Yesaya 11:2

11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him ¹  –

a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, ² 

a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, ³ 

a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. ⁴ 

Yesaya 31:6

31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! ⁵ 

Yesaya 34:5

34:5 He says, ⁶  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ⁷ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ⁸ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

Yesaya 40:17

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing. ⁹ 

Yesaya 59:1

Injustice Brings Alienation from God

59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak ¹⁰  to deliver you;

his ear is not too deaf to hear you. ¹¹ 

[11:2]  ¹ sn Like David (1 Sam 16:13), this king will be energized by the Lord’s spirit.

[11:2]  ² tn Heb “a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of wisdom he will possess. His wisdom will enable him to make just legal decisions (v. 3). A very similar phrase occurs in Eph 1:17.

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “a spirit of counsel [or “strategy”] and strength.” The construction is a hendiadys; the point is that he will have the strength/ability to execute the plans/strategies he devises. This ability will enable him to suppress oppressors and implement just policies (v. 4).

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” “Knowledge” is used here in its covenantal sense and refers to a recognition of God’s authority and a willingness to submit to it. See Jer 22:16. “Fear” here refers to a healthy respect for God’s authority which produces obedience. Taken together the two terms emphasize the single quality of loyalty to the Lord. This loyalty guarantees that he will make just legal decisions and implement just policies (vv. 4-5).

[31:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.

[34:5]  ⁶ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”

[34:5]  sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.

[34:5]  ⁸ sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.

[40:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”

[59:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[59:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “or his ear too heavy [i.e., “dull”] to hear.”