Yesaya 1:25

1:25 I will attack you; ¹ 

I will purify your metal with flux. ² 

I will remove all your slag. ³ 

Yesaya 2:7

2:7 Their land is full of gold and silver;

there is no end to their wealth. ⁴ 

Their land is full of horses;

there is no end to their chariots. ⁵ 

Yesaya 2:12

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, ⁶ 

for ⁷  all the high and mighty,

for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

Yesaya 3:15

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ⁸ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ⁹  has spoken.

Yesaya 5:3

5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, ¹⁰ 

people ¹¹  of Judah,

you decide between me and my vineyard!

Yesaya 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹²  is the Lord who commands armies! ¹³  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Yesaya 8:11

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people: ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 8:13

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. ¹⁵ 

He is the one you must respect;

he is the one you must fear. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 8:16

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, ¹⁷ 

seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ¹⁹  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 10:10

10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, ²¹ 

whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s ²²  or Samaria’s.

Yesaya 13:5

13:5 They come from a distant land,

from the horizon. ²³ 

It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, ²⁴ 

coming to destroy the whole earth. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 14:24

14:24 ²⁶ The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:

“Be sure of this:

Just as I have intended, so it will be;

just as I have planned, it will happen.

Yesaya 18:3

18:3 All you who live in the world,

who reside on the earth,

you will see a signal flag raised on the mountains;

you will hear a trumpet being blown.

Yesaya 20:5

20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 21:15

21:15 For they flee from the swords –

from the drawn sword

and from the battle-ready bow

and from the severity of the battle.

Yesaya 22:3

22:3 ²⁸ All your leaders ran away together –

they fled to a distant place;

all your refugees ²⁹  were captured together –

they were captured without a single arrow being shot. ³⁰ 

Yesaya 22:15

22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:

“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, ³¹  and tell him: ³² 

Yesaya 24:5

24:5 The earth is defiled by ³³  its inhabitants, ³⁴ 

for they have violated laws,

disregarded the regulation, ³⁵ 

and broken the permanent treaty. ³⁶ 

Yesaya 26:16

26:16 O Lord, in distress they looked for you;

they uttered incantations because of your discipline. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 28:5

28:5 At that time ³⁸  the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown

and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

Yesaya 29:1

Ariel is Besieged

29:1 Ariel is as good as dead ³⁹  –

Ariel, the town David besieged! ⁴⁰ 

Keep observing your annual rituals,

celebrate your festivals on schedule. ⁴¹ 

Yesaya 29:6

29:6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, ⁴² 

accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,

by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

Yesaya 32:4

32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment ⁴³ 

and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.

Yesaya 33:11

33:11 You conceive straw, ⁴⁴ 

you give birth to chaff;

your breath is a fire that destroys you. ⁴⁵ 

Yesaya 36:1

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, ⁴⁶  King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Yesaya 36:9

36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 36:19

36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ⁴⁸  Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria ⁴⁹  from my power? ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 37:28

37:28 I know where you live

and everything you do

and how you rage against me. ⁵¹ 

Yesaya 37:31

37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ⁵² 

Yesaya 38:16

38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;

may years of life be restored to me. ⁵³ 

Restore my health ⁵⁴  and preserve my life.’

Yesaya 39:7

39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father ⁵⁵  will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Yesaya 40:16-17

40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; ⁵⁶ 

its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings. ⁵⁷ 

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing. ⁵⁸ 

Yesaya 47:7

47:7 You said,

‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ ⁵⁹ 

You did not think about these things; ⁶⁰ 

you did not consider how it would turn out. ⁶¹ 

Yesaya 48:13

48:13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;

my right hand spread out the sky.

I summon them;

they stand together.

Yesaya 48:19

48:19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand, ⁶² 

and your children ⁶³  like its granules.

Their name would not have been cut off

and eliminated from my presence. ⁶⁴ 

Yesaya 51:15

51:15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!

Yesaya 52:8

52:8 Listen, ⁶⁵  your watchmen shout;

in unison they shout for joy,

for they see with their very own eyes ⁶⁶ 

the Lord’s return to Zion.

