Yesaya 5:1

A Love Song Gone Sour

5:1 I ¹  will sing to my love –

a song to my lover about his vineyard. ² 

My love had a vineyard

on a fertile hill. ³ 

Yesaya 5:26

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ⁴ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ⁵  come quickly and swiftly.

Yesaya 8:1

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet ⁶  and inscribe these words ⁷  on it with an ordinary stylus: ⁸  ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ ⁹ 

Yesaya 9:8

God’s Judgment Intensifies

9:8 ¹⁰ The sovereign master ¹¹  decreed judgment ¹²  on Jacob,

and it fell on Israel. ¹³ 

Yesaya 10:6

10:6 I sent him ¹⁴  against a godless ¹⁵  nation,

I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, ¹⁶ 

to take plunder and to carry away loot,

to trample them down ¹⁷  like dirt in the streets.

Yesaya 10:26

10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ¹⁸  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ¹⁹  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 11:10

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time ²¹  a root from Jesse ²²  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, ²³  and his residence will be majestic.

Yesaya 11:16

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ²⁴ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ²⁵  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Yesaya 15:1

The Lord Will Judge Moab

15:1 Here is a message about Moab:

Indeed, in a night it is devastated,

Ar of Moab is destroyed!

Indeed, in a night it is devastated,

Kir of Moab is destroyed!

Yesaya 16:5

16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;

he will rule in a reliable manner,

this one from David’s family. ²⁶ 

He will be sure to make just decisions

and will be experienced in executing justice. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 19:7

19:7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river. ²⁸ 

All the cultivated land near the river

will turn to dust and be blown away. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 19:14

19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; ³⁰ 

they lead Egypt astray in all she does,

so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. ³¹ 

Yesaya 20:3

20:3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush,

Yesaya 22:16

22:16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? ³² 

Why ³³  do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?

He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,

he carves out his tomb on a cliff.

Yesaya 22:18

22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball

and throw you into a wide, open land. ³⁴ 

There you will die,

and there with you will be your impressive chariots, ³⁵ 

which bring disgrace to the house of your master. ³⁶ 

Yesaya 22:23

22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; ³⁷  he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 27:10

27:10 For the fortified city ³⁹  is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the desert.

Calves ⁴⁰  graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare. ⁴¹ 

Yesaya 29:7

29:7 It will be like a dream, a night vision.

There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,

those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.

Yesaya 29:21

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, ⁴² 

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate ⁴³ 

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. ⁴⁴ 

Yesaya 30:28

30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ⁴⁵ 

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ⁴⁶ 

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 35:9

35:9 No lions will be there,

no ferocious wild animals will be on it ⁴⁸  –

they will not be found there.

Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,

Yesaya 42:10

42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!

Praise him ⁴⁹  from the horizon of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, ⁵⁰ 

you coastlands ⁵¹  and those who live there!

Yesaya 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Yesaya 46:1

The Lord Carries His People

46:1 Bel ⁵²  kneels down,

Nebo ⁵³  bends low.

Their images weigh down animals and beasts. ⁵⁴ 

Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. ⁵⁵ 

Yesaya 55:3

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ⁵⁶ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ⁵⁷  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ⁵⁸ 

Yesaya 57:6

57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;

they, they are the object of your devotion. ⁵⁹ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ⁶⁰ 

Yesaya 59:15

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ⁶¹ 

for there is no justice.

Yesaya 60:21

60:21 All of your people will be godly; ⁶² 

they will possess the land permanently.

I will plant them like a shoot;

they will be the product of my labor,

through whom I reveal my splendor. ⁶³ 

Yesaya 61:8-9

61:8 For I, the Lord, love justice

and hate robbery and sin.

I will repay them because of my faithfulness; ⁶⁴ 

I will make a permanent covenant with them.

61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,

their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will recognize that

the Lord has blessed them.” ⁶⁵ 

Yesaya 62:10

62:10 Come through! Come through the gates!

Prepare the way for the people!

Build it! Build the roadway!

Remove the stones!

Lift a signal flag for the nations!

Yesaya 63:12

63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, ⁶⁶ 

who divided the water before them,

gaining for himself a lasting reputation, ⁶⁷ 

Yesaya 63:14

63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, ⁶⁸ 

so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.

In this way ⁶⁹  you guided your people,

gaining for yourself an honored reputation. ⁷⁰ 

[5:1]  ¹ tn It is uncertain who is speaking here. Possibly the prophet, taking the role of best man, composes a love song for his friend on the occasion of his wedding. If so, יָדִיד (yadid) should be translated “my friend.” The present translation assumes that Israel is singing to the Lord. The word דוֹד (dod, “lover”) used in the second line is frequently used by the woman in the Song of Solomon to describe her lover.

[5:1]  ² sn Israel, viewing herself as the Lord’s lover, refers to herself as his vineyard. The metaphor has sexual connotations, for it pictures her capacity to satisfy his appetite and to produce children. See Song 8:12.

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “on a horn, a son of oil.” Apparently קֶרֶן (qeren, “horn”) here refers to the horn-shaped peak of a hill (BDB 902 s.v.) or to a mountain spur, i.e., a ridge that extends laterally from a mountain (HALOT 1145 s.v. קֶרֶן; H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:180). The expression “son of oil” pictures this hill as one capable of producing olive trees. Isaiah’s choice of קֶרֶן, a rare word for hill, may have been driven by paronomastic concerns, i.e., because קֶרֶן sounds like כֶּרֶם (kerem, “vineyard”).

