Yesaya 4:5

4:5 Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion ¹ 

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night; ² 

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ³ 

Yesaya 14:1

14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; ⁴  he will again choose Israel as his special people ⁵  and restore ⁶  them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family ⁷  of Jacob.

Yesaya 16:4

16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live ⁸  among you.

Hide them ⁹  from the destroyer!”

Certainly ¹⁰  the one who applies pressure will cease, ¹¹ 

the destroyer will come to an end,

those who trample will disappear ¹²  from the earth.

Yesaya 17:13

17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, ¹³ 

when he shouts at ¹⁴  them, they will flee to a distant land,

driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,

or like dead thistles ¹⁵  before a strong gale.

Yesaya 28:1

The Lord Will Judge Samaria

28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, ¹⁶ 

the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, ¹⁷ 

situated ¹⁸  at the head of a rich valley,

the crown of those overcome with wine. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ²⁰ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²¹  –

fools ²²  will not stray into it.

Yesaya 42:16

42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; ²³ 

I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. ²⁴ 

I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,

and level out the rough ground. ²⁵ 

This is what I will do for them.

I will not abandon them.

Yesaya 44:23

44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; ²⁶ 

shout out, you subterranean regions ²⁷  of the earth.

O mountains, give a joyful shout;

you too, O forest and all your trees! ²⁸ 

For the Lord protects ²⁹  Jacob;

he reveals his splendor through Israel. ³⁰ 

Yesaya 50:11

50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with ³¹  flaming arrows, ³² 

walk ³³  in the light ³⁴  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ³⁵ 

This is what you will receive from me: ³⁶ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ³⁷ 

Yesaya 56:5

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ³⁸ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ³⁹  for them that will remain.

Yesaya 58:14

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ⁴⁰ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ⁴¹ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ⁴² 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 59:10

59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,

we grope like those who cannot see; ⁴⁴ 

we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.

Though others are strong, we are like dead men. ⁴⁵ 

Yesaya 60:7

60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;

the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. ⁴⁶ 

They will go up on my altar acceptably, ⁴⁷ 

and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.

Yesaya 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ⁴⁸  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ⁴⁹  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ⁵⁰ 

the Holy One of Israel, ⁵¹  for he has bestowed honor on you.

Yesaya 63:3

63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;

no one from the nations joined me.

I stomped on them ⁵²  in my anger;

I trampled them down in my rage.

Their juice splashed on my garments,

and stained ⁵³  all my clothes.

Yesaya 65:7

65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” ⁵⁴  says the Lord.

“Because they burned incense on the mountains

and offended ⁵⁵  me on the hills,

I will punish them in full measure.” ⁵⁶ 

[4:5]  ¹ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

[4:5]  ² tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.

[4:5]  sn The imagery of the cloud by day and fire by night recalls the days of Moses, when a cloud and fire were tangible reminders that the Lord was guiding and protecting his people (Exod 13:21-22; 14:19, 24). In the future age envisioned in Isa 4, the Lord’s protective presence will be a reality.

[4:5]  ³ tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.

[14:1]  ⁴ tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.

[14:1]  ⁵ tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:1]  ⁶ tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[14:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[16:4]  ⁸ tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”

[16:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”

[16:4]  ¹⁰ tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5.

[16:4]  ¹¹ tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.

[16:4]  ¹² tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem.

[17:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[17:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”

[28:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Woe [to] the crown [or “wreath”] of the splendor [or “pride”] of the drunkards of Ephraim.” The “crown” is Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom (Ephraim). Priests and prophets are included among these drunkards in v. 7.

[28:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the beauty of his splendor.” In the translation the masculine pronoun (“his”) has been replaced by “its” because the referent (the “crown”) is the city of Samaria.

[28:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “which [is].”

[28:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “ones overcome with wine.” The words “the crown of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The syntactical relationship of the final phrase to what precedes is uncertain. הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן (halume yayin, “ones overcome with wine”) seems to correspond to שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם (shikkore ’efrayim, “drunkards of Ephraim”) in line 1. The translation assumes that the phrase “the splendid crown” is to be understood in the final line as well.

[35:8]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ²¹ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ²² tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[42:16]  ²³ tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”

[42:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”

[42:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”

[44:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”

[44:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.

[44:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”

[44:23]  ²⁹ tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ³⁰ tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”

[50:11]  ³¹ tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).

[50:11]  ³² tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ³³ tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ³⁴ tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ³⁵ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ³⁶ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ³⁷ sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.

[56:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[58:14]  ⁴⁰ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ⁴³ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[59:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “like there are no eyes.”

[59:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb among the strong, like dead men.”

[60:7]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.

[60:7]  ⁴⁷ tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (’al) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [ya’alu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (lÿratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleted the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (’al) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111) and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).

[60:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ⁵¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[63:3]  ⁵² sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.

[63:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).

[65:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”

[65:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Or perhaps, “taunted”; KJV “blasphemed”; NAB “disgraced”; NASB “scorned”; NIV “defied”; NRSV “reviled.”

[65:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.