Yesaya 60:4

60:4 Look all around you! ⁶⁷ 

They all gather and come to you –

your sons come from far away

and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

Yesaya 62:12

62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,

the Ones Protected ⁶⁸  by the Lord.”

You will be called, “Sought After,

City Not Abandoned.”

Yesaya 63:13

63:13 who led them through the deep water?

Like a horse running on flat land ⁶⁹  they did not stumble.

Yesaya 65:24

65:24 Before they even call out, ⁷⁰  I will respond;

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

[1:25]  ¹ tn Heb “turn my hand against you.” The second person pronouns in vv. 25-26 are feminine singular. Personified Jerusalem is addressed. The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack,” in Ps 81:15 HT (81:14 ET); Ezek 38:12; Am 1:8; Zech 13:7. In Jer 6:9 it is used of gleaning grapes.

[1:25]  ² tn Heb “I will purify your dross as [with] flux.” “Flux” refers here to minerals added to the metals in a furnace to prevent oxides from forming. For this interpretation of II בֹּר (bor), see HALOT 153 s.v. II בֹּר and 750 s.v. סִיג.

[1:25]  ³ sn The metaphor comes from metallurgy; slag is the substance left over after the metallic ore has been refined.

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Or “treasuries”; KJV “treasures.”

[2:7]  ⁵ sn Judah’s royal bureaucracy had accumulated great wealth and military might, in violation of Deut 17:16-17.

[2:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[3:15]  ⁸ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[3:15]  sn The use of this title, which also appears in v. 1, forms an inclusio around vv. 1-15. The speech begins and ends with a reference to “the master, the Lord who commands armies.”

[5:3]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[6:3]  ¹² tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

[6:3]  sn Or “The Lord who commands armies has absolute sovereign authority!” The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” In this context the Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. Note the emphasis on the elevated position of his throne in v. 1 and his designation as “the king” in v. 5. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. He is “set apart” from his subjects in a moral sense as well. He sets the standard; they fall short of it. Note that in v. 5 Isaiah laments that he is morally unworthy to be in the king’s presence.

[6:3]  ¹³ tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[8:11]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “with strength of hand and he warned me from walking in the way of these people, saying.” Some want to change the pointing of the suffix and thereby emend the Qal imperfect יִסְּרֵנִי (yissÿreni, “he was warning me”) to the more common Piel perfect יִסְּרַנִי (yissÿrani, “he warned me”). Others follow the lead of the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and read יְסִירֵנִי (yÿsireni, “he was turning me aside,” a Hiphil imperfect from סוּר, sur).

[8:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], him you must set apart.” The word order is emphatic, with the object being placed first.

[8:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he is your [object of] fear, he is your [object of] terror.” The roots יָרֵא (yare’) and עָרַץ (’arats) are repeated from v. 12b.

[8:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “tie up [the] testimony.” The “testimony” probably refers to the prophetic messages God has given him. When the prophecies are fulfilled, he will be able to produce this official, written record to confirm the authenticity of his ministry and to prove to the people that God is sovereign over events.

[8:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “seal [the] instruction among my followers.” The “instruction” probably refers to the prophet’s exhortations and warnings. When the people are judged for the sins, the prophet can produce these earlier messages and essentially say, “I told you so.” In this way he can authenticate his ministry and impress upon the people the reality of God’s authority over them.

[8:20]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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).

[10:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “Just as my hand found the kingdoms of the idol[s].” The comparison is expanded in v. 11a (note “as”) and completed in v. 11b (note “so”).

[10:10]  ²² map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:5]  ²³ tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”

[13:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”

[13:5]  ²⁵ tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.

[14:24]  ²⁶ sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.

[20:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and they will be afraid and embarrassed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their beauty.”

