commands armies,

has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. ²³ 

In the Valley of Vision ²⁴  people shout ²⁵ 

and cry out to the hill. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 22:14-15

22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: ²⁷  “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” ²⁸  says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:

“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, ²⁹  and tell him: ³⁰ 

Yesaya 28:2

28:2 Look, the sovereign master ³¹  sends a strong, powerful one. ³² 

With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, ³³ 

with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, ³⁴ 

he will knock that crown ³⁵  to the ground with his hand. ³⁶ 

Yesaya 28:16

28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying ³⁷  a stone in Zion,

an approved ³⁸  stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ³⁹ 

The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ⁴⁰ 

Yesaya 28:22

28:22 So now, do not mock,

or your chains will become heavier!

For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,

from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. ⁴¹ 

Yesaya 30:15

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ⁴² 

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ⁴³ 

but you are unwilling.

Yesaya 30:20

30:20 The sovereign master ⁴⁴  will give you distress to eat

and suffering to drink; ⁴⁵ 

but your teachers will no longer be hidden;

your eyes will see them. ⁴⁶ 

Yesaya 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ⁴⁷  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ⁴⁸ 

O sovereign master, ⁴⁹  I am oppressed;

help me! ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 40:10

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ⁵¹ 

his military power establishes his rule. ⁵² 

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him. ⁵³ 

Yesaya 48:16

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ⁵⁴  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ⁵⁵ 

Yesaya 50:7

50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; ⁵⁶ 

I know I will not be put to shame.

Yesaya 50:9

50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.

Who dares to condemn me?

Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;

a moth will eat away at them.

Yesaya 52:4

52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;

Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

Yesaya 61:11

61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops

and a garden yields its produce,

so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ⁵⁷  to grow,

and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ⁵⁸ 

[4:4]  ¹ tn Heb “when” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); CEV “after”; NRSV “once.”

[4:4]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[4:4]  ³ tn The word refers elsewhere to vomit (Isa 28:8) and fecal material (Isa 36:12). Many English versions render this somewhat euphemistically as “filth” (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV). Ironically in God’s sight the beautiful jewelry described earlier is nothing but vomit and feces, for it symbolizes the moral decay of the city’s residents (cf. NLT “moral filth”).

[4:4]  ⁴ sn See 1:21 for a related concept.

[4:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” The precise meaning of the second half of the verse is uncertain. רוּחַ (ruakh) can be understood as “wind” in which case the passage pictures the Lord using a destructive wind as an instrument of judgment. However, this would create a mixed metaphor, for the first half of the verse uses the imagery of washing and rinsing to depict judgment. Perhaps the image would be that of a windstorm accompanied by heavy rain. רוּחַ can also mean “spirit,” in which case the verse may be referring to the Lord’s Spirit or, more likely, to a disposition that the Lord brings to the task of judgment. It is also uncertain if בָּעַר (ba’ar) here means “burning” or “sweeping away, devastating.”

[6:1]  ⁶ sn That is, approximately 740 b.c.

[6:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[6:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “for us.” The plural pronoun refers to the Lord, the seraphs, and the rest of the heavenly assembly.

[7:14]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) can refer to a miraculous event (see v. 11), but it does not carry this sense inherently. Elsewhere in Isaiah the word usually refers to a natural occurrence or an object/person vested with special significance (see 8:18; 19:20; 20:3; 37:30; 55:13; 66:19). Only in 38:7-8, 22 does it refer to a miraculous deed that involves suspending or overriding natural laws. The sign outlined in vv. 14-17 involves God’s providential control over events and their timing, but not necessarily miraculous intervention.

[7:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the young woman.” The Hebrew article has been rendered as a demonstrative pronoun (“this”) in the translation to bring out its force. It is very likely that Isaiah pointed to a woman who was present at the scene of the prophet’s interview with Ahaz. Isaiah’s address to the “house of David” and his use of second plural forms suggests other people were present, and his use of the second feminine singular verb form (“you will name”) later in the verse is best explained if addressed to a woman who is present.

