Yesaya 1:6

1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,

there is no spot that is unharmed. ¹ 

There are only bruises, cuts,

and open wounds.

They have not been cleansed ²  or bandaged,

nor have they been treated ³  with olive oil. ⁴ 

Yesaya 1:13

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁵  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁶ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁷ 

Yesaya 21:9

21:9 Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.” ⁸ 

When questioned, he replies, ⁹ 

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

Yesaya 24:16

24:16 From the ends of the earth we ¹⁰  hear songs –

the Just One is majestic. ¹¹ 

But I ¹²  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ¹³ 

Yesaya 52:15

52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human ¹⁴  –

so now ¹⁵  he will startle ¹⁶  many nations.

Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, ¹⁷ 

for they will witness something unannounced to them,

and they will understand something they had not heard about.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “pressed out.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”

[1:6]  ⁴ sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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).

[21:9]  ⁸ tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”

[21:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).

[24:16]  ¹⁰ sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.

[24:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.

[24:16]  ¹² sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.

[24:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”

[24:16]  tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away…”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.

[52:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”

[52:15]  ¹⁵ tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.

[52:15]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.

[52:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.