Yesaya 3:9

3:9 The look on their faces ¹  testifies to their guilt; ² 

like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. ³ 

Too bad for them! ⁴ 

For they bring disaster on themselves.

Yesaya 7:8

7:8 For Syria’s leader is Damascus,

and the leader of Damascus is Rezin.

Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. ⁵ 

Yesaya 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ⁶  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ⁷  Destruction has been decreed; ⁸  just punishment ⁹  is about to engulf you. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 14:31

14:31 Wail, O city gate!

Cry out, O city!

Melt with fear, ¹¹  all you Philistines!

For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,

and there are no stragglers in its ranks. ¹² 

Yesaya 23:4

23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,

for the sea ¹³  says this, O fortress of the sea:

“I have not gone into labor

or given birth;

I have not raised young men

or brought up young women.” ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 25:2

25:2 Indeed, ¹⁵  you have made the city ¹⁶  into a heap of rubble,

the fortified town into a heap of ruins;

the fortress of foreigners ¹⁷  is no longer a city,

it will never be rebuilt.

Yesaya 26:5

26:5 Indeed, ¹⁸  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ¹⁹ 

he throws it down to the dust.

Yesaya 26:9

26:9 I ²⁰  look for ²¹  you during the night,

my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,

for when your judgments come upon the earth,

those who live in the world learn about justice. ²² 

Yesaya 27:10

27:10 For the fortified city ²³  is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the desert.

Calves ²⁴  graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 28:19

28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;

indeed, ²⁶  every morning it will sweep by,

it will come through during the day and the night.” ²⁷ 

When this announcement is understood,

it will cause nothing but terror.

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; ²⁸ 

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ²⁹ 

but you are unwilling.

Yesaya 30:33

30:33 For ³⁰  the burial place is already prepared; ³¹ 

it has been made deep and wide for the king. ³² 

The firewood is piled high on it. ³³ 

The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,

will ignite it.

Yesaya 32:14

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded ³⁴  city is abandoned.

Hill ³⁵  and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited. ³⁶ 

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 37:8

37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 38:15

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ³⁹ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ⁴⁰ 

Yesaya 39:1

Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered.

Yesaya 47:1

Babylon Will Fall

47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,

O virgin ⁴¹  daughter Babylon!

Sit on the ground, not on a throne,

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ⁴²  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

Yesaya 48:8

48:8 You did not hear,

you do not know,

you were not told beforehand. ⁴³ 

For I know that you are very deceitful; ⁴⁴ 

you were labeled ⁴⁵  a rebel from birth.

Yesaya 51:8

51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;

a clothes moth will devour them like wool.

But the vindication I provide ⁴⁶  will be permanent;

the deliverance I give will last.”

Yesaya 52:1

52:1 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!

Put on your beautiful clothes,

O Jerusalem, ⁴⁷  holy city!

For uncircumcised and unclean pagans

will no longer invade you.

Yesaya 54:5-6

54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –

the Lord who commands armies is his name.

He is your protector, ⁴⁸  the Holy One of Israel. ⁴⁹ 

He is called “God of the entire earth.”

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

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ⁵⁰ 

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

Yesaya 55:10

55:10 ⁵¹ The rain and snow fall from the sky

and do not return,

but instead water the earth

and make it produce and yield crops,

and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

Yesaya 56:4

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ⁵²  my covenant,

Yesaya 60:10

60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. ⁵³ 

Yesaya 65:17-18

65:17 For look, I am ready to create

new heavens and a new earth! ⁵⁴ 

The former ones ⁵⁵  will not be remembered;

no one will think about them anymore. ⁵⁶ 

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem ⁵⁷  to be a source of joy, ⁵⁸ 

and her people to be a source of happiness. ⁵⁹ 

Yesaya 66:15

66:15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,

his chariots come like a windstorm, ⁶⁰ 

to reveal his raging anger,

his battle cry, and his flaming arrows. ⁶¹ 

Yesaya 66:22

66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain.