[7:14]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “virgin.” Because this verse from Isaiah is quoted in Matt 1:23 in connection with Jesus’ birth, the Isaiah passage has been regarded since the earliest Christian times as a prophecy of Christ’s virgin birth. Much debate has taken place over the best way to translate this Hebrew term, although ultimately one’s view of the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ is unaffected. Though the Hebrew word used here (עַלְמָה, ’almah) can sometimes refer to a woman who is a virgin (Gen 24:43), it does not carry this meaning inherently. The word is simply the feminine form of the corresponding masculine noun עֶלֶם (’elem, “young man”; cf. 1 Sam 17:56; 20:22). The Aramaic and Ugaritic cognate terms are both used of women who are not virgins. The word seems to pertain to age, not sexual experience, and would normally be translated “young woman.” The LXX translator(s) who later translated the Book of Isaiah into Greek sometime between the second and first century b.c., however, rendered the Hebrew term by the more specific Greek word παρθένος (parqenos), which does mean “virgin” in a technical sense. This is the Greek term that also appears in the citation of Isa 7:14 in Matt 1:23. Therefore, regardless of the meaning of the term in the OT context, in the NT Matthew’s usage of the Greek term παρθένος clearly indicates that from his perspective a virgin birth has taken place.

[7:14]  ¹² tn Elsewhere the adjective הָרָה (harah), when used predicatively, refers to a past pregnancy (from the narrator’s perspective, 1 Sam 4:19), to a present condition (Gen 16:11; 38:24; 2 Sam 11:5), and to a conception that is about to occur in the near future (Judg 13:5, 7). (There is some uncertainty about the interpretation of Judg 13:5, 7, however. See the notes to those verses.) In Isa 7:14 one could translate, “the young woman is pregnant.” In this case the woman is probably a member of the royal family. Another option, the one followed in the present translation, takes the adjective in an imminent future sense, “the young woman is about to conceive.” In this case the woman could be a member of the royal family, or, more likely, the prophetess with whom Isaiah has sexual relations shortly after this (see 8:3).

[7:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and you will call his name.” The words “young lady” are supplied in the translation to clarify the identity of the addressee. The verb is normally taken as an archaic third feminine singular form here, and translated, “she will call.” However the form (קָרָאת, qara’t) is more naturally understood as second feminine singular, in which case the words would be addressed to the young woman mentioned just before this. In the three other occurrences of the third feminine singular perfect of I קָרָא (qara’, “to call”), the form used is קָרְאָה (qar’ah; see Gen 29:35; 30:6; 1 Chr 4:9). A third feminine singular perfect קָרָאת does appear in Deut 31:29 and Jer 44:23, but the verb here is the homonym II קָרָא (“to meet, encounter”). The form קָרָאת (from I קָרָא, “to call”) appears in three other passages (Gen 16:11; Isa 60:18; Jer 3:4 [Qere]) and in each case is second feminine singular.

[7:14]  ¹⁴ sn The name Immanuel means “God [is] with us.”

[7:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[21:8]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.

[21:8]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).

[21:16]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[21:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.

[22:5]  ²² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[22:5]  ²³ tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[22:5]  ²⁴ tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.

[22:5]  ²⁵ tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.

[22:5]  ²⁶ sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.

[22:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[22:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.

[22:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”

[22:15]  ³⁰ tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[28:2]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:2]  ³² tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”

[28:2]  ³³ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”

[28:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”

[28:2]  ³⁵ tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.

[28:2]  ³⁶ tn Or “by [his] power.”

[28:16]  ³⁷ tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.

[28:16]  ³⁸ tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.

[28:16]  ³⁹ sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).

[28:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

[28:22]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).

[30:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[30:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).

[30:20]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[30:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”

[30:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.

[38:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[40:10]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.

[40:10]  ⁵² tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).

[40:10]  ⁵³ tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.

[48:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ⁵⁵ sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[50:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”

[61:11]  ⁵⁷ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

[61:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”