Yesaya 24:3

24:3 The earth will be completely devastated

and thoroughly ransacked.

For the Lord has decreed this judgment. ¹ 

Yesaya 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ²  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ³ 

Yesaya 3:14

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ⁴  “It is you ⁵  who have ruined ⁶  the vineyard! ⁷ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁸ 

Yesaya 52:5

52:5 And now, what do we have here?” ⁹  says the Lord.

“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,

those who rule over them taunt,” ¹⁰  says the Lord,

“and my name is constantly slandered ¹¹  all day long.

Yesaya 49:24

49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,

or captives be rescued from a conqueror? ¹² 

Yesaya 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ¹³ 

by morning they vanish. ¹⁴ 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 49:25

49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,

“captives will be taken from a warrior;

spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.

I will oppose your adversary

and I will rescue your children.

Yesaya 42:22

42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;

all of them are trapped in pits ¹⁶ 

and held captive ¹⁷  in prisons.

They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;

they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 10:6

10:6 I sent him ¹⁹  against a godless ²⁰  nation,

I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, ²¹ 

to take plunder and to carry away loot,

to trample them down ²²  like dirt in the streets.

Yesaya 11:14

11:14 They will swoop down ²³  on the Philistine hills to the west; ²⁴ 

together they will loot the people of the east.

They will take over Edom and Moab, ²⁵ 

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

Yesaya 33:23

33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, ²⁶ 

the mast is not secured, ²⁷ 

and the sail ²⁸  is not unfurled,

at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; ²⁹ 

even the lame will drag off plunder. ³⁰ 

Yesaya 59:15

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ³¹ 

for there is no justice.

Yesaya 61:8

61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice

and hate robbery and sin.

I will repay them because of my faithfulness; ³² 

I will make a permanent covenant with them.

Yesaya 42:24

42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?

Who handed Israel over to the looters? ³³ 

Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?

They refused to follow his commands;

they disobeyed his law. ³⁴ 

Yesaya 8:1

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet ³⁵  and inscribe these words ³⁶  on it with an ordinary stylus: ³⁷  ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ ³⁸ 

Yesaya 8:4

8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria ³⁹  will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” ⁴⁰ 

Yesaya 33:4

33:4 Your plunder ⁴¹  disappears as if locusts were eating it; ⁴² 

they swarm over it like locusts! ⁴³ 

Yesaya 10:13

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ⁴⁴ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ⁴⁵  I brought down rulers. ⁴⁶ 

Yesaya 13:16

13:16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;

their houses will be looted

and their wives raped.

Yesaya 16:4

16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live ⁴⁷  among you.

Hide them ⁴⁸  from the destroyer!”

Certainly ⁴⁹  the one who applies pressure will cease, ⁵⁰ 

the destroyer will come to an end,

those who trample will disappear ⁵¹  from the earth.

Yesaya 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ⁵² 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ⁵³ 

Yesaya 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ⁵⁴ 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ⁵⁵ 

because he willingly submitted ⁵⁶  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ⁵⁷  on behalf of the rebels.”

Yesaya 1:7

1:7 Your land is devastated,

your cities burned with fire.

Right before your eyes your crops

are being destroyed by foreign invaders. ⁵⁸ 

They leave behind devastation and destruction. ⁵⁹ 

Yesaya 8:3

8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,

Yesaya 9:3

9:3 You ⁶⁰  have enlarged the nation;

you give them great joy. ⁶¹ 

They rejoice in your presence

as harvesters rejoice;

as warriors celebrate ⁶²  when they divide up the plunder.

Yesaya 9:20

9:20 They devoured ⁶³  on the right, but were still hungry,

they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.

People even ate ⁶⁴  the flesh of their own arm! ⁶⁵ 

Yesaya 33:18

33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ⁶⁶ 

and you will ask yourselves, ⁶⁷  “Where is the scribe?

Where is the one who weighs the money?

Where is the one who counts the towers?” ⁶⁸ 

Yesaya 33:22

33:22 For the Lord, our ruler,

the Lord, our commander,

the Lord, our king –

he will deliver us.

Yesaya 65:22

65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, ⁶⁹ 

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, ⁷⁰ 

for my people will live as long as trees, ⁷¹ 

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced. ⁷² 

[24:3]  ¹ tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”

[10:2]  ² tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[10:2]  sn On the socio-economic background of vv. 1-2, see the note at 1:23.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ⁵ tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ⁶ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ⁷ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

[52:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and now what [following the marginal reading (Qere)] to me here?”

