Yesaya 1:29

1:29 Indeed, they ¹  will be ashamed of the sacred trees

you ²  find so desirable;

you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards ³ 

where you choose to worship.

Yesaya 4:6

4:6 By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,

as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour. ⁴ 

Yesaya 8:2

8:2 Then I will summon ⁵  as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

Yesaya 8:16

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, ⁶ 

seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers. ⁷ 

Yesaya 10:34

10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,

and mighty Lebanon will fall. ⁸ 

Yesaya 11:7

11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together. ⁹ 

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

Yesaya 14:3-4

14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, ¹⁰  and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ¹¹ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ¹²  has ceased!

Yesaya 19:19

19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar ¹³  dedicated to the Lord at its border.

Yesaya 19:24

19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing ¹⁴  in the earth. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 20:5

20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 21:16

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master ¹⁷  has told me: “Within exactly one year ¹⁸  all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

Yesaya 24:21

The Lord Will Become King

24:21 At that time ¹⁹  the Lord will punish ²⁰ 

the heavenly forces in the heavens ²¹ 

and the earthly kings on the earth.

Yesaya 28:5

28:5 At that time ²²  the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown

and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

Yesaya 28:20

28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. ²³ 

Yesaya 29:1-2

Ariel is Besieged

29:1 Ariel is as good as dead ²⁴  –

Ariel, the town David besieged! ²⁵ 

Keep observing your annual rituals,

celebrate your festivals on schedule. ²⁶ 

29:2 I will threaten Ariel,

and she will mourn intensely

and become like an altar hearth ²⁷  before me.

Yesaya 29:17

Changes are Coming

29:17 In just a very short time ²⁸ 

Lebanon will turn into an orchard,

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ²⁹ 

Yesaya 29:19-20

29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;

the poor among humankind will take delight ³⁰  in the Holy One of Israel. ³¹ 

29:20 For tyrants will disappear,

those who taunt will vanish,

and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated ³²  –

Yesaya 31:6

31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! ³³ 

Yesaya 32:3

32:3 Eyes ³⁴  will no longer be blind ³⁵ 

and ears ³⁶  will be attentive.

Yesaya 34:9

34:9 Edom’s ³⁷  streams will be turned into pitch

and her soil into brimstone;

her land will become burning pitch.

Yesaya 36:1

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, ³⁸  King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Yesaya 38:10

38:10 “I thought, ³⁹ 

‘In the middle of my life ⁴⁰  I must walk through the gates of Sheol,

I am deprived ⁴¹  of the rest of my years.’

Yesaya 42:9

42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; ⁴² 

now I announce new events.

Before they begin to occur,

I reveal them to you.” ⁴³ 

Yesaya 42:17

42:17 Those who trust in idols

will turn back and be utterly humiliated, ⁴⁴ 

those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”

Yesaya 48:10

48:10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have purified you ⁴⁵  in the furnace of misery.

Yesaya 57:14

57:14 He says, ⁴⁶ 

“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!

Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”

Yesaya 61:5

61:5 ⁴⁷ “Foreigners will take care of ⁴⁸  your sheep;

foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.

Yesaya 62:12

62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,

the Ones Protected ⁴⁹  by the Lord.”

You will be called, “Sought After,

City Not Abandoned.”

[1:29]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text (and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) has the third person here, though a few Hebrew mss (and Targums) read the second person, which is certainly more consistent with the following context. The third person form is the more difficult reading and probably original. This disagreement in person has caused some to emend the first verb (3rd plural) to a 2nd plural form (followed by most English translations). The BHS textual apparatus suggests that the 2nd plural form be read even though there is only sparse textual evidence. LXX, Syriac, and the Vulgate change all the 2nd person verbs in 1:29-31 to 3rd person verbs. It is likely that the change to a 2nd person form represents an attempt at syntactical harmonization (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 10). The abrupt change from 3rd person to 2nd person may have been intentional for rhetorical impact (GKC 462 §144.p). The rapid change from exclamation (they did!) to reproach (you desired!) might be regarded as a rhetorical figure focusing attention on the addressees and their conditions (de Waard, 10; E. König, Stilistik, Rhetorik, Poetik, 239). This use of the 3rd person could also be understood as an impersonal third person: “one will be ashamed” (de Waard, 10). In v. 29 the prophet continues his description of the sinners (v. 28), but then suddenly makes a transition to direct address (switching from 3^rd to 2^nd person) in the middle of his sentence.

