Yesaya 3:13

3:13 The Lord takes his position to judge;

he stands up to pass sentence on his people. ¹ 

Yesaya 5:23

5:23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,

they ignore the just cause of the innocent. ² 

Yesaya 10:9

10:9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?

Hamath like Arpad?

Samaria like Damascus? ³ 

Yesaya 14:10

14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:

‘You too have become weak like us!

You have become just like us!

Yesaya 22:1

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: ⁴ 

What is the reason ⁵ 

that all of you go up to the rooftops?

Yesaya 26:2

26:2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter –

one that remains trustworthy.

Yesaya 30:31

30:31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; ⁶ 

he will beat them with a club.

Yesaya 33:3-4

33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; ⁷ 

the nations scatter when you spring into action! ⁸ 

33:4 Your plunder ⁹  disappears as if locusts were eating it; ¹⁰ 

they swarm over it like locusts! ¹¹ 

Yesaya 33:12

33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; ¹² 

like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.

Yesaya 36:14

36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you!

Yesaya 40:23

40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;

he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.

Yesaya 40:29

40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired;

to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.

Yesaya 41:3

41:3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed; ¹³ 

he advances with great speed. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 42:21

42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice

by magnifying his law and displaying it. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 43:18

43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; ¹⁶ 

don’t recall these former events.

Yesaya 45:15

45:15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,

O God of Israel, deliverer!

Yesaya 46:5

46:5 To whom can you compare and liken me?

Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared!

Yesaya 47:4

47:4 says our protector –

the Lord who commands armies is his name,

the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 49:17

49:17 Your children hurry back,

while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.

Yesaya 49:24

49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,

or captives be rescued from a conqueror? ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 52:13

The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant

52:13 “Look, my servant will succeed! ¹⁹ 

He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted ²⁰  –

Yesaya 53:1

53:1 Who would have believed ²¹  what we ²²  just heard? ²³ 

When ²⁴  was the Lord’s power ²⁵  revealed through him?

Yesaya 60:3

60:3 Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

[3:13]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has “nations,” but the preceding and following contexts make it clear that the Lord is judging his covenant people. עָמִים (’amim) should be changed (with support from the LXX) to עמו. The final mem (ם) on the form in the Hebrew is either dittographic or enclitic. When the mem was added or read as a plural ending, the vav (ו) was then misread as a yod (י).

[5:23]  ² tn Heb “and the just cause of the innocent ones they turn aside from him.”

[5:23]  sn In vv. 22-23 the prophet returns to themes with which he opened his speech. The accusatory elements of vv. 8, 11-12, 18-23 are arranged in a chiastic manner: (A) social injustice (8), (B) carousing (11-12a), (C) spiritual insensitivity (12b) // (C') spiritual insensitivity (18-21), (B') carousing (22), (A') social injustice (23).

[10:9]  ³ sn Calneh … Carchemish … Hamath … Arpad … Samaria … Damascus. The city states listed here were conquered by the Assyrians between 740-717 b.c. The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one can stand before Assyria’s might. On the geographical, rather than chronological arrangement of the cities, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:264, n. 4.

[22:1]  ⁴ sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).

[22:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “What to you, then?”

[30:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”

[33:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”

[33:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”

[33:4]  ⁹ tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.

[33:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”

[33:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”

[33:12]  ¹² tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.

[41:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “[in] peace”; KJV, ASV “safely”; NASB “in safety”; NIV “unscathed.”

[41:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a way with his feet he does not come [or “enter”].” One could translate, “by a way he was not [previously] entering with his feet.” This would mean that he is advancing into new territory and expanding his conquests. The present translation assumes this is a hyperbolic description to his speedy advance. He moves so quickly he does not enter the way with his feet, i.e., his feet don’t even touch the ground. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 94.

[42:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel (Deut 4:5-8). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24) and failed to carry out their commission.

[43:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”

[47:4]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads, “Our redeemer – the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” The ancient Greek version adds “says” before “our redeemer.” אָמַר (’amar) may have accidentally dropped from the text by virtual haplography. Note that the preceding word אָדָם (’adam) is graphically similar.

[47:4]  sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[49:24]  ¹⁸ tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).

[52:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “act wisely,” which by metonymy means “succeed.”

[52:13]  ²⁰ tn This piling up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of the servant’s coming exaltation.

[53:1]  ²¹ tn The perfect has a hypothetical force in this rhetorical question. For another example, see Gen 21:7.

[53:1]  ²² sn The speaker shifts here from God to an unidentified group (note the first person plural pronouns throughout vv. 1-6). The content of the speech suggests that the prophet speaks here as representative of the sinful nation Israel. The group acknowledges its sin and recognizes that the servant suffered on their behalf.

[53:1]  ²³ tn The first half of v. 1 is traditionally translated, “Who has believed our report?” or “Who has believed our message?” as if the group speaking is lamenting that no one will believe what they have to say. But that doesn’t seem to be the point in this context. Here the group speaking does not cast itself in the role of a preacher or evangelist. No, they are repentant sinners, who finally see the light. The phrase “our report” can mean (1) the report which we deliver, or (2) the report which was delivered to us. The latter fits better here, where the report is most naturally taken as the announcement that has just been made in 52:13-15.

[53:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to whom” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[53:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the arm of the Lord.” The “arm of the Lord” is a metaphor of military power; it pictures the Lord as a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and crushes his enemies (cf. 51:9-10; 63:5-6). But Israel had not seen the Lord’s military power at work in the servant.