Yesaya 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ¹ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ² 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ³ 

establishing it ⁴  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ⁵ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ⁶  will accomplish this.

Yesaya 24:17

24:17 Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! ⁷ 

Yesaya 58:2

58:2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements, ⁸ 

like a nation that does what is right

and does not reject the law of their God.

They ask me for just decrees;

they want to be near God.

Yesaya 58:13

58:13 You must ⁹  observe the Sabbath ¹⁰ 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ¹¹ 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ¹² 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ¹³ 

You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ¹⁵  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ¹⁶ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

[9:7]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

[9:7]  ² tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

[9:7]  ³ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:7]  ⁴ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

[9:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

[9:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.

[24:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.

[58:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”

[58:13]  ⁹ tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14.

[58:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).

[58:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).

[66:4]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”