Yesaya 2:4

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ¹ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ² 

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Yesaya 3:20

3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, ³  amulets,

Yesaya 5:25

5:25 So the Lord is furious ⁴  with his people;

he lifts ⁵  his hand and strikes them.

The mountains shake,

and corpses lie like manure ⁶  in the middle of the streets.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ⁷ 

Yesaya 6:5

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, ⁸  for my lips are contaminated by sin, ⁹  and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. ¹⁰  My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” ¹¹ 

Yesaya 6:13

6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, ¹²  like one of the large sacred trees ¹³  or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. ¹⁴  That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 14:1

14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; ¹⁶  he will again choose Israel as his special people ¹⁷  and restore ¹⁸  them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family ¹⁹  of Jacob.

Yesaya 14:7

14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;

they break into song.

Yesaya 16:13

16:13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab.

Yesaya 18:7

18:7 At that time

tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,

by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,

a people that are feared far and wide,

a nation strong and victorious,

whose land rivers divide. ²⁰ 

The tribute ²¹  will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. ²² 

Yesaya 19:20

19:20 It ²³  will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of ²⁴  the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender ²⁵  who will rescue them.

Yesaya 23:6

23:6 Travel to Tarshish!

Wail, you residents of the coast!

Yesaya 26:19

26:19 ²⁶ Your dead will come back to life;

your corpses will rise up.

Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! ²⁷ 

For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, ²⁸ 

and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 26:21

26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, ³⁰ 

to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.

The earth will display the blood shed on it;

it will no longer cover up its slain. ³¹ 

Yesaya 28:8

28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;

no place is untouched. ³² 

Yesaya 29:23

29:23 For when they see their children,

whom I will produce among them, ³³ 

they will honor ³⁴  my name.

They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; ³⁵ 

they will respect ³⁶  the God of Israel.

Yesaya 44:13

44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; ³⁷ 

he marks out an outline of its form; ³⁸ 

he scrapes ³⁹  it with chisels,

and marks it with a compass.

He patterns it after the human form, ⁴⁰ 

like a well-built human being,

and puts it in a shrine. ⁴¹ 

Yesaya 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ⁴²  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ⁴³ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ⁴⁴ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Yesaya 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ⁴⁵ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ⁴⁶ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 49:21-22

49:21 Then you will think to yourself, ⁴⁸ 

‘Who bore these children for me?

I was bereaved and barren,

dismissed and divorced. ⁴⁹ 

Who raised these children?

Look, I was left all alone;

where did these children come from?’”

49:22 This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“Look I will raise my hand to the nations;

I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.

They will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Yesaya 50:11

50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with ⁵⁰  flaming arrows, ⁵¹ 

walk ⁵²  in the light ⁵³  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ⁵⁴ 

This is what you will receive from me: ⁵⁵ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ⁵⁶ 

Yesaya 51:13

51:13 Why do you forget ⁵⁷  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ⁵⁸ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ⁵⁹ 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ⁶⁰ 

Yesaya 51:16

Zion’s Time to Celebrate

51:16 I commission you ⁶¹  as my spokesman; ⁶² 

I cover you with the palm of my hand, ⁶³ 

to establish ⁶⁴  the sky and to found the earth,

to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” ⁶⁵ 

Yesaya 58:11

58:11 The Lord will continually lead you;

he will feed you even in parched regions. ⁶⁶ 

He will give you renewed strength, ⁶⁷ 

and you will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring that continually produces water.

Yesaya 58:14

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ⁶⁸ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ⁶⁹ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ⁷⁰ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ⁷¹ 

Yesaya 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ⁷²  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ⁷³  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ⁷⁴ 

the Holy One of Israel, ⁷⁵  for he has bestowed honor on you.

Yesaya 65:8-9

65:8 This is what the Lord says:

“When ⁷⁶  juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ ⁷⁷ 

So I will do for the sake of my servants –

I will not destroy everyone. ⁷⁸ 

65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.

My chosen ones will take possession of the land; ⁷⁹ 

my servants will live there.

Yesaya 65:25

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ⁸⁰ 

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ⁸¹ 

and a snake’s food will be dirt. ⁸² 

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” ⁸³  says the Lord.

[2:4]  ¹ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[2:4]  ² sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.

[3:20]  ³ tn Heb “houses of breath.” HALOT 124 s.v. בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. NAB, NRSV “perfume boxes.”

[5:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”

[5:25]  ⁵ tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”

[5:25]  ⁶ tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”

[5:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”

[6:5]  ⁸ tn Isaiah uses the suffixed (perfect) form of the verb for rhetorical purposes. In this way his destruction is described as occurring or as already completed. Rather than understanding the verb as derived from דָּמַה (damah, “be destroyed”), some take it from a proposed homonymic root דמה, which would mean “be silent.” In this case, one might translate, “I must be silent.”

[6:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man unclean of lips am I.” Isaiah is not qualified to praise the king. His lips (the instruments of praise) are “unclean” because he has been contaminated by sin.

[6:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”

[6:5]  ¹¹ tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[6:13]  ¹² tn Or “be burned” (NRSV); NIV “laid waste.”

[6:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “like a massive tree or like a big tree” (perhaps, “like a terebinth or like an oak”).

