Yesaya 5:4

5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard

beyond what I have already done?

When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,

why did it produce sour ones instead?

Yesaya 5:6

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ¹ 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

Yesaya 7:11

7:11 “Ask for a confirming sign from the Lord your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.” ² 

Yesaya 9:11-12

9:11 Then the Lord provoked ³  their adversaries to attack them, ⁴ 

he stirred up ⁵  their enemies –

9:12 Syria from the east,

and the Philistines from the west,

they gobbled up Israelite territory. ⁶ 

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ⁷ 

Yesaya 13:3

13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ⁸ 

I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ⁹ 

my boasting, arrogant ones. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 14:32

14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? ¹¹ 

Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;

the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

Yesaya 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ¹² 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ¹³ 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ¹⁴  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 19:2

19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, ¹⁶ 

brothers will fight with each other,

as will neighbors,

cities, and kingdoms. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 23:7

23:7 Is this really your boisterous city ¹⁸ 

whose origins are in the distant past, ¹⁹ 

and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?

Yesaya 28:19

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

indeed, ²⁰  every morning it will sweep by,

it will come through during the day and the night.” ²¹ 

When this announcement is understood,

it will cause nothing but terror.

Yesaya 29:21

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, ²² 

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate ²³ 

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. ²⁴ 

Yesaya 37:17

37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ²⁵ 

Yesaya 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ²⁶ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ²⁷  for the nations. ²⁸ 

Yesaya 43:4

43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, ²⁹ 

and I love you,

I will hand over people in place of you,

nations in place of your life.

Yesaya 43:6

43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’

and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’

Bring my sons from distant lands,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

Yesaya 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ³⁰  Do you not recognize ³¹  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ³²  in the wilderness.

Yesaya 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Yesaya 44:22

44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,

the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. ³³ 

Come back to me, for I protect ³⁴  you.”

Yesaya 44:28

44:28 who commissions ³⁵  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ³⁶ 

to carry out all my wishes ³⁷ 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ³⁸ 

Yesaya 48:17

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ³⁹  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ⁴⁰ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

Yesaya 50:7

50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; ⁴¹ 

I know I will not be put to shame.

Yesaya 55:13

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁴² 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 56:2

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ⁴⁴ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ⁴⁵ 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ⁴⁶ 

Yesaya 57:18

57:18 I have seen their behavior, ⁴⁷ 

but I will heal them and give them rest,

and I will once again console those who mourn. ⁴⁸ 

Yesaya 60:13

60:13 The splendor of Lebanon will come to you,

its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together,

to beautify my palace; ⁴⁹ 

I will bestow honor on my throne room. ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 62:6

62:6 I ⁵¹  post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

they should keep praying all day and all night. ⁵² 

You who pray to ⁵³  the Lord, don’t be silent!

Yesaya 63:14

63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, ⁵⁴ 

so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.

In this way ⁵⁵  you guided your people,

gaining for yourself an honored reputation. ⁵⁶ 

Yesaya 66:18

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ⁵⁷  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ⁵⁸  they will come and witness my splendor.

[5:6]  ¹ tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.

[7:11]  ² tn Heb “Make it as deep as Sheol or make it high upwards.” These words suggest that Ahaz can feel free to go beyond the bounds of ordinary human experience.

[9:11]  ³ tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive continues the narrative of past judgment.

[9:11]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “adversaries of Rezin against him [i.e., them].” The next verse describes how the Syrians (over whom Rezin ruled, see 7:1, 8) and the Philistines encroached on Israel’s territory. Since the Syrians and Israelites were allies by 735 b.c. (see 7:1), the hostilities described probably occurred earlier, while Israel was still pro-Assyrian. In this case one might understand the phrase צָרֵי רְצִין (tsare rÿtsin, “adversaries of Rezin”) as meaning “adversaries sent from Rezin.” However, another option, the one chosen in the translation above, is to emend the phrase to צָרָיו (tsarayv, “his [i.e., their] adversaries”). This creates tighter parallelism with the next line (note “his [i.e., their] enemies”). The phrase in the Hebrew text may be explained as virtually dittographic.

[9:11]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, used, as is often the case in poetry, without vav consecutive. Note that prefixed forms with vav consecutive both precede (וַיְשַׂגֵּב, vaysaggev, “and he provoked”) and follow in v. 12 (וַיֹּאכְלוּ, vayyo’khÿlu, “and they devoured”) this verb.

[9:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they devoured Israel with all the mouth”; NIV “with open mouth”; NLT “With bared fangs.”

[9:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.” One could translate in the past tense here (and in 9:17b and 21b), but the appearance of the refrain in 10:4b, where it follows a woe oracle prophesying a future judgment, suggests it is a dramatic portrait of the judge which did not change throughout this period of past judgment and will remain unchanged in the future. The English present tense is chosen to best reflect this dramatic mood. (See also 5:25b, where the refrain appears following a dramatic description of coming judgment.)

[13:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.

[13:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”

[13:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”

[14:32]  ¹¹ sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.

[15:2]  ¹² tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ¹⁵ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[19:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).

[19:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.

[23:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Is this to you, boisterous one?” The pronoun “you” is masculine plural, like the imperatives in v. 6, so it is likely addressed to the Egyptians and residents of the coast. “Boisterous one” is a feminine singular form, probably referring to the personified city of Tyre.

[23:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”

[28:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[28:19]  ²¹ tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[29:21]  ²² tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”

[29:21]  ²³ sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.

[29:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”

[37:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

[42:1]  ²⁶ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ²⁸ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[43:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”

[43:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ³¹ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ³² tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[44:22]  ³³ tn Heb “I blot out like a cloud your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud your sins.” “Rebellious deeds” and “sins” stand by metonymy for the guilt they produce. Both עָב (’av) and עָנָן (’anan) refer to the clouds in the sky. It is tempting for stylistic purposes to translate the second with “fog” or “mist” (cf. NAB, NRSV “cloud…mist”; NIV “cloud…morning mist”; NLT “morning mists…clouds”), but this distinction between the synonyms is unwarranted here. The point of the simile seems to be this: The Lord forgives their sins, causing them to vanish just as clouds disappear from the sky (see Job 7:9; 30:15).

[44:22]  ³⁴ tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:28]  ³⁵ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ³⁶ tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ³⁷ tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[48:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ⁴⁰ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[50:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”

[55:13]  ⁴² tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ⁴³ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”

[56:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

[56:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”

[56:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[57:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”

[57:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”

[60:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “holy place, sanctuary.”

[60:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the place of my feet.” See Ezek 43:7, where the Lord’s throne is called the “place of the soles of my feet.”

[62:6]  ⁵¹ sn The speaker here is probably the prophet.

[62:6]  ⁵² tn Heb “all day and all night continually they do not keep silent.” The following lines suggest that they pray for the Lord’s intervention and restoration of the city.

[62:6]  ⁵³ tn Or “invoke”; NIV “call on”; NASB, NRSV “remind.”

[63:14]  ⁵⁴ tn The words “to graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[63:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “so” (KJV, ASV), or “thus” (NAB, NRSV).

[63:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “making for yourself a majestic name.”

[66:18]  ⁵⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[66:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”