Yesaya 7:19

7:19 All of them will come and make their home ¹  in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. ² 

Yesaya 7:22

7:22 From the abundance of milk they produce, ³  he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey.

Yesaya 7:25

7:25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. ⁴  Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them. ⁵ 

Yesaya 8:21

8:21 They will pass through the land ⁶  destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, ⁷  and they will curse their king and their God ⁸  as they look upward.

Yesaya 9:2

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ⁹ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 11:16

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ¹¹ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ¹²  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Yesaya 14:12

14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,

O shining one, son of the dawn! ¹³ 

You have been cut down to the ground,

O conqueror ¹⁴  of the nations! ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 23:13

23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,

these people who have lost their identity! ¹⁶ 

The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.

They erected their siege towers, ¹⁷ 

demolished ¹⁸  its fortresses,

and turned it into a heap of ruins. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 34:11

34:11 Owls and wild animals ²⁰  will live there, ²¹ 

all kinds of wild birds ²²  will settle in it.

The Lord ²³  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ²⁴  of destruction. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 34:17

34:17 He assigns them their allotment; ²⁶ 

he measures out their assigned place. ²⁷ 

They will live there ²⁸  permanently;

they will settle in it through successive generations.

Yesaya 37:7

37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; ²⁹  he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down ³⁰  with a sword in his own land.”’”

Yesaya 41:19

41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;

I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

Yesaya 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ³¹  Do you not recognize ³²  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ³³  in the wilderness.

Yesaya 49:19

49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;

it is desolate and devastated. ³⁴ 

But now you will be too small to hold your residents,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

Yesaya 60:18

60:18 Sounds of violence ³⁵  will no longer be heard in your land,

or the sounds of ³⁶  destruction and devastation within your borders.

You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’

and your gates, ‘Praise.’

[7:19]  ¹ tn Heb “and shall rest” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “and settle.”

[7:19]  ² tn The meaning of this word (נַהֲלֹל, nahalol) is uncertain; some understand this as referring to another type of thorn bush. For bibliography, see HALOT 676 s.v. I *נַהֲלֹל.

[7:22]  ³ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated, see note on 2:2.

[7:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the hills which were hoed with a hoe, you will not go there [for] fear of the thorns and briers.”

[7:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “and it will become a pasture for cattle and a trampling place for sheep.”

[7:25]  sn At this point one is able to summarize the content of the “sign” (vv. 14-15) as follows: A young woman known to be present when Isaiah delivered this message to Ahaz (perhaps a member of the royal family or the prophetess mentioned in 8:3) would soon give birth to a boy whom the mother would name Immanuel, “God is with us.” Eventually Immanuel would be forced to eat sour milk and honey, which would enable him to make correct moral decisions. How would this situation come about and how would it constitute a sign? Before this situation developed, the Israelites and Syrians would be defeated. But then the Lord would usher in a period of time unlike any since the division of the kingdom almost 200 years before. The Assyrians would overrun the land, destroy the crops, and force the people to subsist on goats’ milk and honey. At that time, as the people saw Immanuel eating his sour milk and honey, the Davidic family would be forced to acknowledge that God was indeed with them. He was present with them in the Syrian-Israelite crisis, fully capable of rescuing them; but he was also present with them in judgment, disciplining them for their lack of trust. The moral of the story is quite clear: Failure to appropriate God’s promises by faith can turn potential blessing into disciplinary judgment.

[8:21]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).

[9:2]  ⁹ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.

[11:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ¹² tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[14:12]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.

[14:12]  sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061).

[14:12]  ¹⁴ tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”

[14:12]  ¹⁵ sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.

[23:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”

[23:13]  ¹⁷ tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.

[23:13]  ¹⁸ tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.

[23:13]  ¹⁹ sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.

[34:11]  ²⁰ tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).

[34:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ²² tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.

[34:11]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ²⁵ sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[34:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.

[34:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”

[37:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.

[37:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”

[43:19]  ³¹ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ³² tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ³³ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[49:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Indeed your ruins and your desolate places, and the land of your destruction.” This statement is abruptly terminated in the Hebrew text and left incomplete.

[60:18]  ³⁵ tn The words “sounds of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[60:18]  ³⁶ tn The words “sounds of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.