Yesaya 8:18

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me ¹  are reminders and object lessons ²  in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

Yesaya 11:2

11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him ³  –

a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, ⁴ 

a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, ⁵ 

a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. ⁶ 

Yesaya 19:20

19:20 It ⁷  will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of ⁸  the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender ⁹  who will rescue them.

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. ¹⁰ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 36:10

36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” ¹² 

Yesaya 36:15

36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

Yesaya 37:14

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ¹³  from the messengers and read it. ¹⁴  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.

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! ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 37:20

37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 38:7

38:7 Isaiah replied, ¹⁷  “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said:

Yesaya 44:5-6

44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’

and another will use ¹⁸  the name ‘Jacob.’

One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and use the name ‘Israel.’” ¹⁹ 

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ²⁰  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

Yesaya 44:24

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, ²¹  says,

the one who formed you in the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the sky,

who fashioned the earth all by myself, ²² 

Yesaya 48:17

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ²³  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ²⁴ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

Yesaya 50:10

50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?

Who obeys ²⁵  his servant?

Whoever walks in deep darkness, ²⁶ 

without light,

should trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

Yesaya 53:10

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made, ²⁷ 

he will see descendants and enjoy long life, ²⁸ 

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

Yesaya 58:14

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ²⁹ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ³⁰ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ³¹ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ³² 

Yesaya 59:19

59:19 In the west, people respect ³³  the Lord’s reputation; ³⁴ 

in the east they recognize his splendor. ³⁵ 

For he comes like a rushing ³⁶  stream

driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 66:5

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say! ³⁸ 

Your countrymen, ³⁹  who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.” ⁴⁰ 

But they will be put to shame.

[8:18]  ¹ sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).

[8:18]  ² tn Or “signs and portents” (NAB, NRSV). The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the Lord delivers”) was a reminder that the Lord was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria (see the note at 8:4). The word מוֹפֶת (mofet, “portent”) can often refer to some miraculous event, but in 20:3 it is used, along with its synonym אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) of Isaiah’s walking around half-naked as an object lesson of what would soon happen to the Egyptians.

[11:2]  ³ sn Like David (1 Sam 16:13), this king will be energized by the Lord’s spirit.

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of wisdom he will possess. His wisdom will enable him to make just legal decisions (v. 3). A very similar phrase occurs in Eph 1:17.

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “a spirit of counsel [or “strategy”] and strength.” The construction is a hendiadys; the point is that he will have the strength/ability to execute the plans/strategies he devises. This ability will enable him to suppress oppressors and implement just policies (v. 4).

[11:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” “Knowledge” is used here in its covenantal sense and refers to a recognition of God’s authority and a willingness to submit to it. See Jer 22:16. “Fear” here refers to a healthy respect for God’s authority which produces obedience. Taken together the two terms emphasize the single quality of loyalty to the Lord. This loyalty guarantees that he will make just legal decisions and implement just policies (vv. 4-5).

[19:20]  ⁷ tn The masculine noun מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbbeakh, “altar”) in v. 19 is probably the subject of the masculine singular verb הָיָה (hayah) rather than the feminine noun מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”), also in v. 19.

[19:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “a sign and a witness to the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] in the land of Egypt.”

[19:20]  ⁹ tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”

[30:18]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[36:10]  ¹² sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.

[37:14]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).

[37:14]  ¹⁴ tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).

[37:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

[37:20]  ¹⁶ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”

[38:7]  ¹⁷ tn The words “Isaiah replied” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the present form of the Hebrew text v. 7 is joined directly to v. 6, but vv. 21-22, if original to Isaiah 38, must be inserted here. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.

[44:5]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”

[44:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”

[44:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ²² tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.

[48:17]  ²³ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ²⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[50:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[50:10]  ²⁶ tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.

[53:10]  ²⁷ tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

[53:10]  sn What constitutes the servant’s reparation offering? Some might think his suffering, but the preceding context views this as past, while the verb here is imperfect in form. The offering appears to be something the servant does after his suffering has been completed. Perhaps the background of the language can be found in the Levitical code, where a healed leper would offer a reparation offering as part of the ritual to achieve ceremonial cleanliness (see Lev 14). The servant was pictured earlier in the song as being severely ill. This illness (a metaphor for the effects of the people’s sin) separated him from God. However, here we discover the separation is not final; once reparation is made, so to speak, he will again experience the Lord’s favor.

[53:10]  ²⁸ sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.

[58:14]  ²⁹ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ³² tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[59:19]  ³³ tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”

[59:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”

[59:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”

[59:19]  ³⁶ tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”

[59:19]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).

[66:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”

[66:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”

[66:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.