Yesaya 1:5

1:5 ¹ Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel? ² 

Your head has a massive wound, ³ 

your whole body is weak. ⁴ 

Yesaya 1:7

1:7 Your land is devastated,

your cities burned with fire.

Right before your eyes your crops

are being destroyed by foreign invaders. ⁵ 

They leave behind devastation and destruction. ⁶ 

Yesaya 4:3

4:3 Those remaining in Zion, ⁷  those left in Jerusalem, ⁸ 

will be called “holy,” ⁹ 

all in Jerusalem who are destined to live. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 5:1

A Love Song Gone Sour

5:1 I ¹¹  will sing to my love –

a song to my lover about his vineyard. ¹² 

My love had a vineyard

on a fertile hill. ¹³ 

Yesaya 5:10

5:10 Indeed, a large vineyard ¹⁴  will produce just a few gallons, ¹⁵ 

and enough seed to yield several bushels ¹⁶  will produce less than a bushel.” ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 5:13

5:13 Therefore my ¹⁸  people will be deported ¹⁹ 

because of their lack of understanding.

Their ²⁰  leaders will have nothing to eat, ²¹ 

their ²²  masses will have nothing to drink. ²³ 

Yesaya 5:30

5:30 At that time ²⁴  they will growl over their prey, ²⁵ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ²⁶ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 7:14

7:14 For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. ²⁸  Look, this ²⁹  young woman ³⁰  is about to conceive ³¹  and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him ³²  Immanuel. ³³ 

Yesaya 7:21

7:21 At that time ³⁴  a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats.

Yesaya 7:25

7:25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. ³⁵  Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them. ³⁶ 

Yesaya 10:4

10:4 You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,

or to fall among those who have been killed. ³⁷ 

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 10:15-16

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ³⁹ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

10:16 For this reason ⁴⁰  the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. ⁴¹  His majestic glory will go up in smoke. ⁴² 

Yesaya 10:18

10:18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard

will be completely destroyed, ⁴³ 

as when a sick man’s life ebbs away. ⁴⁴ 

Yesaya 10:26

10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ⁴⁵  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ⁴⁶  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 10:33

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ⁴⁸ 

The tallest trees ⁴⁹  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Yesaya 11:9-10

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ⁵⁰ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ⁵¹ 

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time ⁵²  a root from Jesse ⁵³  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, ⁵⁴  and his residence will be majestic.

Yesaya 13:2

13:2 ⁵⁵ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Yesaya 13:14

13:14 Like a frightened gazelle ⁵⁶ 

or a sheep with no shepherd,

each will turn toward home, ⁵⁷ 

each will run to his homeland.

Yesaya 13:21-22

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined ⁵⁸  houses will be full of hyenas. ⁵⁹ 

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins. ⁶⁰ 

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ⁶¹ 

Her time is almost up, ⁶² 

her days will not be prolonged. ⁶³ 

Yesaya 14:13

14:13 You said to yourself, ⁶⁴ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ⁶⁵ 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ⁶⁶ 

Yesaya 14:20-21

14:20 You will not be buried with them, ⁶⁷ 

because you destroyed your land

and killed your people.

The offspring of the wicked

will never be mentioned again.

14:21 Prepare to execute ⁶⁸  his sons

for the sins their ancestors have committed. ⁶⁹ 

They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,

or fill the surface of the world with cities.” ⁷⁰ 

Yesaya 15:1

The Lord Will Judge Moab

15:1 Here is a message about Moab:

Indeed, in a night it is devastated,

Ar of Moab is destroyed!

Indeed, in a night it is devastated,

Kir of Moab is destroyed!

Yesaya 16:5

16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;

he will rule in a reliable manner,

this one from David’s family. ⁷¹ 

He will be sure to make just decisions

and will be experienced in executing justice. ⁷² 

Yesaya 16:9

16:9 So I weep along with Jazer ⁷³ 

over the vines of Sibmah.

