Yesaya 7:18

7:18 At that time ¹  the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. ² 

Yesaya 18:5

18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,

and the ripening fruit appears, ³ 

he will cut off the unproductive shoots ⁴  with pruning knives;

he will prune the tendrils. ⁵ 

Yesaya 22:9

22:9 You saw the many breaks

in the walls of the city of David; ⁶ 

you stored up water in the lower pool.

Yesaya 22:12

22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,

for shaved heads and sackcloth. ⁷ 

Yesaya 29:9

God’s People are Spiritually Insensitive

29:9 You will be shocked and amazed! ⁸ 

You are totally blind! ⁹ 

They are drunk, ¹⁰  but not because of wine;

they stagger, ¹¹  but not because of beer.

Yesaya 33:18

33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹² 

and you will ask yourselves, ¹³  “Where is the scribe?

Where is the one who weighs the money?

Where is the one who counts the towers?” ¹⁴ 

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!’”’” ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ¹⁶  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ¹⁷ 

O sovereign master, ¹⁸  I am oppressed;

help me! ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 44:28

44:28 who commissions ²⁰  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ²¹ 

to carry out all my wishes ²² 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ²³ 

Yesaya 49:13

49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! ²⁴ 

Rejoice, O earth!

Let the mountains give a joyful shout!

For the Lord consoles his people

and shows compassion to the ²⁵  oppressed.

Yesaya 49:20

49:20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement

will say within your hearing,

‘This place is too cramped for us, ²⁶ 

make room for us so we can live here.’ ²⁷ 

Yesaya 58:6

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ²⁸ 

I want you ²⁹  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ³⁰ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

[7:18]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:18]  ² sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”

[18:5]  ⁴ tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.

[18:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”

[22:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”

[22:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.

[29:9]  ⁸ tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahmÿhu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittammÿhu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.

[29:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.

[29:9]  ¹⁰ tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.

[29:9]  ¹¹ tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.

[33:18]  ¹² tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”

[33:18]  ¹³ tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[33:18]  ¹⁴ sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.

[36:10]  ¹⁵ 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.

[38:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[44:28]  ²⁰ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ²¹ tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ²² tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ²³ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[49:13]  ²⁴ tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[49:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[49:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “me.” The singular is collective.

[49:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “draw near to me so I can dwell.”

[58:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ²⁹ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “crushed.”