Yesaya 2:2

2:2 In the future ¹ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ² 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ³ 

All the nations will stream to it,

Yesaya 5:6

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ⁴ 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

Yesaya 5:26

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ⁵ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ⁶  come quickly and swiftly.

Yesaya 8:5

8:5 The Lord spoke to me again:

Yesaya 8:9

8:9 You will be broken, ⁷  O nations;

you will be shattered! ⁸ 

Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered! ⁹ 

Yesaya 9:8

God’s Judgment Intensifies

9:8 ¹⁰ The sovereign master ¹¹  decreed judgment ¹²  on Jacob,

and it fell on Israel. ¹³ 

Yesaya 9:20

9:20 They devoured ¹⁴  on the right, but were still hungry,

they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.

People even ate ¹⁵  the flesh of their own arm! ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 10:27

10:27 At that time ¹⁷ 

the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders, ¹⁸ 

and their yoke from your neck;

the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 11:10

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time ²⁰  a root from Jesse ²¹  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, ²²  and his residence will be majestic.

Yesaya 12:1

12:1 At that time ²³  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

Yesaya 14:9

14:9 Sheol ²⁴  below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses ²⁵  the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth; ²⁶ 

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 19:18

19:18 At that time five cities ²⁸  in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 26:1

Judah Will Celebrate

26:1 At that time ³⁰  this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city!

The Lord’s ³¹  deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. ³² 

Yesaya 26:14

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

the spirits of the dead do not rise. ³³ 

That is because ³⁴  you came in judgment ³⁵  and destroyed them,

you wiped out all memory of them.

Yesaya 27:12

27:12 At that time ³⁶  the Lord will shake the tree, ³⁷  from the Euphrates River ³⁸  to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ³⁹ 

Yesaya 38:12

38:12 My dwelling place ⁴⁰  is removed and taken away ⁴¹  from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; ⁴² 

from the loom he cuts me off. ⁴³ 

You turn day into night and end my life. ⁴⁴ 

Yesaya 38:15

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ⁴⁵ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ⁴⁶ 

Yesaya 39:3

39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.”

Yesaya 45:3

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ⁴⁷ 

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

Yesaya 47:10

47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; ⁴⁸ 

you thought, ⁴⁹  ‘No one sees me.’

Your self-professed ⁵⁰  wisdom and knowledge lead you astray,

when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ ⁵¹ 

Yesaya 51:19

51:19 These double disasters confronted you.

But who feels sorry for you?

Destruction and devastation,

famine and sword.

But who consoles you? ⁵² 

Yesaya 59:11

59:11 We all growl like bears,

we coo mournfully like doves;

we wait for deliverance, ⁵³  but there is none,

for salvation, but it is far from us.

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

[2:2]  ² tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.

[5:26]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.

[5:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.

[8:9]  ⁷ tn The verb רֹעוּ (ro’u) is a Qal imperative, masculine plural from רָעַע (ra’a’, “break”). Elsewhere both transitive (Job 34:24; Ps 2:9; Jer 15:12) and intransitive (Prov 25:19; Jer 11:16) senses are attested for the Qal of this verb. Because no object appears here, the form is likely intransitive: “be broken.” In this case the imperative is rhetorical (like “be shattered” later in the verse) and equivalent to a prediction, “you will be broken.” On the rhetorical use of the imperative in general, see IBHS 572 §34.4c; GKC 324 §110.c.

[8:9]  ⁸ tn The imperatival form (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speaker’s firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. See the note on “be broken.”

[8:9]  ⁹ tn The initial imperative (“get ready for battle”) acknowledges the reality of the nations’ hostility; the concluding imperative (Heb “be shattered”) is rhetorical and expresses the speakers’ firm conviction of the outcome of the nations’ attack. (See the note on “be broken.”) One could paraphrase, “Okay, go ahead and prepare for battle since that’s what you want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll be shattered.” This rhetorical use of the imperatives is comparable to saying to a child who is bent on climbing a high tree, “Okay, go ahead, climb the tree and break your arm!” What this really means is: “Okay, go ahead and climb the tree since that’s what you really want to do, but your actions will backfire and you’ll break your arm.” The repetition of the statement in the final two lines of the verse gives the challenge the flavor of a taunt (ancient Israelite “trash talking,” as it were).

[9:8]  ¹⁰ sn The following speech (9:8-10:4) assumes that God has already sent judgment (see v. 9), but it also announces that further judgment is around the corner (10:1-4). The speech seems to describe a series of past judgments on the northern kingdom which is ready to intensify further in the devastation announced in 10:1-4. It may have been written prior to the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom in 734-733 b.c., or sometime between that invasion and the downfall of Samaria in 722 b.c. The structure of the speech displays four panels, each of which ends with the refrain, “Through all this, his anger did not subside; his hand remained outstretched” (9:12b; 17b; 21b; 10:4b): Panel I: (A) Description of past judgment (9:8); (B) Description of the people’s attitude toward past judgment (9:9-10); (C) Description of past judgment (9:11-12a); (D) Refrain (9:12b); Panel II: (A) Description of the people’s attitude toward past judgment (9:13); (B) Description of past judgment (9:14-17a); (C) Refrain (9:17b); Panel III: (A) Description of past judgment (9:18-21a); (B) Refrain (9:21b); Panel IV: (A) Woe oracle announcing future judgment (10:1-4a); (B) Refrain (10:4b).

