Yesaya 1:13

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ¹  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ² 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ³ 

Yesaya 5:30

5:30 At that time ⁴  they will growl over their prey, ⁵ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ⁶ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ⁷ 

Yesaya 10:33

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ⁸ 

The tallest trees ⁹  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Yesaya 21:5

21:5 Arrange the table,

lay out ¹⁰  the carpet,

eat and drink! ¹¹ 

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields! ¹² 

Yesaya 33:21

33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. ¹³ 

Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; ¹⁴ 

no war galley will enter; ¹⁵ 

no large ships will sail through. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 41:11

41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;

your adversaries ¹⁷  will be reduced to nothing ¹⁸  and perish.

Yesaya 41:28

41:28 I look, but there is no one,

among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,

that I might ask questions and receive answers.

Yesaya 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ¹⁹  Do you not recognize ²⁰  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ²¹  in the wilderness.

Yesaya 44:16

44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –

over that half he cooks ²²  meat;

he roasts a meal and fills himself.

Yes, he warms himself and says,

‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’

Yesaya 48:6

48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence! ²³ 

Will you not admit that what I say is true? ²⁴ 

From this point on I am announcing to you new events

that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 52:7

52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains ²⁶ 

the feet of a messenger who announces peace,

a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” ²⁷ 

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. ²⁸ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 62:5

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ³⁰  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

[1:13]  ¹ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ² sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ³ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[5:30]  ⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[5:30]  sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).

[10:33]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  sn As in vv. 12 (see the note there) and 18, the Assyrians are compared to a tree/forest in vv. 33-34.

[10:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[21:5]  ¹⁰ tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).

[21:5]  ¹¹ tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.

[21:5]  ¹² sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.

[33:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”

[33:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”

[33:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”

[33:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”

[41:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”

[41:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”

[43:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[44:16]  ²² tn Heb “eats” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “roasts.”

[48:6]  ²³ tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”

[48:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”

[48:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”

[52:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”

[52:7]  ²⁷ tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.

[57:6]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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.

[62:5]  ³⁰ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).