Yesaya 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ¹  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ² 

they say wonderful things about me, ³ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ⁴ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ⁵ 

Yesaya 45:13

45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him; ⁶ 

I will make all his ways level.

He will rebuild my city;

he will send my exiled people home,

but not for a price or a bribe,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 47:6

47:6 I was angry at my people;

I defiled my special possession

and handed them over to you.

You showed them no mercy; ⁷ 

you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. ⁸ 

Yesaya 48:11

48:11 For my sake alone ⁹  I will act,

for how can I allow my name to be defiled? ¹⁰ 

I will not share my glory with anyone else! ¹¹ 

Yesaya 51:16

Zion’s Time to Celebrate

51:16 I commission you ¹²  as my spokesman; ¹³ 

I cover you with the palm of my hand, ¹⁴ 

to establish ¹⁵  the sky and to found the earth,

to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 54:9

54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, ¹⁷ 

when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood ¹⁸  would never again cover the earth.

In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.

Yesaya 56:3

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ¹⁹  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ²⁰  exclude me from his people.’

The eunuch should not say,

‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

Yesaya 65:5

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

Yesaya 65:12

65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, ²¹ 

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, ²² 

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

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me; ²³ 

you chose to do what displeases me.”

Yesaya 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ²⁴  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; ²⁵ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

[29:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ² tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ³ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[45:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.

[47:6]  ⁷ tn Or “compassion.”

[47:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”

[48:11]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text repeats לְמַעֲנִי (lÿma’ani, “for my sake”) for emphasis.

[48:11]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “for how can it be defiled?” The subject of the verb is probably “name” (v. 9).

[48:11]  ¹¹ sn See 42:8.

[51:16]  ¹² tn The addressee (second masculine singular, as in vv. 13, 15) in this verse is unclear. The exiles are addressed in the immediately preceding verses (note the critical tone of vv. 12-13 and the reference to the exiles in v. 14). However, it seems unlikely that they are addressed in v. 16, for the addressee appears to be commissioned to tell Zion, who here represents the restored exiles, “you are my people.” The addressee is distinct from the exiles. The language of v. 16a is reminiscent of 49:2 and 50:4, where the Lord’s special servant says he is God’s spokesman and effective instrument. Perhaps the Lord, having spoken to the exiles in vv. 1-15, now responds to this servant, who spoke just prior to this in 50:4-11.

[51:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “I place my words in your mouth.”

[51:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “with the shadow of my hand.”

[51:16]  ¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text has לִנְטֹעַ (lintoa’, “to plant”). Several scholars prefer to emend this form to לִנְטֹת (lintot) from נָטָה (natah, “to stretch out”); see v. 13, as well as 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV. However, since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, LXX (and Aquila and Symmachus), and Vulgate support the MT reading, there is no need to emend the form. The interpretation is clear enough: Yahweh fixed the sky in its place.

[51:16]  ¹⁶ tn The infinitives in v. 16b are most naturally understood as indicating the purpose of the divine actions described in v. 16a. The relationship of the third infinitive to the commission is clear enough – the Lord has made the addressee (his special servant?) his spokesman so that the latter might speak encouraging words to those in Zion. But how do the first two infinitives relate? The text seems to indicate that the Lord has commissioned the addressee so that the latter might create the universe! Perhaps creation imagery is employed metaphorically here to refer to the transformation that Jerusalem will experience (see 65:17-18).

[54:9]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “For [or “indeed”] the waters of Noah [is] this to me.” כִּי־מֵי (ki-me, “for the waters of”) should be emended to כְּמֵי (kÿmey, “like the days of”), which is supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and all the ancient versions except LXX.

[54:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the waters of Noah” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[56:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ²⁰ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[65:12]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”

[65:12]  ²³ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”

[66:4]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”