Yesaya 1:9

1:9 If the Lord who commands armies ¹  had not left us a few survivors,

we would have quickly become like Sodom, ² 

we would have become like Gomorrah.

Yesaya 1:24

1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ³ 

the powerful ruler of Israel, ⁴  says this:

“Ah, I will seek vengeance ⁵  against my adversaries,

I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁶ 

Yesaya 2:12

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, ⁷ 

for ⁸  all the high and mighty,

for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

Yesaya 3:15

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ⁹ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ¹⁰  has spoken.

Yesaya 8:13

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. ¹¹ 

He is the one you must respect;

he is the one you must fear. ¹² 

Yesaya 9:13

9:13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,

they did not seek reconciliation ¹³  with the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 10:23

10:23 The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 10:33

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

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ¹⁵ 

The tallest trees ¹⁶  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Yesaya 14:23

14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals ¹⁷ 

and covered with pools of stagnant water.

I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” ¹⁸ 

says the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 14:27

14:27 Indeed, ¹⁹  the Lord who commands armies has a plan,

and who can possibly frustrate it?

His hand is ready to strike,

and who can possibly stop it? ²⁰ 

Yesaya 21:10

21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, ²¹ 

what I have heard

from the Lord who commands armies,

the God of Israel,

I have reported to you.

Yesaya 22:12

22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,

for shaved heads and sackcloth. ²² 

Yesaya 23:9

23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –

to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, ²³ 

to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

Yesaya 28:5

28:5 At that time ²⁴  the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown

and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

Yesaya 28:29

28:29 This also comes from the Lord who commands armies,

who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 31:5

31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, ²⁶ 

so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. ²⁷ 

He will protect and deliver it;

as he passes over ²⁸  he will rescue it.

Yesaya 37:32

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ²⁹  will accomplish this.

Yesaya 48:2

48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; ³⁰ 

they trust in ³¹  the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 51:15

51:15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!

[1:9]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.

[1:9]  ² tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kim’at, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.

[1:24]  ³ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”

[1:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”

[1:24]  ⁶ sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[3:15]  ⁹ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[3:15]  sn The use of this title, which also appears in v. 1, forms an inclusio around vv. 1-15. The speech begins and ends with a reference to “the master, the Lord who commands armies.”

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], him you must set apart.” The word order is emphatic, with the object being placed first.

[8:13]  ¹² tn Heb “he is your [object of] fear, he is your [object of] terror.” The roots יָרֵא (yare’) and עָרַץ (’arats) are repeated from v. 12b.

[9:13]  ¹³ tn This verse describes the people’s response to the judgment described in vv. 11-12. The perfects are understood as indicating simple past.

[10:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Indeed (or perhaps “for”) destruction and what is decreed the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is about to accomplish in the middle of all the land.” The phrase כָלָא וְנֶחֱרָצָה (khala’ venekheratsah, “destruction and what is decreed”) is a hendiadys; the two terms express one idea, with the second qualifying the first.

[10:33]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[14:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).

[14:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”

[14:27]  ¹⁹ tn Or “For” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “His hand is outstretched and who will turn it back?”

[21:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”

[22:12]  ²² tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.

[23:9]  ²³ tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”

[28:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[28:29]  ²⁵ sn Verses 23-29 emphasize that God possesses great wisdom and has established a natural order. Evidence of this can be seen in the way farmers utilize divinely imparted wisdom to grow and harvest crops. God’s dealings with his people will exhibit this same kind of wisdom and order. Judgment will be accomplished according to a divinely ordered timetable and, while severe enough, will not be excessive. Judgment must come, just as planting inevitably follows plowing. God will, as it were, thresh his people, but he will not crush them to the point where they will be of no use to him.

[31:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:5]  ²⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:5]  ²⁸ tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.

[37:32]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[48:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.

[48:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”