Yesaya 3:14

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ¹  “It is you ²  who have ruined ³  the vineyard! ⁴ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁵ 

Yesaya 6:13--7:1

6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, ⁶  like one of the large sacred trees ⁷  or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. ⁸  That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” ⁹ 

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During ¹⁰  the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem ¹¹  to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. ¹² 

Yesaya 7:20

7:20 At that time ¹³  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ¹⁴  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ¹⁵  it will also shave off the beard.

Yesaya 10:13-14

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, ¹⁶ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ¹⁷  I brought down rulers. ¹⁸ 

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 16:8

16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,

as well as the vines of Sibmah.

The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,

which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;

their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

Yesaya 23:18

23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 29:23

29:23 For when they see their children,

whom I will produce among them, ²¹ 

they will honor ²²  my name.

They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; ²³ 

they will respect ²⁴  the God of Israel.

Yesaya 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ²⁵  uprightly ²⁶ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ²⁷ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ²⁸ 

and does not seek to harm others ²⁹  –

Yesaya 53:10

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made, ³⁰ 

he will see descendants and enjoy long life, ³¹ 

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

Yesaya 58:14

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ³² 

and I will give you great prosperity, ³³ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ³⁴ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ³⁵ 

Yesaya 65:22

65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, ³⁶ 

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, ³⁷ 

for my people will live as long as trees, ³⁸ 

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced. ³⁹ 

[3:14]  ¹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ² tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

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

[6:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a massive tree or like a big tree” (perhaps, “like a terebinth or like an oak”).

[6:13]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:1]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:1]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “but they were unable to attack it.” This statement sounds like a summary of the whole campaign. The following context explains why they were unable to defeat the southern kingdom. The parallel passage (2 Kgs 16:5; cf. Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9 for a similar construction) affirms that Syria and Israel besieged Ahaz. Consequently, the statement that “they were not able to battle against them” must refer to the inability to conquer Ahaz.

[7:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[10:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ¹⁷ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ¹⁸ 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.

[10:14]  ¹⁹ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[23:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”

[23:18]  sn The point of this verse, which in its blatant nationalism comes precariously close to comparing the Lord to one who controls or manages a prostitute, is that Tyre will become a subject of Israel and her God. Tyre’s commercial profits will be used to enrich the Lord’s people.

[29:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”

[29:23]  ²² tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”

[29:23]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”

[33:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ²⁶ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[53:10]  ³⁰ tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

[53:10]  sn What constitutes the servant’s reparation offering? Some might think his suffering, but the preceding context views this as past, while the verb here is imperfect in form. The offering appears to be something the servant does after his suffering has been completed. Perhaps the background of the language can be found in the Levitical code, where a healed leper would offer a reparation offering as part of the ritual to achieve ceremonial cleanliness (see Lev 14). The servant was pictured earlier in the song as being severely ill. This illness (a metaphor for the effects of the people’s sin) separated him from God. However, here we discover the separation is not final; once reparation is made, so to speak, he will again experience the Lord’s favor.

[53:10]  ³¹ sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.

[58:14]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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).

[65:22]  ³⁶ tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”

[65:22]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”

[65:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”

[65:22]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”