Yesaya 30:1

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious ¹  children are as good as dead,” ²  says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me, ³ 

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, ⁴ 

and thereby compound their sin. ⁵ 

Yesaya 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ⁶ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ⁷ 

Yesaya 36:16

36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. ⁸  Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

Yesaya 54:9

54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, ⁹ 

when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood ¹⁰  would never again cover the earth.

In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.

Yesaya 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹¹ 

Indeed, ¹²  you depart from me ¹³  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ¹⁴ 

You purchase favors from them, ¹⁵ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ¹⁶  on their genitals. ¹⁷ 

[30:1]  ¹ tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”

[30:1]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”

[30:1]  ³ tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”

[30:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.

[30:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”

[30:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[36:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”

[54:9]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “For [or “indeed”] the waters of Noah [is] this to me.” כִּי־מֵי (ki-me, “for the waters of”) should be emended to כְּמֵי (kÿmey, “like the days of”), which is supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and all the ancient versions except LXX.

[54:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the waters of Noah” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ¹¹ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ¹² tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.