Yesaya 1:4

1:4 ¹ The sinful nation is as good as dead, ² 

the people weighed down by evil deeds.

They are offspring who do wrong,

children ³  who do wicked things.

They have abandoned the Lord,

and rejected the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

They are alienated from him. ⁵ 

Yesaya 7:4

7:4 Tell him, ‘Make sure you stay calm! ⁶  Don’t be afraid! Don’t be intimidated ⁷  by these two stubs of smoking logs, ⁸  or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

Yesaya 7:17

7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time ⁹  unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 7:20

7:20 At that time ¹¹  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ¹²  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ¹³  it will also shave off the beard.

Yesaya 10:13

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ¹⁴ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ¹⁵  I brought down rulers. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ¹⁷  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ¹⁸ 

For these people lack understanding, ¹⁹ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Yesaya 28:1

The Lord Will Judge Samaria

28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, ²⁰ 

the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, ²¹ 

situated ²²  at the head of a rich valley,

the crown of those overcome with wine. ²³ 

Yesaya 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ²⁴ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 33:14

33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;

panic ²⁶  grips the godless. ²⁷ 

They say, ²⁸  ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?

Who among us can coexist with unquenchable ²⁹  fire?’

Yesaya 33:20

33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!

You ³⁰  will see Jerusalem, ³¹ 

a peaceful settlement,

a tent that stays put; ³² 

its stakes will never be pulled up;

none of its ropes will snap in two.

Yesaya 36:6

36:6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him!

Yesaya 42:25

42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,

along with the devastation ³³  of war.

Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; ³⁴ 

it burned against them, but they did notice. ³⁵ 

Yesaya 44:26

44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants ³⁶ 

and brings to pass the announcements ³⁷  of his messengers,

who says about Jerusalem, ³⁸  ‘She will be inhabited,’

and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,

her ruins I will raise up,’

Yesaya 47:8

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly, ³⁹ 

who lives securely,

who says to herself, ⁴⁰ 

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ⁴¹ 

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’ ⁴² 

Yesaya 49:9

49:9 You will say ⁴³  to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those who are in dark dungeons, ⁴⁴  ‘Emerge.’ ⁴⁵ 

They will graze beside the roads;

on all the slopes they will find pasture.

Yesaya 49:23

49:23 Kings will be your children’s ⁴⁶  guardians;

their princesses will nurse your children. ⁴⁷ 

With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you

and they will lick the dirt on ⁴⁸  your feet.

Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;

those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

Yesaya 54:1

Zion Will Be Secure

54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!

Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate one are more numerous

than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

Yesaya 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ⁴⁹  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ⁵⁰  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ⁵¹ 

the Holy One of Israel, ⁵²  for he has bestowed honor on you.

Yesaya 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ⁵³  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ⁵⁴  instead of discouragement. ⁵⁵ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ⁵⁶ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ⁵⁷ 

Yesaya 62:4

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ⁵⁸  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ⁵⁹ 

and your land “Married.” ⁶⁰ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. ⁶¹ 

Yesaya 64:5

64:5 You assist ⁶²  those who delight in doing what is right, ⁶³ 

who observe your commandments. ⁶⁴ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ⁶⁵ 

[1:4]  ¹ sn Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2-3) has concluded.

[1:4]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to the] sinful nation.” The Hebrew term הוֹי, (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death. In highly dramatic fashion the prophet acts out Israel’s funeral in advance, emphasizing that their demise is inevitable if they do not repent soon.

[1:4]  ³ tn Or “sons” (NASB). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege – nation, people, offspring, children – with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day – sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 43).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “they are estranged backward.” The LXX omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.

[7:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “guard yourself and be quiet,” but the two verbs should be coordinated.

[7:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and let not your heart be weak”; ASV “neither let thy heart be faint.”

[7:4]  ⁸ sn The derogatory metaphor indicates that the power of Rezin and Pekah is ready to die out.

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB); NASB, NRSV “such days.”

[7:17]  ¹⁰ sn Initially the prophecy appears to be a message of salvation. Immanuel seems to have a positive ring to it, sour milk and honey elsewhere symbolize prosperity and blessing (see Deut 32:13-14; Job 20:17), verse 16 announces the defeat of Judah’s enemies, and verse 17a could be taken as predicting a return to the glorious days of David and Solomon. However, the message turns sour in verses 17b-25. God will be with his people in judgment, as well as salvation. The curds and honey will be signs of deprivation, not prosperity, the relief announced in verse 16 will be short-lived, and the new era will be characterized by unprecedented humiliation, not a return to glory. Because of Ahaz’s refusal to trust the Lord, potential blessing would be transformed into a curse, just as Isaiah turns an apparent prophecy of salvation into a message of judgment. Because the words “the king of Assyria” are rather awkwardly tacked on to the end of the sentence, some regard them as a later addition. However, the very awkwardness facilitates the prophet’s rhetorical strategy here, as he suddenly turns what sounds like a positive message into a judgment speech. Actually, “the king of Assyria,” stands in apposition to the earlier object “days,” and specifies who the main character of these coming “days” will be.

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ¹² tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[10:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ¹⁵ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[27:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[28:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Woe [to] the crown [or “wreath”] of the splendor [or “pride”] of the drunkards of Ephraim.” The “crown” is Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom (Ephraim). Priests and prophets are included among these drunkards in v. 7.

[28:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “the beauty of his splendor.” In the translation the masculine pronoun (“his”) has been replaced by “its” because the referent (the “crown”) is the city of Samaria.

[28:1]  ²² tn Heb “which [is].”

[28:1]  ²³ tn Heb “ones overcome with wine.” The words “the crown of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The syntactical relationship of the final phrase to what precedes is uncertain. הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן (halume yayin, “ones overcome with wine”) seems to correspond to שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם (shikkore ’efrayim, “drunkards of Ephraim”) in line 1. The translation assumes that the phrase “the splendid crown” is to be understood in the final line as well.

[30:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[33:14]  ²⁶ tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”

[33:14]  ²⁷ tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”

[33:14]  ²⁸ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[33:14]  ²⁹ tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:20]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:20]  ³² tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”

[42:25]  ³³ tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”

[42:25]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and it blazed against him all around, but he did not know.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb “blazed” is the divine חֵמָה (khemah, “anger”) mentioned in the previous line.

[42:25]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”

[44:26]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.

[44:26]  ³⁷ tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.

[44:26]  ³⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[47:8]  ³⁹ tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

[49:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.

[49:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”

[49:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).

[49:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).

[49:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.

[49:23]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”

[60:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ⁵² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[61:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[62:4]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

[62:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ⁶¹ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

[64:5]  ⁶² tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ⁶⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).