Yesaya 28:28

28:28 Grain is crushed,

though one certainly does not thresh it forever.

The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it,

but his horses do not crush it.

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? ¹ 

Yesaya 36:17

36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Yesaya 62:8

62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,

by his strong arm: ² 

“I will never again give your grain

to your enemies as food,

and foreigners will not drink your wine,

which you worked hard to produce.

Yesaya 55:1

The Lord Gives an Invitation

55:1 “Hey, ³  all who are thirsty, come to the water!

You who have no money, come!

Buy and eat!

Come! Buy wine and milk

without money and without cost! ⁴ 

Yesaya 17:5

17:5 It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest,

and his hand gleans the ear of grain.

It will be like one gathering the ears of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

Yesaya 5:10

5:10 Indeed, a large vineyard ⁵  will produce just a few gallons, ⁶ 

and enough seed to yield several bushels ⁷  will produce less than a bushel.” ⁸ 

Yesaya 21:10

21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, ⁹ 

what I have heard

from the Lord who commands armies,

the God of Israel,

I have reported to you.

Yesaya 23:3

23:3 the deep waters! ¹⁰ 

Grain from the Shihor region, ¹¹ 

crops grown near the Nile ¹²  she receives; ¹³ 

she is the trade center ¹⁴  of the nations.

Yesaya 27:12

27:12 At that time ¹⁵  the Lord will shake the tree, ¹⁶  from the Euphrates River ¹⁷  to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 37:27

37:27 Their residents are powerless; ¹⁹ 

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field

or green vegetation. ²⁰ 

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ²¹ 

when it is scorched by the east wind. ²² 

Yesaya 33:11

33:11 You conceive straw, ²³ 

you give birth to chaff;

your breath is a fire that destroys you. ²⁴ 

Yesaya 37:30

37:30 ²⁵ “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: ²⁶  This year you will eat what grows wild, ²⁷  and next year ²⁸  what grows on its own. But the year after that ²⁹  you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ³⁰ 

Yesaya 23:2

23:2 Lament, ³¹  you residents of the coast,

you merchants of Sidon ³²  who travel over the sea,

whose agents sail over

Yesaya 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Yesaya 41:15

41:15 “Look, I am making you like ³³  a sharp threshing sledge,

new and double-edged. ³⁴ 

You will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like straw. ³⁵ 

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. ³⁶ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 3:14

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ³⁸  “It is you ³⁹  who have ruined ⁴⁰  the vineyard! ⁴¹ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁴² 

Yesaya 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ⁴³ 

Who ⁴⁴  officially commissions him for service? ⁴⁵ 

He hands nations over to him, ⁴⁶ 

and enables him to subdue ⁴⁷  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ⁴⁸ 

Yesaya 47:14

47:14 Look, they are like straw,

which the fire burns up;

they cannot rescue themselves

from the heat ⁴⁹  of the flames.

There are no coals to warm them,

no firelight to enjoy. ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ⁵¹ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ⁵² 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ⁵³ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ⁵⁴ 

They have decided to behave this way; ⁵⁵ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ⁵⁶ 

Yesaya 66:20

66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen ⁵⁷  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ⁵⁸  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ⁵⁹  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

[28:25]  ¹ 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”).

[62:8]  ² tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.

[55:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.

[55:1]  ⁴ sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”

[5:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “a ten-yoke vineyard.” The Hebrew term צֶמֶד (tsemed, “yoke”) is here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown.

[5:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “one bath.” A bath was a liquid measure. Estimates of its modern equivalent range from approximately six to twelve gallons.

[5:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “a homer.” A homer was a dry measure, the exact size of which is debated. Cf. NCV “ten bushels”; CEV “five bushels.”

[5:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure; there were ten ephahs in a homer. So this verse envisions major crop failure, where only one-tenth of the anticipated harvest is realized.

[21:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”

[23:3]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text (23:2b-3a) reads literally, “merchant of Sidon, the one who crosses the sea, they filled you, and on the deep waters.” Instead of מִלְאוּךְ (mil’ukh, “they filled you”) the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads מלאכיך (“your messengers”). The translation assumes an emendation of מִלְאוּךְ to מַלְאָכָו (mal’akhav, “his messengers”), taking the vav (ו) on וּבְמַיִם (uvÿmayim) as improperly placed; instead it should be the final letter of the preceding word.

[23:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “seed of Shihor.” “Shihor” probably refers to the east branch of the Nile. See Jer 2:18 and BDB 1009 s.v. שִׁיחוֹר.

[23:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the harvest of the Nile.”

[23:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “[is] her revenue.”

[23:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “merchandise”; KJV, ASV “a mart of nations”; NLT “the merchandise mart of the world.”

[27:12]  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.

[27:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord will beat out.” The verb is used of beating seeds or grain to separate the husk from the kernel (see Judg 6:11; Ruth 2:17; Isa 28:27), and of beating the olives off the olive tree (Deut 24:20). The latter metaphor may be in view here, where a tree metaphor has been employed in the preceding verses. See also 17:6.

[27:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the river,” a frequent designation in the OT for the Euphrates. For clarity most modern English versions substitute the name “Euphrates” for “the river” here.

[27:12]  ¹⁸ sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).

[37:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”

[37:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.

[37:27]  ²¹ tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.

[37:27]  ²² tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isa^a; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.

[33:11]  ²³ tn The second person verb and pronominal forms in this verse are plural. The hostile nations are the addressed, as the next verse makes clear.

[33:11]  ²⁴ sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.

[37:30]  ²⁵ tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).

[37:30]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.

[37:30]  ²⁷ sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.

[37:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).

[37:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).

[37:30]  ³⁰ tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.

[23:2]  ³¹ tn Or “keep quiet”; NAB “Silence!”

[23:2]  ³² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[41:15]  ³³ tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”

[41:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.

[41:15]  ³⁵ sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.

[57:6]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ 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.

[3:14]  ³⁸ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ³⁹ tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ⁴¹ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

[41:2]  ⁴³ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ⁴⁴ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ⁴⁸ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[47:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.

[47:14]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.

[66:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  sn The significance of breaking a dog’s neck is uncertain, though the structure of the statement when compared to the preceding and following lines suggests the action is viewed in a negative light. According to Exod 13:13 and 34:20, one was to “redeem” a firstborn donkey by offering a lamb; if one did not “redeem” the firstborn donkey in this way, then its neck must be broken. According to Deut 21:1-9 a heifer’s neck was to be broken as part of the atonement ritual to purify the land from the guilt of bloodshed. It is not certain if these passages relate in any way to the action described in Isa 66:3.

[66:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[66:20]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

[66:20]  ⁵⁸ tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[66:20]  ⁵⁹ tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.