Yesaya 19:20

19:20 It ¹  will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of ²  the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender ³  who will rescue them.

Yesaya 36:2

36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser ⁴  from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, ⁵  along with a large army. The chief adviser ⁶  stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ⁷ 

Yesaya 36:12

36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ⁸  His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” ⁹ 

Yesaya 50:1

50:1 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

by which I divorced her?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ¹⁰ 

Look, you were sold because of your sins; ¹¹ 

because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ¹² 

Yesaya 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ¹³  me. ¹⁴ 

He has commissioned ¹⁵  me to encourage ¹⁶  the poor,

to help ¹⁷  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

[19:20]  ¹ tn The masculine noun מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbbeakh, “altar”) in v. 19 is probably the subject of the masculine singular verb הָיָה (hayah) rather than the feminine noun מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”), also in v. 19.

[19:20]  ² tn Heb “a sign and a witness to the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] in the land of Egypt.”

[19:20]  ³ tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”

[36:2]  ⁴ sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.

[36:2]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[36:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[36:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

[36:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”

[36:12]  sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.

[50:1]  ¹⁰ sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.

[50:1]  ¹¹ sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.

[50:1]  ¹² sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.

[61:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ¹⁴ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”