Yesaya 2:6

The Lord’s Day of Judgment

2:6 Indeed, O Lord, ¹  you have abandoned your people,

the descendants of Jacob.

For diviners from the east are everywhere; ² 

they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. ³ 

Plenty of foreigners are around. ⁴ 

Yesaya 10:3

10:3 What will you do on judgment day, ⁵ 

when destruction arrives from a distant place?

To whom will you run for help?

Where will you leave your wealth?

Yesaya 14:2

14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. ⁶  They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.

Yesaya 16:4

16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live ⁷  among you.

Hide them ⁸  from the destroyer!”

Certainly ⁹  the one who applies pressure will cease, ¹⁰ 

the destroyer will come to an end,

those who trample will disappear ¹¹  from the earth.

Yesaya 17:13

17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, ¹² 

when he shouts at ¹³  them, they will flee to a distant land,

driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,

or like dead thistles ¹⁴  before a strong gale.

Yesaya 22:11

22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls

for the water of the old pool –

but you did not trust in ¹⁵  the one who made it; ¹⁶ 

you did not depend on ¹⁷  the one who formed it long ago!

Yesaya 30:6

30:6 This is a message ¹⁸  about the animals in the Negev:

Through a land of distress and danger,

inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, ¹⁹ 

by snakes and darting adders, ²⁰ 

they transport ²¹  their wealth on the backs of donkeys,

their riches on the humps of camels,

to a nation that cannot help them. ²² 

Yesaya 30:23

30:23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,

and the ground will produce crops in abundance. ²³ 

At that time ²⁴  your cattle will graze in wide pastures.

Yesaya 51:3

51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;

he will console all her ruins.

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Happiness and joy will be restored to ²⁵  her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

Yesaya 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ²⁶ 

like a root out of parched soil; ²⁷ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ²⁸ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 53:7

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, ³⁰ 

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth. ³¹ 

Yesaya 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ³² 

Indeed, ³³  you depart from me ³⁴  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ³⁵ 

You purchase favors from them, ³⁶ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ³⁷  on their genitals. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ³⁹  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ⁴⁰ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn The words “O Lord” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Isaiah addresses the Lord in prayer.

[2:6]  ² tc Heb “they are full from the east.” Various scholars retain the BHS reading and suggest that the prophet makes a general statement concerning Israel’s reliance on foreign customs (J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:32; J. de Waard, Isaiah, 12-13). Nevertheless, it appears that a word is missing. Based on the parallelism (note “omen readers” in 5:6c), many suggest that קֹסְמִים (qosÿmim, “diviners”) or מִקְסָם (miqsam, “divination”) has been accidentally omitted. Homoioteleuton could account for the omission of an original קֹסְמִים (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם [miqqedem, “from the east”] both end in mem); an original מִקְסָם could have fallen out by homoioarcton (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם both begin with mem).

[2:6]  ³ tn Heb “and omen readers like the Philistines.” Through this line and the preceding, the prophet contends that Israel has heavily borrowed the pagan practices of the east and west (in violation of Lev 19:26; Deut 18:9-14).

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with the children of foreigners they [?].” The precise meaning of the final word is uncertain. Some take this verb (I שָׂפַק, safaq) to mean “slap,” supply the object “hands,” and translate, “they slap [hands] with foreigners”; HALOT 1349 s.v. I שׂפק. This could be a reference to foreign alliances. This translation has two disadvantages: It requires the conjectural insertion of “hands” and the use of this verb with its object prefixed with a בְּ (bet) preposition with this meaning does not occur elsewhere. The other uses of this verb refer to clapping at someone, an indication of hostility. The translation above assumes the verb is derived from II שׂפק (“to suffice,” attested in the Qal in 1 Kgs 20:10; HALOT 1349 s.v. II שׂפק). In this case the point is that a sufficient number of foreigners (in this case, too many!) live in the land. The disadvantage of this option is that the preposition prefixed to “the children of foreigners” does not occur with this verb elsewhere. The chosen translation is preferred since it continues the idea of abundant foreign influence and does not require a conjectural insertion or emendation.

[10:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the day of visitation” (so KJV, ASV), that is, the day when God arrives to execute justice on the oppressors.

[14:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”

[16:4]  ⁷ tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”

[16:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”

[16:4]  ⁹ tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5.

[16:4]  ¹⁰ tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.

[16:4]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem.

[17:13]  ¹² tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”

[17:13]  ¹³ tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”

[22:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”

[22:11]  ¹⁶ tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.

[22:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “did not see.”

[30:6]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”

[30:6]  ¹⁹ tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.

[30:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.

[30:6]  ²¹ tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:6]  ²² sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.

[30:23]  ²³ tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed which you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”

[30:23]  ²⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[51:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[53:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ²⁷ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:7]  ³⁰ tn The translation assumes the Niphal is passive; another option is take the clause (note the subject + verb pattern) as concessive and the Niphal as reflexive, “though he humbled himself.”

[53:7]  ³¹ sn This verse emphasizes the servant’s silent submission. The comparison to a sheep does not necessarily suggest a sacrificial metaphor. Sheep were slaughtered for food as well as for sacrificial rituals, and טֶבַח (tevakh) need not refer to sacrificial slaughter (see Gen 43:16; Prov 7:22; 9:2; Jer 50:27; note also the use of the related verb in Exod 21:37; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 25:11).

[57:8]  ³² tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ³³ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ³⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ³⁶ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[63:15]  ³⁹ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.