I will saturate you ⁷⁴  with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,

for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly

over your fruit and crops. ⁷⁵ 

Yesaya 17:8-10

17:8 They will no longer trust in ⁷⁶  the altars their hands made,

or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. ⁷⁷ 

17:9 At that time ⁷⁸  their fortified cities will be

like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, ⁷⁹ 

which they abandoned because of the Israelites;

there will be desolation.

17:10 For you ignore ⁸⁰  the God who rescues you;

you pay no attention to your strong protector. ⁸¹ 

So this is what happens:

You cultivate beautiful plants

and plant exotic vines. ⁸² 

Yesaya 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ⁸³ 

by morning they vanish. ⁸⁴ 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ⁸⁵ 

Yesaya 19:17

19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them. ⁸⁶ 

Yesaya 22:23

22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; ⁸⁷  he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. ⁸⁸ 

Yesaya 24:6

24:6 So a treaty curse ⁸⁹  devours the earth;

its inhabitants pay for their guilt. ⁹⁰ 

This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, ⁹¹ 

and are reduced to just a handful of people. ⁹² 

Yesaya 24:13

24:13 This is what will happen throughout ⁹³  the earth,

among the nations.

It will be like when they beat an olive tree,

and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. ⁹⁴ 

Yesaya 24:15

24:15 So in the east ⁹⁵  extol the Lord,

along the seacoasts extol ⁹⁶  the fame ⁹⁷  of the Lord God of Israel.

Yesaya 24:22

24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, ⁹⁸ 

locked up in a prison,

and after staying there for a long time, ⁹⁹  they will be punished. ¹⁰⁰ 

Yesaya 26:1

Judah Will Celebrate

26:1 At that time ¹⁰¹  this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city!

The Lord’s ¹⁰²  deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. ¹⁰³ 

Yesaya 26:14

26:14 The dead do not come back to life,

the spirits of the dead do not rise. ¹⁰⁴ 

That is because ¹⁰⁵  you came in judgment ¹⁰⁶  and destroyed them,

you wiped out all memory of them.

Yesaya 26:17

26:17 As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver

and strains and cries out because of her labor pains,

so were we because of you, O Lord.

Yesaya 27:10

27:10 For the fortified city ¹⁰⁷  is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the desert.

Calves ¹⁰⁸  graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare. ¹⁰⁹ 

Yesaya 28:6

28:6 He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions,

and strength to those who defend the city from attackers. ¹¹⁰ 

Yesaya 28:9

28:9 Who is the Lord ¹¹¹  trying to teach?

To whom is he explaining a message? ¹¹² 

Those just weaned from milk!

Those just taken from their mother’s breast! ¹¹³ 

Yesaya 30:32

30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, ¹¹⁴ 

with which the Lord will beat them, ¹¹⁵ 

will be accompanied by music from the ¹¹⁶  tambourine and harp,

and he will attack them with his weapons. ¹¹⁷ 

Yesaya 32:7

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; ¹¹⁸ 

he dreams up evil plans ¹¹⁹ 

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right. ¹²⁰ 

Yesaya 32:10

32:10 In a year’s time ¹²¹ 

you carefree ones will shake with fear,

for the grape ¹²²  harvest will fail,

and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

Yesaya 33:8

33:8 Highways are empty, ¹²³ 

there are no travelers. ¹²⁴ 

Treaties are broken, ¹²⁵ 

witnesses are despised, ¹²⁶ 

human life is treated with disrespect. ¹²⁷ 

Yesaya 33:22

33:22 For the Lord, our ruler,

the Lord, our commander,

the Lord, our king –

he will deliver us.

Yesaya 35:4

35:4 Tell those who panic, ¹²⁸ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ¹²⁹ 

Yesaya 37:16

37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! ¹³⁰  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ¹³¹  and the earth.

