Yesaya 28:20

28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. ¹ 

Yesaya 29:10

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply. ² 

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

Yesaya 5:27

5:27 None tire or stumble,

they don’t stop to nap or sleep.

They don’t loosen their belts,

or unstrap their sandals to rest. ³ 

Yesaya 38:15

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ⁴ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ⁵ 

Yesaya 58:5

58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ⁶ 

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ⁷ 

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out ⁸  on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this really what you call a fast,

a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

Yesaya 56:10

56:10 All their watchmen ⁹  are blind,

they are unaware. ¹⁰ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ¹¹  lie down,

and love to snooze.

Yesaya 57:2

57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;

they rest on their beds. ¹² 

Yesaya 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹³ 

Indeed, ¹⁴  you depart from me ¹⁵  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ¹⁶ 

You purchase favors from them, ¹⁷ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ¹⁸  on their genitals. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 57:7

57:7 On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed;

you go up there to offer sacrifices.

Yesaya 14:18

14:18 ²⁰ As for all the kings of the nations,

all of them ²¹  lie down in splendor, ²² 

each in his own tomb. ²³ 

Yesaya 13:16

13:16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;

their houses will be looted

and their wives raped.

Yesaya 14:11

14:11 Your splendor ²⁴  has been brought down to Sheol,

as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. ²⁵ 

You lie on a bed of maggots,

with a blanket of worms over you. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ²⁷ 

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. ²⁸ 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

[28:20]  ¹ sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.

[29:10]  ² tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.

[5:27]  ³ tn Heb “and the belt on his waist is not opened, and the thong of his sandals is not torn in two.”

[38:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”

[38:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

[58:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

[58:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:5]  ⁸ tn Or “making [their] bed.”

[56:10]  ⁹ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[57:2]  ¹² tn Heb “he enters peace, they rest on their beds, the one who walks straight ahead of himself.” The tomb is here viewed in a fairly positive way as a place where the dead are at peace and sleep undisturbed.

[57:8]  ¹³ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[14:18]  ²⁰ sn It is unclear where the quotation of the kings, begun in v. 10b, ends. However, the reference to the “kings of the nations” in v. 18 (see also v. 9) seems to indicate that the quotation has ended at this point and that Israel’s direct taunt (cf. vv. 4b-10a) has resumed. In fact the references to the “kings of the nations” may form a stylistic inclusio or frame around the quotation.

[14:18]  ²¹ tc The phrase “all of them” does not appear in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[14:18]  ²² sn This refers to the typically extravagant burial of kings.

[14:18]  ²³ tn Heb “house” (so KJV, ASV), but in this context a tomb is in view. Note the verb “lie down” in the preceding line and the reference to a “grave” in the next line.

[14:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”

[14:11]  ²⁵ tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”

[29:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ²⁸ tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”