[52:5]  ¹⁰ tn The verb appears to be a Hiphil form from the root יָלַל (yalal, “howl”), perhaps here in the sense of “mock.” Some emend the form to יְהוֹלָּלוֹ (yÿhollalo) and understand a Polel form of the root הָלַל meaning here “mock, taunt.”

[52:5]  ¹¹ tn The verb is apparently a Hitpolal form (with assimilated tav, ת) from the root נָאַץ (na’ats), but GKC 151-52 §55.b explains it as a mixed form, combining Pual and Hitpolel readings.

[49:24]  ¹² tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).

[17:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[42:22]  ¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).

[42:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”

[42:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”

[10:6]  ¹⁹ sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).

[10:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”

[10:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”

[10:6]  ²² tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”

[11:14]  ²³ tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.

[11:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.

[11:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).

[33:23]  ²⁶ tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.

[33:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.

[33:23]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps, “flag.”

[33:23]  ²⁹ tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”

[33:23]  ³⁰ sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.

[59:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[61:8]  ³² tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”

[42:24]  ³³ tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (mÿshoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (mÿshissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”

[42:24]  ³⁴ tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”

[8:1]  ³⁵ sn Probably made of metal, wood, or leather. See HALOT 193 s.v. גִּלָּיוֹן.

[8:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “write” (so KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV).

[8:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “with the stylus of a man.” The significance of the qualifying genitive “a man” is uncertain. For various interpretations see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:219, n. 1.

[8:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “quickly, [the] plunder; it hurries, [the] loot.” The first word (מַהֵר, maher) is either a Piel imperative (“hurry [to]”) or infinitive (“hurrying,” or “quickly”). The third word (חָשׁ, khash) is either a third masculine singular perfect or a masculine singular participle, in either case from the root חוּשׁ (khush, “hurry”). Perhaps it is best to translate, “One hastens to the plunder, one hurries to the loot.” In this case מַהֵר is understood as an infinitive functioning as a verb, the subject of חוּשׁ is taken as indefinite, and the two nouns are understood as adverbial accusatives. As we discover in v. 3, this is the name of the son to be born to Isaiah through the prophetess.

[8:4]  ³⁹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[8:4]  ⁴⁰ sn The child’s name foreshadows what will happen to Judah’s enemies; when their defeat takes place, the child will be a reminder that God predicted the event and brought it to pass. As such the child will be a reminder of God’s protective presence with his people.

[33:4]  ⁴¹ tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.

[33:4]  ⁴² tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”

[33:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”

[10:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ⁴⁵ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[16:4]  ⁴⁷ tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”

[16:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”

[16:4]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ 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.

[21:2]  ⁵² tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ⁵³ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[53:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ⁵⁵ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

[1:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”

[1:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x. Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the mss or ancient versions. Such an emendation finds support from the following context (vv. 9-10) and usage of the preceding noun מַהְפֵּכָה (mahpekhah, “overthrow”). In its five other uses, this noun is associated with the destruction of Sodom. If one accepts the emendation, then one might translate, “the devastation resembles the destruction of Sodom.”

[9:3]  ⁶⁰ sn The Lord is addressed directly in vv. 3-4.

[9:3]  ⁶¹ tc The Hebrew consonantal text reads “You multiply the nation, you do not make great the joy.” The particle לֹא (lo’, “not”) is obviously incorrect; the marginal reading has לוֹ (lo, “to him”). In this case, one should translate, “You multiply the nation, you increase his (i.e., their) joy.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one emends הַגּוֹי לוֹ (hagoy lo, “the nation, to him”) to הַגִּילָה (haggilah, “the joy,” a noun attested in Isa 65:18), which corresponds to הַשִּׂמְחָה (hasimkhah, “the joy”) later in the verse (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:386). As attractive as this reading is, it has not textual evidence supporting it. The MT reading (accepting the marginal reading “to him” for the negative particle “not”) affirms that Yahweh caused the nation to grow in population and increased their joy.

[9:3]  ⁶² tn Heb “as they are happy.” The word “warriors” is supplied in the translation to clarify the word picture. This last simile comes close to reality, for vv. 4-5 indicate that the people have won a great military victory over their oppressors.

[9:20]  ⁶³ 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]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ 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.

[33:18]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”

[33:18]  ⁶⁷ tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[33:18]  ⁶⁸ sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.

[65:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”

[65:22]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”

[65:22]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”

[65:22]  ⁷² tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”