Yesaya 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ¹  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ² 

Yesaya 30:2-3

30:2 They travel down to Egypt

without seeking my will, ³ 

seeking Pharaoh’s protection,

and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. ⁴ 

30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,

and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.

Yesaya 42:4

42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed ⁵ 

before establishing justice on the earth;

the coastlands ⁶  will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” ⁷ 

Yesaya 64:3

64:3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, ⁸ 

you came down, and the mountains trembled ⁹  before you.

[8:20]  ¹ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ² tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[30:2]  ³ tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”

[30:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”

[42:4]  ⁵ tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.

[42:4]  ⁶ tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”

[42:4]  ⁷ tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).

[64:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “[for which] we were not waiting.”

[64:3]  ⁹ tn See the note at v. 1.