Yesaya 2:3

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ¹  he can teach us his requirements, ² 

and ³  we can follow his standards.” ⁴ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ⁵ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Yesaya 3:14

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ⁷  “It is you ⁸  who have ruined ⁹  the vineyard! ¹⁰ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ¹²  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ¹³ 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ¹⁴  of the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 14:25

14:25 I will break Assyria ¹⁶  in my land,

I will trample them ¹⁷  underfoot on my hills.

Their yoke will be removed from my people,

the burden will be lifted from their shoulders. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 18:2

18:2 that sends messengers by sea,

who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, ¹⁹ 

to a people that are feared far and wide, ²⁰ 

to a nation strong and victorious, ²¹ 

whose land rivers divide. ²² 

Yesaya 18:4

18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait ²³  and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ²⁴ 

like a cloud of mist ²⁵  in the heat ²⁶  of harvest.” ²⁷ 

Yesaya 23:15

23:15 At that time ²⁸  Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, ²⁹  the typical life span of a king. ³⁰  At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: ³¹ 

Yesaya 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ³²  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ³³  you.

Yesaya 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ³⁴ 

like a root out of parched soil; ³⁵ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ³⁶ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ³⁸ 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ³⁹ 

because he willingly submitted ⁴⁰  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ⁴¹  on behalf of the rebels.”

Yesaya 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ⁴²  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ⁴³ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[3:14]  ⁷ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ⁸ tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ⁹ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ¹⁰ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

[5:24]  ¹² tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ¹³ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[14:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to break Assyria.”

[14:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “him.” This is a collective singular referring to the nation, or a reference to the king of Assyria who by metonymy stands for the entire nation.

[14:25]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and his [i.e., Assyria’s] yoke will be removed from them [the people?], and his [Assyria’s] burden from his [the nation’s?] shoulder will be removed.” There are no antecedents in this oracle for the suffixes in the phrases “from them” and “from his shoulder.” Since the Lord’s land and hills are referred to in the preceding line and the statement seems to echo 10:27, it is likely that God’s people are the referents of the suffixes; the translation uses “my people” to indicate this.

[18:2]  ¹⁹ tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”

[18:2]  ²¹ tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ²² tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”

[18:4]  ²³ tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”

[18:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.

[18:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”

[18:4]  ²⁶ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”

[18:4]  ²⁷ sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.

[23:15]  ²⁸ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[23:15]  ²⁹ sn The number seventy is probably used in a stereotypical, nonliteral sense here to indicate a long period of time that satisfies completely the demands of God’s judgment.

[23:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “like the days of a king.”

[23:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “At the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute.”

[43:2]  ³² tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ³³ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[53:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ³⁵ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:12]  ³⁸ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ³⁹ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ⁴¹ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

[63:15]  ⁴² tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.