Yesaya 5:6

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ¹ 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

Yesaya 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ²  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ³  Destruction has been decreed; ⁴  just punishment ⁵  is about to engulf you. ⁶ 

Yesaya 14:21

14:21 Prepare to execute ⁷  his sons

for the sins their ancestors have committed. ⁸ 

They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,

or fill the surface of the world with cities.” ⁹ 

Yesaya 21:12

21:12 The watchman replies,

“Morning is coming, but then night. ¹⁰ 

If you want to ask, ask;

come back again.” ¹¹ 

Yesaya 29:12

29:12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read ¹²  and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” ¹³ 

Yesaya 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, ¹⁴ 

who do their work in secret and boast, ¹⁵ 

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 40:6

40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks, ¹⁷  “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds: ¹⁸  “All people are like grass, ¹⁹ 

and all their promises ²⁰  are like the flowers in the field.

Yesaya 43:14

The Lord Will Do Something New

43:14 This is what the Lord says,

your protector, ²¹  the Holy One of Israel: ²² 

“For your sake I send to Babylon

and make them all fugitives, ²³ 

turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. ²⁴ 

Yesaya 58:7

58:7 I want you ²⁵  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ²⁶ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ²⁷ 

Yesaya 62:9

62:9 But those who harvest the grain ²⁸  will eat it,

and will praise the Lord.

Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine ²⁹ 

in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”

[5:6]  ¹ tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.

[10:22]  ² tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ³ sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).

[10:22]  ⁴ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ⁵ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ⁶ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[14:21]  ⁷ tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”

[14:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “for the sin of their fathers.”

[14:21]  ⁹ sn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:320, n. 10) suggests that the garrison cities of the mighty empire are in view here.

[21:12]  ¹⁰ sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.

[21:12]  ¹¹ sn The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”

[29:12]  ¹² tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”

[29:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”

[29:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

[29:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

[29:15]  ¹⁶ tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

[40:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”

[40:6]  ¹⁸ tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.

[40:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.

[40:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.

[43:14]  ²¹ tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[43:14]  ²² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:14]  ²³ tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”

[43:14]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.

[58:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[62:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “it,” the grain mentioned in v. 8a.

[62:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and those who gather it will drink it.” The masculine singular pronominal suffixes attached to “gather” and “drink” refer back to the masculine noun תִּירוֹשׁ (tirosh, “wine”) in v. 8b.