Yesaya 27:10

27:10 For the fortified city ¹  is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the desert.

Calves ²  graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare. ³ 

Yesaya 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, ⁴ 

who do their work in secret and boast, ⁵ 

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” ⁶ 

Yesaya 32:7

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; ⁷ 

he dreams up evil plans ⁸ 

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right. ⁹ 

Yesaya 34:14

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ¹⁰ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ¹¹ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ¹²  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ¹³ 

Yesaya 41:28

41:28 I look, but there is no one,

among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,

that I might ask questions and receive answers.

Yesaya 57:9

57:9 You take olive oil as tribute ¹⁴  to your king, ¹⁵ 

along with many perfumes. ¹⁶ 

You send your messengers to a distant place;

you go all the way to Sheol. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 59:11

59:11 We all growl like bears,

we coo mournfully like doves;

we wait for deliverance, ¹⁸  but there is none,

for salvation, but it is far from us.

[27:10]  ¹ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

[27:10]  ² tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.

[27:10]  ³ tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.

[29:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

[29:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

[29:15]  ⁶ tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

[32:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”

[32:7]  ⁸ tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”

[32:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

[34:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ¹² tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”

[34:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”

[57:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you journey with oil.”

[57:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.

[57:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”

[57:9]  ¹⁷ sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.

[59:11]  ¹⁸ tn See the note at v. 9.