[6:13]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “which in the felling, a sacred pillar in them.” Some take מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) as “stump,” and translate, “which, when chopped down, have a stump remaining in them.” But elsewhere מַצֶּבֶת refers to a memorial pillar (2 Sam 18:18) and the word resembles מַצֶּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”). בָּם (bam, “in them”) may be a corruption of בָּמָה (bamah, “high place”; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has במה). אֳשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) becomes a problem in this case, but one might emend the form to וּכְּאֲשֵׁרָה (ukÿ’asherah, “or like an Asherah pole”) and translate, “like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole.” Though the text is difficult, the references to sacred trees and a sacred pillar suggest that the destruction of a high place is in view, an apt metaphor for the judgment of idolatrous Judah.

[6:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a holy offspring [is] its sacred pillar.” If מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) is taken as “stump,” one can see in this statement a brief glimpse of hope. The tree (the nation) is chopped down, but the stump (a righteous remnant) remains from which God can restore the nation. However, if מַצֶּבֶת is taken as “sacred pillar” (מַצֶּבָה, matsevah; see the previous note), it is much more difficult to take the final statement in a positive sense. In this case “holy offspring” alludes to God’s ideal for his covenant people, the offspring of the patriarchs. Ironically that “holy” nation is more like a “sacred pillar” and it will be thrown down like a sacred pillar from a high place and its land destroyed like the sacred trees located at such shrines. Understood in this way, the ironic statement is entirely negative in tone, just like the rest of the preceding announcement of judgment. It also reminds the people of their failure; they did not oppose pagan religion, instead they embraced it. Now they will be destroyed in the same way they should have destroyed paganism.

[14:1]  ¹⁶ tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.

[14:1]  ¹⁷ tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[14:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[18:7]  ²⁰ tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.

[18:7]  ²¹ tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.

[18:7]  ²² tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”

[19:20]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”

[26:19]  ²⁶ sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.

[26:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.

[26:19]  ²⁹ sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).

[26:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).

[26:21]  ³¹ sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.

[28:8]  ³² tn Heb “vomit, without a place.” For the meaning of the phrase בְּלִי מָקוֹם (bÿli maqom, “without a place”), see HALOT 133 s.v. בְּלִי.

[29:23]  ³³ tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”

[29:23]  ³⁴ tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”

[29:23]  ³⁵ sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.

[29:23]  ³⁶ tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”

[44:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”

[44:13]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”

[44:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”

[44:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”

[44:13]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”

[45:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ⁴³ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁴⁶ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁴⁷ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[49:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”

[49:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”

[50:11]  ⁵⁰ tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).

[50:11]  ⁵¹ tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ⁵² tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ⁵³ tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ⁵⁴ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ⁵⁶ sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.

[51:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ⁶⁰ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.

[51:16]  ⁶¹ tn The addressee (second masculine singular, as in vv. 13, 15) in this verse is unclear. The exiles are addressed in the immediately preceding verses (note the critical tone of vv. 12-13 and the reference to the exiles in v. 14). However, it seems unlikely that they are addressed in v. 16, for the addressee appears to be commissioned to tell Zion, who here represents the restored exiles, “you are my people.” The addressee is distinct from the exiles. The language of v. 16a is reminiscent of 49:2 and 50:4, where the Lord’s special servant says he is God’s spokesman and effective instrument. Perhaps the Lord, having spoken to the exiles in vv. 1-15, now responds to this servant, who spoke just prior to this in 50:4-11.

[51:16]  ⁶² tn Heb “I place my words in your mouth.”

[51:16]  ⁶³ tn Heb “with the shadow of my hand.”

[51:16]  ⁶⁴ tc The Hebrew text has לִנְטֹעַ (lintoa’, “to plant”). Several scholars prefer to emend this form to לִנְטֹת (lintot) from נָטָה (natah, “to stretch out”); see v. 13, as well as 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV. However, since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, LXX (and Aquila and Symmachus), and Vulgate support the MT reading, there is no need to emend the form. The interpretation is clear enough: Yahweh fixed the sky in its place.

[51:16]  ⁶⁵ tn The infinitives in v. 16b are most naturally understood as indicating the purpose of the divine actions described in v. 16a. The relationship of the third infinitive to the commission is clear enough – the Lord has made the addressee (his special servant?) his spokesman so that the latter might speak encouraging words to those in Zion. But how do the first two infinitives relate? The text seems to indicate that the Lord has commissioned the addressee so that the latter might create the universe! Perhaps creation imagery is employed metaphorically here to refer to the transformation that Jerusalem will experience (see 65:17-18).

[58:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “he will satisfy in parched regions your appetite.”

[58:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and your bones he will strengthen.”

[58:14]  ⁶⁸ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[60:9]  ⁷² tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ⁷⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[65:8]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “just as.” In the Hebrew text the statement is one long sentence, “Just as…, so I will do….”

[65:8]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “for a blessing is in it.”

[65:8]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “by not destroying everyone.”

[65:9]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to the land which contains the aforementioned mountains.

[65:25]  ⁸⁰ sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.

[65:25]  ⁸¹ sn These words also appear in 11:7.

[65:25]  ⁸² sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)

[65:25]  ⁸³ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.

[65:25]  sn As in 11:1-9 the prophet anticipates a time when the categories predator-prey no longer exist. See the note at the end of 11:8.