Yesaya 10:14

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ¹ 

Yesaya 11:15

11:15 The Lord will divide ²  the gulf ³  of the Egyptian Sea; ⁴ 

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ⁵  and send a strong wind, ⁶ 

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ⁷ 

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

Yesaya 18:2

18:2 that sends messengers by sea,

who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, ⁸ 

to a people that are feared far and wide, ⁹ 

to a nation strong and victorious, ¹⁰ 

whose land rivers divide. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 19:23

19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ¹² 

Yesaya 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ¹³ 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 27:13

27:13 At that time ¹⁵  a large ¹⁶  trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost ¹⁷  in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in ¹⁸  the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 29:11

29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation ²⁰  is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read ²¹  and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.”

Yesaya 30:14

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. ²² 

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough ²³ 

to scoop a hot coal from a fire ²⁴ 

or to skim off water from a cistern.” ²⁵ 

Yesaya 30:17

30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; ²⁶ 

at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, ²⁷ 

until the remaining few are as isolated ²⁸ 

as a flagpole on a mountaintop

or a signal flag on a hill.”

Yesaya 33:20

33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!

You ²⁹  will see Jerusalem, ³⁰ 

a peaceful settlement,

a tent that stays put; ³¹ 

its stakes will never be pulled up;

none of its ropes will snap in two.

Yesaya 40:9

40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!

Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! ³² 

Shout, don’t be afraid!

Say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

Yesaya 44:15

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ³³ 

he takes some of it and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it. ³⁴ 

Yesaya 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ³⁵ 

like a root out of parched soil; ³⁶ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ³⁷ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ³⁸ 

[10:14]  ¹ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[11:15]  ² tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”

[11:15]  ³ tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[11:15]  ⁴ sn That is, the Red Sea.

[11:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.

[11:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.

[11:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.

[18:2]  ⁸ tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰ tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ¹¹ tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”

[19:23]  ¹² tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.

[21:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ¹⁴ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[27:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[27:13]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”

[27:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the ones perishing.”

[27:13]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the ones driven into.”

[27:13]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[29:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[29:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”

[30:14]  ²² tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”

[30:14]  ²³ tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”

[30:14]  ²⁵ tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.

[30:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.

[30:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.

[30:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[33:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:20]  ³⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:20]  ³¹ tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”

[40:9]  ³² tn The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.

[44:15]  ³³ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ³⁴ tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[53:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ³⁶ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.