Yesaya 2:3

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ¹  he can teach us his requirements, ² 

and ³  we can follow his standards.” ⁴ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ⁵ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Yesaya 31:4

The Lord Will Defend Zion

31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:

“The Lord will be like a growling lion,

like a young lion growling over its prey. ⁷ 

Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,

it is not afraid of their shouts

or intimidated by their yelling. ⁸ 

In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. ⁹ 

Yesaya 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹⁰  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ¹¹ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ¹² 

[2:3]  ¹ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[31:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”

[31:4]  ⁹ tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.

[57:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ¹² tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”