Yesaya 38:14-15

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

I coo ¹³²  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ¹³³ 

O sovereign master, ¹³⁴  I am oppressed;

help me! ¹³⁵ 

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ¹³⁶ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ¹³⁷ 

Yesaya 40:10

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ¹³⁸ 

his military power establishes his rule. ¹³⁹ 

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him. ¹⁴⁰ 

Yesaya 40:15

40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales.

He lifts ¹⁴¹  the coastlands ¹⁴²  as if they were dust.

Yesaya 42:14

42:14 “I have been inactive ¹⁴³  for a long time;

I kept quiet and held back.

Like a woman in labor I groan;

I pant and gasp. ¹⁴⁴ 

Yesaya 44:11

44:11 Look, all his associates ¹⁴⁵  will be put to shame;

the craftsmen are mere humans. ¹⁴⁶ 

Let them all assemble and take their stand!

They will panic and be put to shame.

Yesaya 44:16

44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –

over that half he cooks ¹⁴⁷  meat;

he roasts a meal and fills himself.

Yes, he warms himself and says,

‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’

Yesaya 45:24

45:24 they will say about me,

“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” ¹⁴⁸ 

All who are angry at him will cower before him. ¹⁴⁹ 

Yesaya 47:1

Babylon Will Fall

47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,

O virgin ¹⁵⁰  daughter Babylon!

Sit on the ground, not on a throne,

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ¹⁵¹  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

Yesaya 49:19

49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;

it is desolate and devastated. ¹⁵² 

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

and those who devoured you will be far away.

Yesaya 51:9

51:9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ¹⁵³ 

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash ¹⁵⁴  the Proud One? ¹⁵⁵ 

Did you not ¹⁵⁶  wound the sea monster? ¹⁵⁷ 

Yesaya 51:20

51:20 Your children faint;

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a snare.

They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,

by the battle cry of your God. ¹⁵⁸ 

Yesaya 51:23

51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors ¹⁵⁹ 

who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’

You made your back like the ground,

and like the street for those who walked over you.”

Yesaya 53:9

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, ¹⁶⁰ 

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, ¹⁶¹ 

because ¹⁶²  he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Yesaya 55:5

55:5 Look, you will summon nations ¹⁶³  you did not previously know;

nations ¹⁶⁴  that did not previously know you will run to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ¹⁶⁵ 

for he bestows honor on you.

Yesaya 56:4

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ¹⁶⁶  my covenant,

Yesaya 56:11-12

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ¹⁶⁷ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ¹⁶⁸ 

56:12 Each one says, ¹⁶⁹ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ¹⁷⁰ 

Yesaya 57:10

57:10 Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, ¹⁷¹ 

but you do not say, ‘I give up.’ ¹⁷² 

You get renewed energy, ¹⁷³ 

so you don’t collapse. ¹⁷⁴ 

Yesaya 57:17

57:17 I was angry because of their sinful greed;

I attacked them and angrily rejected them, ¹⁷⁵ 

yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. ¹⁷⁶ 

Yesaya 59:16

The Lord Intervenes

59:16 He sees there is no advocate; ¹⁷⁷ 

he is shocked ¹⁷⁸  that no one intervenes.

So he takes matters into his own hands; ¹⁷⁹ 

his desire for justice drives him on. ¹⁸⁰ 

Yesaya 59:18

59:18 He repays them for what they have done,

dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries

and punishing his enemies. ¹⁸¹ 

He repays the coastlands. ¹⁸² 

Yesaya 60:11

60:11 Your gates will remain open at all times;

they will not be shut during the day or at night,

so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,

with their kings leading the way. ¹⁸³ 

Yesaya 60:15

60:15 You were once abandoned

and despised, with no one passing through,

but I will make you ¹⁸⁴  a permanent source of pride

and joy to coming generations.

