Yesaya 1:12

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ¹ 

Yesaya 9:20

9:20 They devoured ²  on the right, but were still hungry,

they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.

People even ate ³  the flesh of their own arm! ⁴ 

Yesaya 10:4

10:4 You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,

or to fall among those who have been killed. ⁵ 

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ⁶ 

Yesaya 21:3

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ⁷ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ⁸  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

Yesaya 28:12

28:12 In the past he said to them, ⁹ 

“This is where security can be found.

Provide security for the one who is exhausted!

This is where rest can be found.” ¹⁰ 

But they refused to listen.

Yesaya 31:2

31:2 Yet he too is wise ¹¹  and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree. ¹² 

He will attack the wicked nation, ¹³ 

and the nation that helps ¹⁴  those who commit sin. ¹⁵ 

[1:12]  ¹ tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.

[9:20]  ² tn Or “cut.” The verb גָּזַר (gazar) means “to cut.” If it is understood here, then one might paraphrase, “They slice off meat on the right.” However, HALOT 187 s.v. I גזר, proposes here a rare homonym meaning “to devour.”

[9:20]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[9:20]  ⁴ tn Some suggest that זְרֹעוֹ (zÿro’o, “his arm”) be repointed זַרְעוֹ (zar’o, “his offspring”). In either case, the metaphor is that of a desperately hungry man who resorts to an almost unthinkable act to satisfy his appetite. He eats everything he can find to his right, but still being unsatisfied, then turns to his left and eats everything he can find there. Still being desperate for food, he then resorts to eating his own flesh (or offspring, as this phrase is metaphorically understood by some English versions, e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT). The reality behind the metaphor is the political turmoil of the period, as the next verse explains. There was civil strife within the northern kingdom; even the descendants of Joseph were at each other’s throats. Then the northern kingdom turned on their southern brother, Judah.

[10:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “except one kneels in the place of the prisoner, and in the place of the slain [who] fall.” On the force of בִּלְתִּי (bilti, “except”) and its logical connection to what precedes, see BDB 116 s.v. בֵלֶת. On the force of תַּחַת (takhat, “in the place of”) here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:258, n. 6.

[10:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “in all this his anger was not turned, and still his hand was outstretched”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “his had is stretched out still.”

[10:4]  sn See the note at 9:12.

[21:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[28:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “who said to them.”

[28:12]  ¹⁰ sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.

[31:2]  ¹¹ sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.

[31:2]  ¹² tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”

[31:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”

[31:2]  ¹⁴ sn That is, Egypt.

[31:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”