Yesaya 19:11

19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; ¹ 

Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.

How dare you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” ² 

Yesaya 22:11

22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls

for the water of the old pool –

but you did not trust in ³  the one who made it; ⁴ 

you did not depend on ⁵  the one who formed it long ago!

Yesaya 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ⁶  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ⁷ 

they say wonderful things about me, ⁸ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ⁹ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 43:20

43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,

the jackals and ostriches,

because I put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness,

to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

Yesaya 49:5

49:5 So now the Lord says,

the one who formed me from birth ¹¹  to be his servant –

he did this ¹²  to restore Jacob to himself,

so that Israel might be gathered to him;

and I will be honored ¹³  in the Lord’s sight,

for my God is my source of strength ¹⁴  –

Yesaya 51:5

51:5 I am ready to vindicate, ¹⁵ 

I am ready to deliver, ¹⁶ 

I will establish justice among the nations. ¹⁷ 

The coastlands ¹⁸  wait patiently for me;

they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ²⁰ 

Because I have been silent for so long, ²¹ 

you are not afraid of me. ²² 

Yesaya 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ²³  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ²⁴  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ²⁵ 

the Holy One of Israel, ²⁶  for he has bestowed honor on you.

Yesaya 65:12

65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, ²⁷ 

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, ²⁸ 

because I called to you, and you did not respond,

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me; ²⁹ 

you chose to do what displeases me.”

Yesaya 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ³⁰  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ³¹ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

[19:11]  ¹ tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”

[19:11]  ² tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.

[22:11]  ³ tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”

[22:11]  ⁴ tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.

[22:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “did not see.”

[29:13]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[49:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:5]  ¹² tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.

[49:5]  ¹³ tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”

[49:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.

[51:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”

[51:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”

[51:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”

[51:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”

[51:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).

[57:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ²² sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

[60:9]  ²³ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ²⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[65:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.

[65:12]  ²⁸ tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”

[65:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”

[66:4]  ³⁰ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”