Yesaya 65:4

65:4 They sit among the tombs ¹⁸⁵ 

and keep watch all night long. ¹⁸⁶ 

They eat pork, ¹⁸⁷ 

and broth ¹⁸⁸  from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

Yesaya 65:11

65:11 But as for you who abandon the Lord

and forget about worshiping at ¹⁸⁹  my holy mountain,

who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’ ¹⁹⁰ 

and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’ ¹⁹¹  –

Yesaya 66:12

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ¹⁹² 

You will nurse from her breast ¹⁹³  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

[1:5]  ¹ sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”

[1:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x. Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the mss or ancient versions. Such an emendation finds support from the following context (vv. 9-10) and usage of the preceding noun מַהְפֵּכָה (mahpekhah, “overthrow”). In its five other uses, this noun is associated with the destruction of Sodom. If one accepts the emendation, then one might translate, “the devastation resembles the destruction of Sodom.”

[4:3]  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.

[4:3]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:3]  ⁹ tn Or “set apart,” cf. CEV “special.”

[4:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all who are written down for life in Jerusalem.” A city register is envisioned; everyone whose name appears on the roll will be spared. This group comprises the remnant of the city referred to earlier in the verse.

[5:1]  ¹¹ tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.

[5:1]  ¹² sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).

[5:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a ten-yoke vineyard.” The Hebrew term צֶמֶד (tsemed, “yoke”) is here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown.

[5:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one bath.” A bath was a liquid measure. Estimates of its modern equivalent range from approximately six to twelve gallons.

[5:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a homer.” A homer was a dry measure, the exact size of which is debated. Cf. NCV “ten bushels”; CEV “five bushels.”

[5:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure; there were ten ephahs in a homer. So this verse envisions major crop failure, where only one-tenth of the anticipated harvest is realized.

[5:13]  ¹⁸ sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.

[5:13]  ¹⁹ tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.

[5:13]  ²⁰ tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”

[5:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (mÿtey, “men of”) as מִתֵי (mitey, “dead ones of”).

[5:13]  ²² tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”

[5:13]  ²³ tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”

[5:30]  ²⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ²⁵ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ²⁶ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[5:30]  sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).

[7:14]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ sn The name Immanuel means “God [is] with us.”

[7:21]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:25]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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.

[10:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “except one kneels in the place of the prisoner, and in the place of the slain [who] fall.” On the force of בִּלְתִּי (bilti, “except”) and its logical connection to what precedes, see BDB 116 s.v. בֵלֶת. On the force of תַּחַת (takhat, “in the place of”) here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:258, n. 6.

[10:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in all this his anger was not turned, and still his hand was outstretched”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “his had is stretched out still.”

[10:4]  sn See the note at 9:12.

[10:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[10:16]  ⁴⁰ sn The irrational arrogance of the Assyrians (v. 15) will prompt the judgment about to be described.

[10:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “will send leanness against his healthy ones”; NASB, NIV “will send a wasting disease.”

[10:16]  ⁴² tc Heb “and in the place of his glory burning will burn, like the burning of fire.” The highly repetitive text (יֵקַד יְקֹד כִּיקוֹד אֵשׁ, yeqad yiqod kiqod ’esh) may be dittographic; if the second consonantal sequence יקד is omitted, the text would read “and in the place of his glory, it will burn like the burning of fire.”

[10:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “from breath to flesh it will destroy.” The expression “from breath to flesh” refers to the two basic components of a person, the immaterial (life’s breath) and the material (flesh). Here the phrase is used idiomatically to indicate totality.

[10:18]  ⁴⁴ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. מָסַס (masas), which is used elsewhere of substances dissolving or melting, may here mean “waste away” or “despair.” נָסַס (nasas), which appears only here, may mean “be sick” or “stagger, despair.” See BDB 651 s.v. I נָסַס and HALOT 703 s.v. I נסס. One might translate the line literally, “like the wasting away of one who is sick” (cf. NRSV “as when an invalid wastes away”).

[10:26]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”

[10:26]  ⁴⁶ sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.

[10:26]  ⁴⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.

