Yesaya 17:8

17:8 They will no longer trust in ¹  the altars their hands made,

or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. ² 

Yesaya 17:11

17:11 The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; ³ 

the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout.

Yet the harvest will disappear ⁴  in the day of disease

and incurable pain.

Yesaya 30:12

30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

“You have rejected this message; ⁵ 

you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, ⁶ 

and rely on that kind of behavior. ⁷ 

Yesaya 30:15

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ⁸ 

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ⁹ 

but you are unwilling.

Yesaya 42:3

42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,

a dim wick he will not extinguish; ¹⁰ 

he will faithfully make just decrees. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Yesaya 58:4

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ¹²  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ¹³ 

Do not fast as you do today,

trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

[17:8]  ¹ tn Heb “he will not gaze toward.”

[17:8]  ² tn Heb “and that which his fingers made he will not see, the Asherah poles and the incense altars.”

[17:11]  ³ tn Heb “in the day of your planting you [?].” The precise meaning of the verb תְּשַׂגְשֵׂגִי (tÿsagsegi) is unclear. It is sometimes derived from שׂוּג/סוּג (sug, “to fence in”; see BDB 691 s.v. II סוּג). In this case one could translate “you build a protective fence.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one derives the form from שָׂגָא/שָׂגָה (saga’/sagah, “to grow”); see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:351, n. 4. For this verb, see BDB 960 s.v. שָׂגָא.

[17:11]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has, “a heap of harvest.” However, better sense is achieved if נֵד (ned, “heap”) is emended to a verb. Options include נַד (nad, Qal perfect third masculine singular from נָדַד [nadad, “flee, depart”]), נָדַד (Qal perfect third masculine singular from נָדַד), נֹדֵד (noded, Qal active participle from נָדַד), and נָד (nad, Qal perfect third masculine singular, or participle masculine singular, from נוּד [nud, “wander, flutter”]). See BDB 626 s.v. נוּד and HALOT 672 s.v. I נדד. One could translate literally: “[the harvest] departs,” or “[the harvest] flies away.”

[30:12]  ⁵ tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.

[30:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”

[30:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”

[30:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[30:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).

[42:3]  ¹⁰ sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

[42:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[58:4]  ¹² tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”