Yesaya 41:21

The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods

41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.

“Produce your evidence,” ¹  says Jacob’s king. ² 

Yesaya 10:8

10:8 Indeed, ³  he says:

“Are not my officials all kings?

Yesaya 40:1

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your ⁴  God.

Yesaya 40:25

40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”

says the Holy One. ⁵ 

Yesaya 33:10

33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.

“Now I will exalt myself;

now I will magnify myself. ⁶ 

Yesaya 41:6

41:6 They help one another; ⁷ 

one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’

Yesaya 4:3

4:3 Those remaining in Zion, ⁸  those left in Jerusalem, ⁹ 

will be called “holy,” ¹⁰ 

all in Jerusalem who are destined to live. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 32:5

32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;

a deceiver will no longer be called principled.

Yesaya 33:24

33:24 No resident of Zion ¹²  will say, “I am ill”;

the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.

Yesaya 66:9

66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”

asks the Lord.

“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”

asks your God. ¹³ 

Yesaya 56:3

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ¹⁴  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ¹⁵  exclude me from his people.’

The eunuch should not say,

‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

Yesaya 62:4

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ¹⁶  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ¹⁷ 

and your land “Married.” ¹⁸ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 1:11

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ²⁰ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ²¹  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ²² 

Yesaya 1:18

1:18 ²³ Come, let’s consider your options,” ²⁴  says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,

you can become ²⁵  white like snow;

though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,

you can become ²⁶  white like wool. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 8:12

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. ²⁸ 

Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

Yesaya 19:18

19:18 At that time five cities ²⁹  in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. ³⁰ 

Yesaya 29:16

29:16 Your thinking is perverse! ³¹ 

Should the potter be regarded as clay? ³² 

Should the thing made say ³³  about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?

Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?

Yesaya 44:5

44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’

and another will use ³⁴  the name ‘Jacob.’

One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and use the name ‘Israel.’” ³⁵ 

Yesaya 44:20

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ³⁶ 

his deceived mind misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself,

nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ³⁷ 

Yesaya 61:6

61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,

servants of our God.’ ³⁸ 

You will enjoy ³⁹  the wealth of nations

and boast about ⁴⁰  the riches you receive from them. ⁴¹ 

[41:21]  ¹ tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.

[41:21]  ² sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.

[10:8]  ³ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[40:1]  ⁴ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.

[40:25]  ⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[33:10]  ⁶ tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”

[41:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “each his neighbor helps”; NCV “The workers help each other.”

[4:3]  ⁸ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[4:3]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “set apart,” cf. CEV “special.”

[4:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all who are written down for life in Jerusalem.” A city register is envisioned; everyone whose name appears on the roll will be spared. This group comprises the remnant of the city referred to earlier in the verse.

[33:24]  ¹² tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[66:9]  ¹³ sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”

[56:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ¹⁵ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[62:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

[62:4]  ¹⁷ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ¹⁸ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ¹⁹ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

[1:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”

[1:11]  sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.

[1:11]  ²¹ tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.

[1:11]  ²² sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.

[1:18]  ²³ sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).

[1:18]  ²⁴ tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.

[1:18]  ²⁵ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ²⁶ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.

[8:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ with respect to all which these people say, ‘Conspiracy.’” The verb translated “do not say” is second masculine plural, indicating that this exhortation is directed to Isaiah and other followers of the Lord (see v. 16).

[8:12]  sn The background of this command is uncertain. Perhaps the “conspiracy” in view is the alliance between Israel and Syria. Some of the people may even have thought that individuals in Judah were plotting with Israel and Syria to overthrow the king.

[19:18]  ²⁹ sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.

[19:18]  ³⁰ tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and some medieval Hebrew mss read עִיר הָחֶרֶס (’ir hakheres, “City of the Sun,” i.e., Heliopolis). This reading also finds support from Symmachus’ Greek version, the Targum, and the Vulgate. See HALOT 257 s.v. חֶרֶס and HALOT 355 s.v. II חֶרֶס.

[29:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.

[29:16]  ³² tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.

[29:16]  ³³ tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”

[44:5]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”

[44:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”

[44:20]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[61:6]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”

[61:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”

[61:6]  ⁴⁰ tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).

[61:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).