[10:33]  ⁴⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  sn As in vv. 12 (see the note there) and 18, the Assyrians are compared to a tree/forest in vv. 33-34.

[10:33]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[11:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[11:10]  ⁵² tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:10]  ⁵³ sn See the note at v. 1.

[11:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].

[13:2]  ⁵⁵ sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).

[13:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “like a gazelle being chased.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[13:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “his people” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “his nation” (cf. TEV “their own countries”).

[13:21]  ⁵⁸ tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[13:21]  ⁵⁹ tn The precise referent of this word in uncertain. See HALOT 29 s.v. *אֹחַ. Various English versions translate as “owls” (e.g., NAB, NASB), “wild dogs” (NCV); “jackals” (NIV); “howling creatures” (NRSV, NLT).

[13:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “will skip there.”

[13:22]  ⁶¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).

[13:22]  ⁶² tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ⁶³ sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[14:13]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ⁶⁵ sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ⁶⁶ sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[14:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).

[14:21]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”

[14:21]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “for the sin of their fathers.”

[14:21]  ⁷⁰ sn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:320, n. 10) suggests that the garrison cities of the mighty empire are in view here.

[16:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”

[16:5]  ⁷² tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”

[16:9]  ⁷³ tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).

[16:9]  ⁷⁴ tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).

[16:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”

[17:8]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “he will not gaze toward.”

[17:8]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and that which his fingers made he will not see, the Asherah poles and the incense altars.”

[17:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[17:9]  ⁷⁹ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “like the abandonment of the wooded height and the top one.” The following relative clause appears to allude back to the Israelite conquest of the land, so it seems preferable to emend הַחֹרֶשׁ וְהָאָמִיר (hakhoresh vÿha’amir, “the wooded height and the top one”) to חֹרֵשֵׁי הָאֱמֹרִי (khoreshe ha’emori, “[like the abandonment] of the wooded heights of the Amorites”).

[17:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[17:10]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”

[17:10]  ⁸² tn Heb “a vine, a strange one.” The substantival adjective זָר (zar) functions here as an appositional genitive. It could refer to a cultic plant of some type, associated with a pagan rite. But it is more likely that it refers to an exotic, or imported, type of vine, one that is foreign (i.e., “strange”) to Israel.

[17:14]  ⁸³ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[19:17]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and the land of Judah will become [a source of] shame to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it [i.e., the land of Judah] will fear because of the plan of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] which he is planning against him.”

[22:23]  ⁸⁷ sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.

[22:23]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”

[24:6]  ⁸⁹ sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.

[24:6]  ⁹⁰ tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).

[24:6]  ⁹¹ tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).

[24:6]  ⁹² tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”

[24:13]  ⁹³ tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[24:13]  ⁹⁴ sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.

[24:15]  ⁹⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).

[24:15]  ⁹⁶ tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

[24:15]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.

[24:22]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.

[24:22]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”

[24:22]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”

[26:1]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).

[26:1]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:1]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”

[26:14]  ¹⁰⁴ sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.

[26:14]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen) normally indicates a cause-effect relationship between what precedes and follows and is translated, “therefore.” Here, however, it infers the cause from the effect and brings out what is implicit in the previous statement. See BDB 487 s.v.

[26:14]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”

[27:10]  ¹⁰⁷ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

[27:10]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.

[27:10]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.

[28:6]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “and [he will become] a spirit of justice for the one who sits [i.e., presides] over judgment, // and strength [for] the ones who turn back battle at the city gate.” The Lord will provide internal stability and national security.

[28:9]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:9]  ¹¹² tn Heb “Who is he teaching knowledge? For whom is he explaining a message?” The translation assumes that the Lord is the subject of the verbs “teaching” and “explaining,” and that the prophet is asking the questions. See v. 12. According to some vv. 9-10 record the people’s sarcastic response to the Lord’s message through Isaiah.