[5:26]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.

[5:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.

[8:1]  ⁶ sn Probably made of metal, wood, or leather. See HALOT 193 s.v. גִּלָּיוֹן.

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “write” (so KJV, ASV, NIV, NRSV).

[8:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “with the stylus of a man.” The significance of the qualifying genitive “a man” is uncertain. For various interpretations see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:219, n. 1.

[8:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “quickly, [the] plunder; it hurries, [the] loot.” The first word (מַהֵר, maher) is either a Piel imperative (“hurry [to]”) or infinitive (“hurrying,” or “quickly”). The third word (חָשׁ, khash) is either a third masculine singular perfect or a masculine singular participle, in either case from the root חוּשׁ (khush, “hurry”). Perhaps it is best to translate, “One hastens to the plunder, one hurries to the loot.” In this case מַהֵר is understood as an infinitive functioning as a verb, the subject of חוּשׁ is taken as indefinite, and the two nouns are understood as adverbial accusatives. As we discover in v. 3, this is the name of the son to be born to Isaiah through the prophetess.

[9:8]  ¹⁰ sn The following speech (9:8-10:4) assumes that God has already sent judgment (see v. 9), but it also announces that further judgment is around the corner (10:1-4). The speech seems to describe a series of past judgments on the northern kingdom which is ready to intensify further in the devastation announced in 10:1-4. It may have been written prior to the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom in 734-733 b.c., or sometime between that invasion and the downfall of Samaria in 722 b.c. The structure of the speech displays four panels, each of which ends with the refrain, “Through all this, his anger did not subside; his hand remained outstretched” (9:12b; 17b; 21b; 10:4b): Panel I: (A) Description of past judgment (9:8); (B) Description of the people’s attitude toward past judgment (9:9-10); (C) Description of past judgment (9:11-12a); (D) Refrain (9:12b); Panel II: (A) Description of the people’s attitude toward past judgment (9:13); (B) Description of past judgment (9:14-17a); (C) Refrain (9:17b); Panel III: (A) Description of past judgment (9:18-21a); (B) Refrain (9:21b); Panel IV: (A) Woe oracle announcing future judgment (10:1-4a); (B) Refrain (10:4b).

[9:8]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 17 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:8]  ¹² tn Heb “sent a word” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB “sends a message.”

[9:8]  ¹³ tn The present translation assumes that this verse refers to judgment that had already fallen. Both verbs (perfects) are taken as indicating simple past; the vav (ו) on the second verb is understood as a simple vav conjunctive. Another option is to understand the verse as describing a future judgment (see 10:1-4). In this case the first verb is a perfect of certitude; the vav on the second verb is a vav consecutive.

[10:6]  ¹⁴ sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).

[10:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”

[10:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”

[10:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”

[10:26]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”

[10:26]  ¹⁹ sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.

[10:26]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.

[11:10]  ²¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:10]  ²² sn See the note at v. 1.

[11:10]  ²³ tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].

[11:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[16:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”

[16:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”

[19:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the plants by the river, by the mouth of the river.”

[19:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “will dry up, [being] scattered, and it will vanish.”

[19:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”

[19:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”

[22:16]  ³² tn Heb “What to you here? And who to you here?” The point of the second question is not entirely clear. The interpretation reflected in the translation is based on the following context, which suggests that Shebna has no right to think of himself so highly and arrange such an extravagant burial place for himself.

[22:16]  ³³ tn Heb “that you chisel out.”

[22:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”

[22:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”

[22:18]  ³⁶ sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.

[22:23]  ³⁷ sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.

[22:23]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”

[27:10]  ³⁹ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

[27:10]  ⁴⁰ tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.

[27:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.

[29:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”

[29:21]  ⁴³ sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.

[29:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”

[30:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.

[30:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.

[30:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.

[35:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “will go up on it”; TEV “will pass that way.”

[42:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.

[42:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”

[42:10]  ⁵¹ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”

[46:1]  ⁵² sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.

[46:1]  ⁵³ sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.

[46:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”

[46:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”

[55:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  sn To live here refers to covenantal blessing, primarily material prosperity and national security (see vv. 4-5, 13, and Deut 30:6, 15, 19-20).

[55:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”

[57:6]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “among the smooth stones of the stream [is] your portion, they, they [are] your lot.” The next line indicates idols are in view.

[57:6]  ⁶⁰ tn The text reads literally, “Because of these am I relenting?” If the prefixed interrogative particle is retained at the beginning of the sentence, then the question would be rhetorical, with the Niphal of נָחָם (nakham) probably being used in the sense of “relent, change one’s mind.” One could translate: “Because of these things, how can I relent?” However, the initial letter he may be dittographic (note the final he [ה] on the preceding word). In this case one may understand the verb in the sense of “console oneself, seek vengeance,” as in 1:24.

[59:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[60:21]  ⁶² tn Or “righteous” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “just.”

[60:21]  ⁶³ tn Heb “a shoot of his planting, the work of my hands, to reveal splendor.”

[61:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “in faithfulness”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “faithfully.”

[61:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”

[63:12]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”

[63:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”

[63:14]  ⁶⁸ tn The words “to graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[63:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “so” (KJV, ASV), or “thus” (NAB, NRSV).

[63:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “making for yourself a majestic name.”