Yesaya 2:3

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ¹  he can teach us his requirements, ² 

and ³  we can follow his standards.” ⁴ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ⁵ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Yesaya 9:15

9:15 The leaders and the highly respected people ⁷  are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Yesaya 28:9

28:9 Who is the Lord ⁸  trying to teach?

To whom is he explaining a message? ⁹ 

Those just weaned from milk!

Those just taken from their mother’s breast! ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 40:13

40:13 Who comprehends ¹¹  the mind ¹²  of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor? ¹³ 

Yesaya 48:16-17

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ¹⁴  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ¹⁵ 

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹⁶  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ¹⁷ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

[2:3]  ¹ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[9:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “the elder and the one lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.

[28:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Who is he teaching knowledge? For whom is he explaining a message?” The translation assumes that the Lord is the subject of the verbs “teaching” and “explaining,” and that the prophet is asking the questions. See v. 12. According to some vv. 9-10 record the people’s sarcastic response to the Lord’s message through Isaiah.

[28:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the breasts.” The words “their mother’s” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation assumes that this is the prophet’s answer to the questions asked in the first half of the verse. The Lord is trying to instruct people who are “infants” morally and ethically.

[40:13]  ¹¹ tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).

[40:13]  ¹² tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).

[40:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”

[48:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ¹⁵ sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[48:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.