[28:9]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “from the breasts.” The words “their mother’s” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation assumes that this is the prophet’s answer to the questions asked in the first half of the verse. The Lord is trying to instruct people who are “infants” morally and ethically.

[30:32]  ¹¹⁴ tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).

[30:32]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”

[30:32]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).

[30:32]  ¹¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvÿmilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.

[32:7]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”

[32:7]  ¹¹⁹ tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”

[32:7]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

[32:10]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “days upon a year.”

[32:10]  ¹²² tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.

[33:8]  ¹²³ tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”

[33:8]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”

[33:8]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”

[33:8]  ¹²⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “he despises cities.” The term עָרִים (’arim, “cities”) is probably a corruption of an original עֵדִים (’edim, “[legal] witnesses”), a reading that is preserved in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a. Confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר) is a well-attested scribal error.

[33:8]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”

[35:4]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ¹²⁹ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[37:16]  ¹³⁰ sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.

[37:16]  ¹³¹ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[38:14]  ¹³² tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ¹³³ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ¹³⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ¹³⁵ 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.

[38:15]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”

[38:15]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

[40:10]  ¹³⁸ 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]  ¹³⁹ 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]  ¹⁴⁰ 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.

[40:15]  ¹⁴¹ tn Or “weighs” (NIV); NLT “picks up.”

[40:15]  ¹⁴² tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV, NLT).

[42:14]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”

[42:14]  ¹⁴⁴ sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.

[44:11]  ¹⁴⁵ tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.

[44:11]  ¹⁴⁶ sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”

[44:16]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “eats” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “roasts.”

[45:24]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”

[45:24]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”

[47:1]  ¹⁵⁰ tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).

[47:1]  ¹⁵¹ tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[49:19]  ¹⁵² 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.

[51:9]  ¹⁵³ tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.

[51:9]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”

[51:9]  ¹⁵⁵ tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).

[51:9]  ¹⁵⁶ tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”

[51:9]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.

[51:20]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”

[51:23]  ¹⁵⁹ tn That is, to make them drink it.

[53:9]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.

[53:9]  ¹⁶¹ tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.

[53:9]  ¹⁶² tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”

[55:5]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs in the next line indicate (note that both “know” and “run” are third plural forms).

[55:5]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs that follow indicate.

[55:5]  ¹⁶⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[56:4]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[56:11]  ¹⁶⁷ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ¹⁶⁹ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[57:10]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “by the greatness [i.e., “length,” see BDB 914 s.v. רֹב 2] of your way you get tired.”

[57:10]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “it is hopeless” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NRSV “It is useless.”

[57:10]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “the life of your hand you find.” The term חַיָּה (khayyah, “life”) is here used in the sense of “renewal” (see BDB 312 s.v.) while יָד (yad) is used of “strength.”

[57:10]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “you do not grow weak.”

[57:17]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “and I struck him, hiding, and I was angry.” פָּנַיִם (panayim, “face”) is the implied object of “hiding.”

[57:17]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “and he walked [as an] apostate in the way of his heart.”

[59:16]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”

[59:16]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”

[59:16]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”

[59:16]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”

[59:18]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”

[59:18]  ¹⁸² tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).

[60:11]  ¹⁸³ tn Or “led in procession.” The participle is passive.

[60:15]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “Instead of your being abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, I will make you.”

[65:4]  ¹⁸⁵ sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.

[65:4]  ¹⁸⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (nÿtsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).

[65:4]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”

[65:4]  ¹⁸⁸ tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, reads מְרַק (mÿraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (feraq, “fragment”).

[65:11]  ¹⁸⁹ tn The Hebrew text has simply, “forget.” The words “about worshiping at” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[65:11]  ¹⁹⁰ tn The Hebrew has לַגַּד (laggad, “for Gad”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 176 s.v. II גַּד 2.

[65:11]  ¹⁹¹ tn The Hebrew has לַמְנִי (lamni, “for Meni”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 602 s.v. מְגִי.

[66:12]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ¹⁹³ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).