[9:8]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 17 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:8]  ¹² tn Heb “sent a word” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB “sends a message.”

[9:8]  ¹³ tn The present translation assumes that this verse refers to judgment that had already fallen. Both verbs (perfects) are taken as indicating simple past; the vav (ו) on the second verb is understood as a simple vav conjunctive. Another option is to understand the verse as describing a future judgment (see 10:1-4). In this case the first verb is a perfect of certitude; the vav on the second verb is a vav consecutive.

[9:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “cut.” The verb גָּזַר (gazar) means “to cut.” If it is understood here, then one might paraphrase, “They slice off meat on the right.” However, HALOT 187 s.v. I גזר, proposes here a rare homonym meaning “to devour.”

[9:20]  ¹⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[9:20]  ¹⁶ tn Some suggest that זְרֹעוֹ (zÿro’o, “his arm”) be repointed זַרְעוֹ (zar’o, “his offspring”). In either case, the metaphor is that of a desperately hungry man who resorts to an almost unthinkable act to satisfy his appetite. He eats everything he can find to his right, but still being unsatisfied, then turns to his left and eats everything he can find there. Still being desperate for food, he then resorts to eating his own flesh (or offspring, as this phrase is metaphorically understood by some English versions, e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT). The reality behind the metaphor is the political turmoil of the period, as the next verse explains. There was civil strife within the northern kingdom; even the descendants of Joseph were at each other’s throats. Then the northern kingdom turned on their southern brother, Judah.

[10:27]  ¹⁷ 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.

[10:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he [i.e., the Lord] will remove his [i.e, Assyria’s] burden from upon your shoulder.”

[10:27]  ¹⁹ tc The meaning of this line is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads literally, “and the yoke will be destroyed (or perhaps, “pulled down”) because of fatness.” Perhaps this is a bizarre picture of an ox growing so fat that it breaks the yoke around its neck or can no longer fit into its yoke. Fatness would symbolize the Lord’s restored blessings; the removal of the yoke would symbolize the cessation of Assyrian oppression. Because of the difficulty of the metaphor, many prefer to emend the text at this point. Some emend וְחֻבַּל (vÿkhubbal, “and it will be destroyed,” a perfect with prefixed vav), to יִחְבֹּל (yikhbol, “[it] will be destroyed,” an imperfect), and take the verb with what precedes, “and their yoke will be destroyed from your neck.” Proponents of this view (cf. NAB, NRSV) then emend עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) to עָלָה (’alah, “he came up”) and understand this verb as introducing the following description of the Assyrian invasion (vv. 28-32). מִפְּנֵי־שָׁמֶן (mippÿney-shamen, “because of fatness”) is then emended to read “from before Rimmon” (NAB, NRSV), “from before Samaria,” or “from before Jeshimon.” Although this line may present difficulties, it appears best to regard the line as a graphic depiction of God’s abundant blessings on his servant nation.

[11:10]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ sn See the note at v. 1.

[11:10]  ²² tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].

[12:1]  ²³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[14:9]  ²⁴ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.

[14:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.

[19:18]  ²⁸ sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.

[19:18]  ²⁹ tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and some medieval Hebrew mss read עִיר הָחֶרֶס (’ir hakheres, “City of the Sun,” i.e., Heliopolis). This reading also finds support from Symmachus’ Greek version, the Targum, and the Vulgate. See HALOT 257 s.v. חֶרֶס and HALOT 355 s.v. II חֶרֶס.

[26:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).

[26:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:1]  ³² tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”

[26:14]  ³³ sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.

[26:14]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”

[27:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and it will be 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.

[27:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the Lord will beat out.” The verb is used of beating seeds or grain to separate the husk from the kernel (see Judg 6:11; Ruth 2:17; Isa 28:27), and of beating the olives off the olive tree (Deut 24:20). The latter metaphor may be in view here, where a tree metaphor has been employed in the preceding verses. See also 17:6.

[27:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the river,” a frequent designation in the OT for the Euphrates. For clarity most modern English versions substitute the name “Euphrates” for “the river” here.

[27:12]  ³⁹ sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).

[38:12]  ⁴⁰ tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.

[38:12]  ⁴¹ tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”

[38:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).

[38:12]  ⁴³ sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.

[38:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[38:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”

[38:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

[45:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[47:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”

[47:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”

[47:10]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[47:10]  ⁵¹ tn See the note at v. 8.

[51:19]  ⁵² tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.

[59:11]  ⁵³ tn See the note at v. 9.