[1:29]  ² tn The second person pronouns in vv. 29-30 are masculine plural, indicating that the rebellious sinners (v. 28) are addressed.

[1:29]  ³ tn Or “gardens” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “groves.”

[4:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “a shelter it will be for shade by day from heat, and for a place of refuge and for a hiding place from cloudburst and rain.” Since both of the last nouns of this verse can mean rain, they can either refer to the rain storm and the rain as distinct items or together refer to a heavy downpour. Regardless, they do not represent unrelated phenomena.

[8:2]  ⁵ tn The form in the text is a cohortative with prefixed vav (ו), suggesting that the Lord is announcing what he will do. Some prefer to change the verb to an imperative, “and summon as witnesses,” a reading that finds support from the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a. Another option is to point the prefixed conjunction as a vav consecutive and translate, “So I summoned as witnesses.” In this case Isaiah is recalling his response to the Lord’s commission. In any case, the reference to witnesses suggests that the name and the child who bears it will function as signs.

[8:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “tie up [the] testimony.” The “testimony” probably refers to the prophetic messages God has given him. When the prophecies are fulfilled, he will be able to produce this official, written record to confirm the authenticity of his ministry and to prove to the people that God is sovereign over events.

[8:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “seal [the] instruction among my followers.” The “instruction” probably refers to the prophet’s exhortations and warnings. When the people are judged for the sins, the prophet can produce these earlier messages and essentially say, “I told you so.” In this way he can authenticate his ministry and impress upon the people the reality of God’s authority over them.

[10:34]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has, “and Lebanon, by/as [?] a mighty one, will fall.” The translation above takes the preposition בְּ (bet) prefixed to “mighty one” as indicating identity, “Lebanon, as a mighty one, will fall.” In this case “mighty one” describes Lebanon. (In Ezek 17:23 and Zech 11:2 the adjective is used of Lebanon’s cedars.) Another option is to take the preposition as indicating agency and interpret “mighty one” as a divine title (see Isa 33:21). One could then translate, “and Lebanon will fall by [the agency of] the Mighty One.”

[11:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and a cow and a bear will graze – together – they will lie down, their young.” This is a case of pivot pattern; יַחְדָּו (yakhddav, “together”) goes with both the preceding and following statements.

[14:3]  ¹⁰ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[14:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ¹² tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.

[19:19]  ¹³ tn This word is sometimes used of a sacred pillar associated with pagan worship, but here it is associated with the worship of the Lord.

[19:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).

[19:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).

[20:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they will be afraid and embarrassed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their beauty.”

[21:16]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[21:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.

[24:21]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”

[24:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).

[28:5]  ²² tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[28:20]  ²³ sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.

[29:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8).

[29:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”

[29:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.

[29:2]  ²⁷ tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.

[29:17]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”

[29:17]  ²⁹ sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful, see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.

[29:19]  ³⁰ tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).

[29:19]  ³¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[29:20]  ³² tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”

[31:6]  ³³ tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.

[32:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Eyes that see.”

[32:3]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.

[32:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “ears that hear.”

[34:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[36:1]  ³⁸ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[38:10]  ³⁹ tn Or “I said” (KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[38:10]  ⁴⁰ tn The precise meaning of the phrase בִּדְמִי יָמַי (bidmi yamay, “in the [?] of my days”) is uncertain. According to HALOT 226 s.v. דְּמִי this word is a hapax legomenon meaning “half.” Others derive the form from דַּמִי (dami, “quiet, rest, peacefulness”).

[38:10]  ⁴¹ tn The precise meaning of the verb is uncertain. The Pual of of פָּקַד (paqad) occurs only here and in Exod 38:21, where it appears to mean “passed in review” or “mustered.” Perhaps the idea is, “I have been called away for the remainder of my years.” To bring out the sense more clearly, one can translate, “I am deprived of the rest of my years.”

[42:9]  ⁴² tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”

[42:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).

[42:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “be ashamed with shame”; ASV, NASB “be utterly put to shame.”

[48:10]  ⁴⁵ tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (bÿkhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.

[57:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Since God is speaking throughout this context, perhaps we should emend the text to “and I say.” However, divine speech is introduced in v. 15.

[61:5]  ⁴⁷ sn The Lord speaks in vv. 7-8 (and possibly v. 9). It is not clear where the servant’s speech (see vv. 1-3a) ends and the Lord’s begins. Perhaps the direct address to the people signals the beginning of the Lord’s speech.

[61:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “will stand [in position] and shepherd.”

[62:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).