Yesaya 1:18

1:18 ¹ Come, let’s consider your options,” ²  says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,

you can become ³  white like snow;

though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,

you can become ⁴  white like wool. ⁵ 

Yesaya 7:19

7:19 All of them will come and make their home ⁶  in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. ⁷ 

Yesaya 8:12

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. ⁸ 

Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

Yesaya 23:7

23:7 Is this really your boisterous city ⁹ 

whose origins are in the distant past, ¹⁰ 

and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?

Yesaya 28:25

28:25 Once he has leveled its surface,

does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant,

sow the seed of the cumin plant,

and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? ¹¹ 

Yesaya 33:22-23

33:22 For the Lord, our ruler,

the Lord, our commander,

the Lord, our king –

he will deliver us.

33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, ¹² 

the mast is not secured, ¹³ 

and the sail ¹⁴  is not unfurled,

at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; ¹⁵ 

even the lame will drag off plunder. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 38:12

38:12 My dwelling place ¹⁷  is removed and taken away ¹⁸  from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; ¹⁹ 

from the loom he cuts me off. ²⁰ 

You turn day into night and end my life. ²¹ 

Yesaya 49:19

49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;

it is desolate and devastated. ²² 

But now you will be too small to hold your residents,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

Yesaya 51:17

51:17 Wake up! Wake up!

Get up, O Jerusalem!

You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you,

which was full of his anger! ²³ 

You drained dry

the goblet full of intoxicating wine. ²⁴ 

Yesaya 56:12

56:12 Each one says, ²⁵ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ²⁶ 

Yesaya 57:9

57:9 You take olive oil as tribute ²⁷  to your king, ²⁸ 

along with many perfumes. ²⁹ 

You send your messengers to a distant place;

you go all the way to Sheol. ³⁰ 

Yesaya 60:5

60:5 Then you will look and smile, ³¹ 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ³² 

For the riches of distant lands ³³  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

Yesaya 66:12

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ³⁴ 

You will nurse from her breast ³⁵  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

[1:18]  ¹ sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).

[1:18]  ² tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.

[1:18]  ³ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.

[7:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “and shall rest” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “and settle.”

[7:19]  ⁷ tn The meaning of this word (נַהֲלֹל, nahalol) is uncertain; some understand this as referring to another type of thorn bush. For bibliography, see HALOT 676 s.v. I *נַהֲלֹל.

[8:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ with respect to all which these people say, ‘Conspiracy.’” The verb translated “do not say” is second masculine plural, indicating that this exhortation is directed to Isaiah and other followers of the Lord (see v. 16).

[8:12]  sn The background of this command is uncertain. Perhaps the “conspiracy” in view is the alliance between Israel and Syria. Some of the people may even have thought that individuals in Judah were plotting with Israel and Syria to overthrow the king.

[23:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is this to you, boisterous one?” The pronoun “you” is masculine plural, like the imperatives in v. 6, so it is likely addressed to the Egyptians and residents of the coast. “Boisterous one” is a feminine singular form, probably referring to the personified city of Tyre.

[23:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”

[28:25]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “place wheat [?], and barley [?], and grain in its territory.” The term שׂוֹרָה (shorah) is sometimes translated “[in] its place,” but the word is unattested elsewhere. It is probably due to dittography of the immediately following שְׂעֹרָה (sÿo’rah, “barley”). The meaning of נִסְמָן (nisman) is also uncertain. It may be due to dittography of the immediately following כֻסֶּמֶת (kussemet, “grain”).

[33:23]  ¹² tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.

[33:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.

[33:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “flag.”

[33:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”

[33:23]  ¹⁶ sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.

[38:12]  ¹⁷ tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.

[38:12]  ¹⁸ tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”

[38:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).

[38:12]  ²⁰ sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.

[38:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[49:19]  ²² tn Heb “Indeed your ruins and your desolate places, and the land of your destruction.” This statement is abruptly terminated in the Hebrew text and left incomplete.

[51:17]  ²³ tn Heb “[you] who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger.”

[51:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the goblet, the cup [that causes] staggering, you drank, you drained.”

[56:12]  ²⁵ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[57:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “you journey with oil.”

[57:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.

[57:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”

[57:9]  ³⁰ sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.

[60:5]  ³¹ tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:5]  ³² tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

[60:5]  ³³ tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.

[66:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ³⁵ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).