Yesaya 1:4

1:4 ¹ The sinful nation is as good as dead, ² 

the people weighed down by evil deeds.

They are offspring who do wrong,

children ³  who do wicked things.

They have abandoned the Lord,

and rejected the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

They are alienated from him. ⁵ 

Yesaya 8:18

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me ⁶  are reminders and object lessons ⁷  in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

Yesaya 14:29

14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,

just because the club that beat you has been broken! ⁸ 

For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,

and its fruit will be a darting adder. ⁹ 

Yesaya 19:11

19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; ¹⁰ 

Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.

How dare you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” ¹¹ 

Yesaya 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ¹² 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ¹³ 

Yesaya 26:11

26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, ¹⁴ 

but they don’t even notice.

They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, ¹⁵ 

yes, fire will consume your enemies. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ¹⁷  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ¹⁸ 

For these people lack understanding, ¹⁹ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Yesaya 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ²⁰ 

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. ²¹ 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

Yesaya 30:16

30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’

so you will indeed flee.

You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’

so your pursuers will be fast.

Yesaya 41:26

41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?

Who announced it ²²  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?

Indeed, none of them decreed it!

Indeed, none of them announced it!

Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

Yesaya 42:22

42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;

all of them are trapped in pits ²³ 

and held captive ²⁴  in prisons.

They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;

they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” ²⁵ 

Yesaya 44:8

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ²⁶ 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ²⁷  I know of none.

Yesaya 44:15

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ²⁸ 

he takes some of it and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 45:9

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ³⁰ 

one who is like a mere ³¹  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ³² 

“What in the world ³³  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ³⁴ 

Yesaya 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ³⁵ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ³⁶ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 45:21

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ³⁸ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ³⁹ 

there is none but me.

Yesaya 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ⁴⁰  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ⁴¹  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ⁴²  will not disappear. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 51:13

51:13 Why do you forget ⁴⁴  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ⁴⁵ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ⁴⁶ 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ⁴⁸ 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ⁴⁹ 

because he willingly submitted ⁵⁰  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ⁵¹  on behalf of the rebels.”

Yesaya 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ⁵² 

Because I have been silent for so long, ⁵³ 

you are not afraid of me. ⁵⁴ 

Yesaya 57:13

57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols ⁵⁵  help you!

The wind blows them all away, ⁵⁶ 

a breeze carries them away. ⁵⁷ 

But the one who looks to me for help ⁵⁸  will inherit the land

and will have access to ⁵⁹  my holy mountain.”

Yesaya 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ⁶⁰  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ⁶¹ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ⁶² 

Yesaya 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ⁶³  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ⁶⁴  instead of discouragement. ⁶⁵ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ⁶⁶ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ⁶⁷ 

Yesaya 66:5

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say! ⁶⁸ 

Your countrymen, ⁶⁹  who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.” ⁷⁰ 

But they will be put to shame.

[1:4]  ¹ sn Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2-3) has concluded.

[1:4]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to the] sinful nation.” The Hebrew term הוֹי, (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death. In highly dramatic fashion the prophet acts out Israel’s funeral in advance, emphasizing that their demise is inevitable if they do not repent soon.

[1:4]  ³ tn Or “sons” (NASB). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege – nation, people, offspring, children – with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day – sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 43).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “they are estranged backward.” The LXX omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.

[8:18]  ⁶ sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).

[8:18]  ⁷ tn Or “signs and portents” (NAB, NRSV). The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the Lord delivers”) was a reminder that the Lord was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria (see the note at 8:4). The word מוֹפֶת (mofet, “portent”) can often refer to some miraculous event, but in 20:3 it is used, along with its synonym אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) of Isaiah’s walking around half-naked as an object lesson of what would soon happen to the Egyptians.

[14:29]  ⁸ sn The identity of this “club” (also referred to as a “serpent” in the next line) is uncertain. It may refer to an Assyrian king, or to Ahaz. For discussion see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:331-32. The viper/adder referred to in the second half of the verse is his successor.

[14:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “flying burning one.” The designation “burning one” may allude to the serpent’s appearance or the effect of its poisonous bite. (See the note at 6:2.) The qualifier “flying” probably refers to the serpent’s quick, darting movements, though one might propose a homonym here, meaning “biting.” (See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:332, n. 18.) Some might think in terms of a mythological flying, fire breathing dragon (cf. NAB “a flying saraph”; CEV “a flying fiery dragon”), but this proposal does not make good sense in 30:6, where the phrase “flying burning one” appears again in a list of desert animals.

[19:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”

[19:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.

[21:2]  ¹² tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ¹³ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[26:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”

[26:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”

[26:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”

[27:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[29:8]  ²⁰ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ²¹ tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”

[41:26]  ²² tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[42:22]  ²³ tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).

[42:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”

[42:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”

[44:8]  ²⁶ tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[44:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ²⁹ tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[45:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ³¹ tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ³² tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ³³ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

[45:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ³⁶ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ³⁷ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[45:21]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ³⁹ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[51:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

[51:6]  ⁴² tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ⁴³ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”

[51:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ⁴⁷ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.

[53:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ⁴⁹ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ⁵¹ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

[57:11]  ⁵² tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ⁵⁴ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

[57:13]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.

[57:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”

[57:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”

[57:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”

[57:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.

[57:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ⁶² tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[61:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[66:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”

[66:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”

[66:5]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.