[3:9]  ¹ sn This refers to their proud, arrogant demeanor.

[3:9]  ² tn Heb “answers against them”; NRSV “bears witness against them.”

[3:9]  ³ tn Heb “their sin, like Sodom, they declare, they do not conceal [it].”

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “woe to their soul.”

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “Ephraim will be too shattered to be a nation”; NIV “to be a people.”

[7:8]  sn This statement is problematic for several reasons. It seems to intrude stylistically, interrupting the symmetry of the immediately preceding and following lines. Furthermore, such a long range prophecy lacks punch in the midst of the immediate crisis. After all, even if Israel were destroyed sometime within the next 65 years, a lot could still happen during that time, including the conquest of Judah and the demise of the Davidic family. Finally the significance of the time frame is uncertain. Israel became an Assyrian province within the next 15 years and ceased to exist as a nation. For these reasons many regard the statement as a later insertion, but why a later editor would include the reference to “65 years” remains a mystery. Some try to relate the prophecy to the events alluded to in Ezra 4:2, 10, which refers to how the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal settled foreigners in former Israelite territory, perhaps around 670 b.c. However, even if the statement is referring to these events, it lacks rhetorical punch in its immediate context and has the earmarks of a later commentary that has been merged with the text in the process of transmission.

[10:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ⁷ sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).

[10:22]  ⁸ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ⁹ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[14:31]  ¹¹ tn Or “despair” (see HALOT 555 s.v. מוג). The form נָמוֹג (namog) should be taken here as an infinitive absolute functioning as an imperative. See GKC 199-200 §72.v.

[14:31]  ¹² tn Heb “and there is no one going alone in his appointed places.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. בּוֹדֵד (boded) appears to be a participle from בָּדַד (badad, “be separate”; see BDB 94 s.v. בָּדַד). מוֹעָד (mo’ad) may mean “assembly” or, by extension, “multitude” (see HALOT 558 s.v. *מוֹעָד), but the referent of the third masculine pronominal suffix attached to the noun is unclear. It probably refers to the “nation” mentioned in the next line.

[23:4]  ¹³ tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.

[23:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).

[23:4]  sn The sea is personified here as a lamenting childless woman. The foreboding language anticipates the following announcement of Tyre’s demise, viewed here as a child of the sea, as it were.

[25:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[25:2]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has “you have made from the city.” The prefixed mem (מ) on עִיר (’ir, “city”) was probably originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:456, n. 3.

[25:2]  ¹⁷ tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”).

[26:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ¹⁹ tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.

[26:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).

[26:9]  ²¹ tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).

[26:9]  ²² tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).

[27:10]  ²³ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

[27:10]  ²⁴ tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.

[27:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.

[28:19]  ²⁶ tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[28:19]  ²⁷ tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[30:15]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).

[30:33]  ³⁰ tn Or “indeed.”

[30:33]  ³¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).

[30:33]  ³² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”

[30:33]  ³³ tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”

[30:33]  sn Apparently this alludes to some type of funeral rite.

[32:14]  ³⁴ tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).

[32:14]  ³⁵ tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.

[32:14]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.

[32:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”

[37:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”

[38:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”

[38:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

[47:1]  ⁴¹ tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).

[47:1]  ⁴² tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[48:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”

[48:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[48:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[51:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”

[52:1]  ⁴⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[54:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:5]  ⁴⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[54:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[55:10]  ⁵¹ tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki ka’asher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.

[56:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[60:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”

[65:17]  ⁵⁴ sn This hyperbolic statement likens the coming transformation of Jerusalem (see vv. 18-19) to a new creation of the cosmos.

[65:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Or perhaps, “the former things” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “The events of the past.”

[65:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and they will not come up on the mind.”

[65:18]  ⁵⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[65:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.

[65:18]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.

[66:15]  ⁶⁰ sn Chariots are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way that they kick up dust.

[66:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “to cause to return with the rage of his anger, and his battle cry [or “rebuke”] with flames of fire.”