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 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ⁶  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ⁷ 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ⁸ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁹ 

Yesaya 5:9

5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: ¹⁰ 

“Many houses will certainly become desolate,

large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 8:3

8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,

Yesaya 28:12

28:12 In the past he said to them, ¹² 

“This is where security can be found.

Provide security for the one who is exhausted!

This is where rest can be found.” ¹³ 

But they refused to listen.

Yesaya 37:6

37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 38:5

38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor ¹⁵  David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life,

Yesaya 44:28

44:28 who commissions ¹⁶  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ¹⁷ 

to carry out all my wishes ¹⁸ 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 48:17

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ²⁰  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ²¹ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

Yesaya 52:4

52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;

Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

Yesaya 54:6

54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ²² 

like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

Yesaya 57:19

57:19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. ²³ 

Complete prosperity ²⁴  is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,”

says the Lord, “and I will heal them.

Yesaya 66:23

66:23 From one month ²⁵  to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people ²⁶  will come to worship me,” ²⁷  says the Lord.

[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.

[3:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[5:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”

[28:12]  ¹² tn Heb “who said to them.”

[28:12]  ¹³ sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.

[37:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”

[38:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “father” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).

[44:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[48:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ²¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[54:6]  ²² tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[57:19]  ²³ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “one who creates fruit of lips.” Perhaps the pronoun אֲנִי (’ani) should be inserted after the participle; it may have been accidentally omitted by haplography: נוּב שְׂפָתָיִם[אֲנִי] בּוֹרֵא (bore’ [’ani] nuv sÿfatayim). “Fruit of the lips” is often understood as a metonymy for praise; perhaps it refers more generally to joyful shouts (see v. 18).

[57:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Peace, peace.” The repetition of the noun emphasizes degree.

[66:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “new moon.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[66:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “all flesh” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NAB, NASB, NIV “all mankind”; NLT “All humanity.”

[66:23]  ²⁷ tn Or “bow down before” (NASB).