Yesaya 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ¹ 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ²  I brought them up, ³ 

but ⁴  they have rebelled ⁵  against me!

Yesaya 26:10

26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,

they do not learn about justice. ⁶ 

Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; ⁷ 

they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.

Yesaya 44:2

44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says –

the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:

“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,

Jeshurun, ⁸  whom I have chosen!

Yesaya 49:10

49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;

the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them, ⁹ 

for one who has compassion on them will guide them;

he will lead them to springs of water.

Yesaya 49:15

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ¹⁰ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ¹¹ 

Even if mothers ¹²  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ¹³ 

Yesaya 51:7

51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law! ¹⁴ 

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

Yesaya 55:13

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ¹⁵ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 57:9

57:9 You take olive oil as tribute ¹⁷  to your king, ¹⁸ 

along with many perfumes. ¹⁹ 

You send your messengers to a distant place;

you go all the way to Sheol. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 62:1

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;

for the sake of Jerusalem ²¹  I will not be quiet,

until her vindication shines brightly ²² 

and her deliverance burns like a torch.”

[1:2]  ¹ sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ² tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses (1:7-9, 19-20) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.

[1:2]  ³ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ⁵ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[26:10]  ⁶ tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”

[26:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”

[44:2]  ⁸ sn Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel; it occurs here and in Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.

[49:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”

[49:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

[49:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

[49:15]  ¹² tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

[49:15]  ¹³ sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.

[51:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”

[55:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”

[57:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you journey with oil.”

[57:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.

[57:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”

[57:9]  ²⁰ sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.

[62:1]  ²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[62:1]  ²² tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”