Yesaya 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ² 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ³ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁴ 

Yesaya 9:19

9:19 Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, ⁵ 

and the people became fuel for the fire. ⁶ 

People had no compassion on one another. ⁷ 

Yesaya 11:9

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ⁸ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ⁹ 

Yesaya 12:4

12:4 At that time ¹⁰  you will say:

“Praise the Lord!

Ask him for help! ¹¹ 

Publicize his mighty acts among the nations!

Make it known that he is unique! ¹² 

Yesaya 19:12

19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? ¹³ 

Let them tell you, let them find out

what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

Yesaya 22:5

22:5 For the sovereign master, ¹⁴  the Lord who commands armies,

has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. ¹⁵ 

In the Valley of Vision ¹⁶  people shout ¹⁷ 

and cry out to the hill. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 22:14-15

22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: ¹⁹  “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” ²⁰  says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:

“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, ²¹  and tell him: ²² 

Yesaya 25:9

25:9 At that time they will say, ²³ 

“Look, here ²⁴  is our God!

We waited for him and he delivered us.

Here ²⁵  is the Lord! We waited for him.

Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”

Yesaya 27:12

27:12 At that time ²⁶  the Lord will shake the tree, ²⁷  from the Euphrates River ²⁸  to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 28:16

28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying ³⁰  a stone in Zion,

an approved ³¹  stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ³² 

The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ³³ 

Yesaya 29:10

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply. ³⁴ 

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

Yesaya 30:15

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ³⁵ 

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ³⁶ 

but you are unwilling.

Yesaya 31:9

31:9 They will surrender their stronghold ³⁷  because of fear; ³⁸ 

their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” ³⁹ 

This is what the Lord says –

the one whose fire is in Zion,

whose firepot is in Jerusalem. ⁴⁰ 

Yesaya 40:10

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ⁴¹ 

his military power establishes his rule. ⁴² 

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 42:24

42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?

Who handed Israel over to the looters? ⁴⁴ 

Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?

They refused to follow his commands;

they disobeyed his law. ⁴⁵ 

Yesaya 43:3

43:3 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ⁴⁶  your deliverer.

I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,

Ethiopia and Seba ⁴⁷  in place of you.

Yesaya 48:14

48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!

Who among them ⁴⁸  announced these things?

The Lord’s ally ⁴⁹  will carry out his desire against Babylon;

he will exert his power against the Babylonians. ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 48:16

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ⁵¹  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ⁵² 

Yesaya 50:7

50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; ⁵³ 

I know I will not be put to shame.

Yesaya 50:9

50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.

Who dares to condemn me?

Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;

a moth will eat away at them.

Yesaya 51:9

51:9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ⁵⁴ 

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash ⁵⁵  the Proud One? ⁵⁶ 

Did you not ⁵⁷  wound the sea monster? ⁵⁸ 

Yesaya 52:4

52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;

Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

Yesaya 52:12

52:12 Yet do not depart quickly

or leave in a panic. ⁵⁹ 

For the Lord goes before you;

the God of Israel is your rear guard.

Yesaya 54:6

54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ⁶⁰ 

like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

Yesaya 55:7

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁶¹ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁶² 

They should return ⁶³  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁶⁴ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 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 60:14

60:14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;

all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.

They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,

Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’ ⁶⁸ 

Yesaya 65:23

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster. ⁶⁹ 

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants. ⁷⁰ 

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ³ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[9:19]  ⁵ tn The precise meaning of the verb עְתַּם (’ÿtam), which occurs only here, is uncertain, though the context strongly suggests that it means “burn, scorch.”

[9:19]  ⁶ sn The uncontrollable fire of the people’s wickedness (v. 18) is intensified by the fire of the Lord’s judgment (v. 19). God allows (or causes) their wickedness to become self-destructive as civil strife and civil war break out in the land.

[9:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “men were not showing compassion to their brothers.” The idiom “men to their brothers” is idiomatic for reciprocity. The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav (ו) consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[11:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[12:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “call in his name,” i.e., “invoke his name.”

[12:4]  ¹² tn Heb “bring to remembrance that his name is exalted.” The Lord’s “name” stands here for his character and reputation.

[19:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.

[22:5]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[22:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[22:5]  ¹⁶ tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.

[22:5]  ¹⁷ tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.

[22:5]  ¹⁸ sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.

[22:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[22:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.

[22:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”

[22:15]  ²² tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[25:9]  ²³ tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”

[25:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “this [one].”

[25:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “this [one].”

[27:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[27:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the Lord will beat out.” The verb is used of beating seeds or grain to separate the husk from the kernel (see Judg 6:11; Ruth 2:17; Isa 28:27), and of beating the olives off the olive tree (Deut 24:20). The latter metaphor may be in view here, where a tree metaphor has been employed in the preceding verses. See also 17:6.

[27:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the river,” a frequent designation in the OT for the Euphrates. For clarity most modern English versions substitute the name “Euphrates” for “the river” here.

[27:12]  ²⁹ sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).

[28:16]  ³⁰ tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.

[28:16]  ³¹ tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.

[28:16]  ³² sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).

[28:16]  ³³ tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

[29:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.

[30:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[30:15]  ³⁶ tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).

[31:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.

[31:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”

[31:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”

[31:9]  ⁴⁰ sn The “fire” and “firepot” here symbolize divine judgment, which is heating up like a fire in Jerusalem, waiting to be used against the Assyrians when they attack the city.

[40:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.

[40:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).

[40:10]  ⁴³ tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.

[42:24]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”

[43:3]  ⁴⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:3]  ⁴⁷ sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.

[48:14]  ⁴⁸ sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).

[48:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.”

[48:14]  sn The Lord’s ally is a reference to Cyrus.

[48:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”

[48:16]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ⁵² sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[50:7]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”

[51:9]  ⁵⁴ tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.

[51:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”

[51:9]  ⁵⁶ tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).

[51:9]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”

[51:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.

[52:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “or go in flight”; NAB “leave in headlong flight.”

[54:6]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[55:7]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁶² tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁶⁴ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁶⁵ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

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

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

[60:14]  ⁶⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[65:23]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”

[65:23]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”