[22:3]  ²⁸ tn Verse 3 reads literally, “All your leaders ran away, apart from a bow they were captured, all your found ones were captured together, to a distant place they fled.” J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:403, n. 3) suggests that the lines of the verse are arranged chiastically; lines 1 and 4 go together, while lines 2 and 3 are parallel. To translate the lines in the order they appear in the Hebrew text is misleading to the English reader, who is likely unfamiliar with, or at least insensitive to, chiastic parallelism. Consequently, the translation above arranges the lines as follows: line 1 (Hebrew) = line 1 (in translation); line 2 (Hebrew) = line 4 (in translation); line 3 (Hebrew) = line 3 (in translation); line 4 (Hebrew) = line 2 (in translation).

[22:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “all your found ones.” To achieve tighter parallelism (see “your leaders”) some prefer to emend the form to אַמִּיצַיִךְ (’ammitsayikh, “your strong ones”) or to נֶאֱמָצַיִךְ (ne’ematsayikh, “your strengthened ones”).

[22:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”

[22:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”

[22:15]  ³² tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[24:5]  ³³ tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”

[24:5]  ³⁴ sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.

[24:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”

[24:5]  ³⁶ tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”

[24:5]  sn For a lengthy discussion of the identity of this covenant/treaty, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In this context, where judgment comes upon both the pagan nations and God’s covenant community, the phrase “permanent treaty” is intentionally ambiguous. For the nations this treaty is the Noahic mandate of Gen 9:1-7 with its specific stipulations and central regulation (Gen 9:7). By shedding blood, the warlike nations violated this treaty, which promotes population growth and prohibits murder. For Israel, which was also guilty of bloodshed (see Isa 1:15, 21; 4:4), this “permanent treaty” would refer more specifically to the Mosaic Law and its regulations prohibiting murder (Exod 20:13; Num 35:6-34), which are an extension of the Noahic mandate.

[26:16]  ³⁷ tn The meaning of this verse is unclear. It appears to read literally, “O Lord, in distress they visit you, they pour out [?] an incantation, your discipline to them.” פָּקַד (paqad) may here carry the sense of “seek with interest” (cf. Ezek 23:21 and BDB 823 s.v.) or “seek in vain” (cf. Isa 34:16), but it is peculiar for the Lord to be the object of this verb. צָקוּן (tsaqun) may be a Qal perfect third plural form from צוּק (tsuq, “pour out, melt”), though the verb is not used of pouring out words in its two other occurrences. Because of the appearance of צַר (tsar, “distress”) in the preceding line, it is tempting to emend the form to a noun and derive it from צוּק (“be in distress”) The term לַחַשׁ (lakhash) elsewhere refers to an incantation (Isa 3:3; Jer 8:17; Eccl 10:11) or amulet (Isa 3:20). Perhaps here it refers to ritualistic prayers or to magical incantations used to ward off evil.

[28:5]  ³⁸ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[29:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8).

[29:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”

[29:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.

[29:6]  ⁴² tn Heb “from the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] there will be visitation.” The third feminine singular passive verb form תִּפָּקֵד (tippaqed, “she/it will be visited”) is used here in an impersonal sense. See GKC 459 §144.b.

[32:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”

[33:11]  ⁴⁴ tn The second person verb and pronominal forms in this verse are plural. The hostile nations are the addressed, as the next verse makes clear.

[33:11]  ⁴⁵ sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.

[36:1]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[36:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”

[36:19]  ⁴⁸ tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”

[36:19]  ⁴⁹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[36:19]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).

[37:28]  ⁵¹ tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.

[37:31]  ⁵² tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”

[38:16]  ⁵³ tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”

[38:16]  ⁵⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.

[39:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”

[40:16]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “for a sacrifice” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:16]  ⁵⁷ sn The point is that not even the Lebanon forest could supply enough wood and animals for an adequate sacrifice to the Lord.

[40:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”

[47:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

[47:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

[47:7]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

[48:19]  ⁶² tn Heb “like sand”; NCV “as many as the grains of sand.”

[48:19]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and the issue from your inner parts.”

[48:19]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and his name would not be cut off and would not be destroyed from before me.”

[52:8]  ⁶⁵ tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.

[52:8]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”

[60:4]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see!”

[62:12]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).

[63:13]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”

[65:24]  ⁷⁰ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.