Yesaya 6:6

6:6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.

Yesaya 8:1

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet ¹  and inscribe these words ²  on it with an ordinary stylus: ³  ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ ⁴ 

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 8:5

8:5 The Lord spoke to me again:

Yesaya 8:11

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people: ⁵ 

Yesaya 18:4

18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait ⁶  and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ⁷ 

like a cloud of mist ⁸  in the heat ⁹  of harvest.” ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 21:6

21:6 For this is what the sovereign master ¹¹  has told me:

“Go, post a guard!

He must report what he sees.

Yesaya 21:11

Bad News for Seir

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: ¹² 

Someone calls to me from Seir, ¹³ 

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?” ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 21:16

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master ¹⁵  has told me: “Within exactly one year ¹⁶  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

Yesaya 31:4

The Lord Will Defend Zion

31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:

“The Lord will be like a growling lion,

like a young lion growling over its prey. ¹⁷ 

Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,

it is not afraid of their shouts

or intimidated by their yelling. ¹⁸ 

In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 36:7

36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’

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!’”’” ²⁰ 

Yesaya 36:16

36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. ²¹  Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

Yesaya 37:21

37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, ²² 

Yesaya 37:28-29

37:28 I know where you live

and everything you do

and how you rage against me. ²³ 

37:29 Because you rage against me

and the uproar you create has reached my ears, ²⁴ 

I will put my hook in your nose, ²⁵ 

and my bridle between your lips,

and I will lead you back

the way you came.”

Yesaya 39:3

39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.”

Yesaya 41:1

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ²⁶ 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ²⁷ 

Yesaya 44:17

44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;

he bows down to it and worships it.

He prays to it, saying,

‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’

Yesaya 44:22

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. ²⁸ 

Come back to me, for I protect ²⁹  you.”

Yesaya 45:22

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, ³⁰ 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

Yesaya 46:3

46:3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, ³¹ 

all you who are left from the family of Israel, ³² 

you who have been carried from birth, ³³ 

you who have been supported from the time you left the womb. ³⁴ 

Yesaya 46:12

46:12 Listen to me, you stubborn people, ³⁵ 

you who distance yourself from doing what is right. ³⁶ 

Yesaya 48:12

48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,

Israel, whom I summoned!

I am the one;

I am present at the very beginning

and at the very end. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 48:16

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ³⁸  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ³⁹ 

Yesaya 49:1

Ideal Israel Delivers the Exiles

49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! ⁴⁰ 

Pay attention, you people who live far away!

The Lord summoned me from birth; ⁴¹ 

he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. ⁴² 

Yesaya 50:8

50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.

Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! ⁴³ 

Who is my accuser? ⁴⁴  Let him challenge me! ⁴⁵ 

Yesaya 51:1

There is Hope for the Future

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ⁴⁶ 

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry ⁴⁷  from which you were dug! ⁴⁸ 

Yesaya 51:4-5

51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!

Listen to me, my people!

For ⁴⁹  I will issue a decree, ⁵⁰ 

I will make my justice a light to the nations. ⁵¹ 

51:5 I am ready to vindicate, ⁵² 

I am ready to deliver, ⁵³ 

I will establish justice among the nations. ⁵⁴ 

The coastlands ⁵⁵  wait patiently for me;

they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. ⁵⁶ 

Yesaya 51:7

51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law! ⁵⁷ 

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

Yesaya 55:2-3

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ⁵⁸ 

Why spend ⁵⁹  your hard-earned money ⁶⁰  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ⁶¹  to me and eat what is nourishing! ⁶² 

Enjoy fine food! ⁶³ 

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ⁶⁴ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ⁶⁵  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ⁶⁶ 

Yesaya 55:11

55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make

does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. ⁶⁷ 

No, it is realized as I desire

and is fulfilled as I intend.” ⁶⁸ 

Yesaya 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ⁶⁹  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ⁷⁰ 

[8:1]  ¹ sn Probably made of metal, wood, or leather. See HALOT 193 s.v. גִּלָּיוֹן.

[8:1]  ² tn Heb “write” (so KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV).

[8:1]  ³ tn Heb “with the stylus of a man.” The significance of the qualifying genitive “a man” is uncertain. For various interpretations see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:219, n. 1.

[8:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “quickly, [the] plunder; it hurries, [the] loot.” The first word (מַהֵר, maher) is either a Piel imperative (“hurry [to]”) or infinitive (“hurrying,” or “quickly”). The third word (חָשׁ, khash) is either a third masculine singular perfect or a masculine singular participle, in either case from the root חוּשׁ (khush, “hurry”). Perhaps it is best to translate, “One hastens to the plunder, one hurries to the loot.” In this case מַהֵר is understood as an infinitive functioning as a verb, the subject of חוּשׁ is taken as indefinite, and the two nouns are understood as adverbial accusatives. As we discover in v. 3, this is the name of the son to be born to Isaiah through the prophetess.

[8:11]  ⁵ tc Heb “with strength of hand and he warned me from walking in the way of these people, saying.” Some want to change the pointing of the suffix and thereby emend the Qal imperfect יִסְּרֵנִי (yissÿreni, “he was warning me”) to the more common Piel perfect יִסְּרַנִי (yissÿrani, “he warned me”). Others follow the lead of the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and read יְסִירֵנִי (yÿsireni, “he was turning me aside,” a Hiphil imperfect from סוּר, sur).

[18:4]  ⁶ tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”

[18:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.

[18:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”

[18:4]  ⁹ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”

[18:4]  ¹⁰ sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.

[21:6]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[21:11]  ¹² tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.

[21:11]  ¹³ sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.

[21:11]  ¹⁴ sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.

[21:16]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

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

[31:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”

[31:4]  ¹⁹ tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.

[36:10]  ²⁰ 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.

[36:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”

[37:21]  ²² tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”

[37:28]  ²³ tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.

[37:29]  ²⁴ tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).

[37:29]  ²⁵ sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.

[41:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:1]  ²⁷ 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.

[44:22]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.

[45:22]  ³⁰ tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”

[46:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV “descendants of Jacob.”

[46:3]  ³² tn Heb “and all the remnant of the house of Israel.”

[46:3]  ³³ tn Heb “from the womb” (so NRSV); KJV “from the belly”; NAB “from your infancy.”

[46:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “who have been lifted up from the womb.”

[46:12]  ³⁵ tn Heb “strong of heart [or, mind]”; KJV “stouthearted”; NAB “fainthearted”; NIV “stubborn-hearted.”

[46:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “who are far from righteousness [or perhaps, “deliverance”].”

[48:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”

[48:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ³⁹ sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[49:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”

[49:1]  sn The Lord’s special servant, introduced in chap. 42, speaks here of his commission.

[49:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “called me from the womb.”

[49:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”

[50:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Let us stand together!”

[50:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”

[50:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”

[51:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”

[51:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”

[51:1]  ⁴⁸ sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.

[51:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “certainly.”

[51:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”

[51:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”

[51:5]  ⁵² tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”

[51:5]  ⁵³ tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”

[51:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”

[51:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”

[51:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).

[51:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”

[55:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ⁵⁹ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ⁶¹ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[55:2]  sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).

[55:3]  ⁶⁴ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  sn To live here refers to covenantal blessing, primarily material prosperity and national security (see vv. 4-5, 13, and Deut 30:6, 15, 19-20).

[55:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”

[55:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).

[55:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”

[55:11]  sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized and his deeds accomplish something positive.

[63:15]  ⁶⁹ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.