Yesaya 5:18

5:18 Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, ¹ 

who pull sin as with cart ropes. ² 

Yesaya 7:6

7:6 They say, “Let’s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. ³  Then we’ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king.” ⁴ 

Yesaya 8:2

8:2 Then I will summon ⁵  as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

Yesaya 8:17

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,

who has rejected the family of Jacob; ⁶ 

I will wait for him.

Yesaya 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ⁷  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ⁸ 

Yesaya 17:5

17:5 It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest,

and his hand gleans the ear of grain.

It will be like one gathering the ears of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

Yesaya 22:15

22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:

“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, ⁹  and tell him: ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 22:24

22:24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, ¹¹  including the offspring and the offshoots. ¹²  All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.’ ¹³ 

Yesaya 36:4

36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 37:23

37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted

and looked so arrogantly? ¹⁵ 

At the Holy One of Israel! ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 37:28

37:28 I know where you live

and everything you do

and how you rage against me. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 38:13

38:13 I cry out ¹⁸  until morning;

like a lion he shatters all my bones;

you turn day into night and end my life. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 48:10

48:10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have purified you ²⁰  in the furnace of misery.

Yesaya 48:13

48:13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;

my right hand spread out the sky.

I summon them;

they stand together.

Yesaya 57:7

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

you go up there to offer sacrifices.

Yesaya 61:5

61:5 ²¹ “Foreigners will take care of ²²  your sheep;

foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.

Yesaya 62:7

62:7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, ²³ 

until he makes Jerusalem the pride ²⁴  of the earth.

[5:18]  ¹ sn See the note at v. 8.

[5:18]  ² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Woe to those who pull evil with the ropes of emptiness, and, as [with] ropes of a cart, sin.” Though several textual details are unclear, the basic idea is apparent. The sinners are so attached to their sinful ways (compared here to a heavy load) that they strain to drag them along behind them. If שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness”) is retained, it makes a further comment on their lifestyle, denouncing it as one that is devoid of what is right and destined to lead to nothing but destruction. Because “emptiness” does not form a very tight parallel with “cart” in the next line, some emend שָׁוְא to שֶׂה (she, “sheep”) and עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) to עֵגֶל (’egel, “calf”): “Those who pull evil along with a sheep halter are as good as dead who pull sin with a calf rope” (following the lead of the LXX and improving the internal parallelism of the verse). In this case, the verse pictures the sinners pulling sin along behind them as one pulls an animal with a halter. For a discussion of this view, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:163, n. 1. Nevertheless, this emendation is unnecessary. The above translation emphasizes the folly of the Israelites who hold on to their sin (and its punishment) even while they hope for divine intervention.

[7:6]  ³ tn Heb “and let us break it open for ourselves”; NASB “make for ourselves a breach in its walls”; NLT “fight our way into.”

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and we will make the son of Tabeel king in its midst.”

[7:6]  sn The precise identity of this would-be puppet king is unknown. He may have been a Syrian official or the ruler of one of the small neighboring states. See Y. Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 370.

[8:2]  ⁵ tn The form in the text is a cohortative with prefixed vav (ו), suggesting that the Lord is announcing what he will do. Some prefer to change the verb to an imperative, “and summon as witnesses,” a reading that finds support from the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a. Another option is to point the prefixed conjunction as a vav consecutive and translate, “So I summoned as witnesses.” In this case Isaiah is recalling his response to the Lord’s commission. In any case, the reference to witnesses suggests that the name and the child who bears it will function as signs.

[8:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “who hides his face from the house of Jacob.”

[8:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[22:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”

[22:15]  ¹⁰ tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[22:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and all the glory of the house of his father they will hang on him.” The Lord returns to the peg metaphor of v. 23a. Eliakim’s secure position of honor will bring benefits and jobs to many others in the family.

[22:24]  ¹² tn The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”

[22:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.

[36:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”

[37:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”

[37:23]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[37:28]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.

[38:13]  ¹⁸ tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Piel from שָׁוַה (shavah). There are two homonyms שָׁוַה, one meaning in the Piel “level, smooth out,” the other “set, place.” Neither fits in v. 13. It is likely that the original reading was שִׁוַּעְתִּי (shivva’ti, “I cry out”) from the verbal root שָׁוַע (shava’), which occurs exclusively in the Piel.

[38:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[48:10]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (bÿkhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.

[61:5]  ²¹ sn The Lord speaks in vv. 7-8 (and possibly v. 9). It is not clear where the servant’s speech (see vv. 1-3a) ends and the Lord’s begins. Perhaps the direct address to the people signals the beginning of the Lord’s speech.

[61:5]  ²² tn Heb “will stand [in position] and shepherd.”

[62:7]  ²³ tn “Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; note the following line.

[62:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[the object of] praise.”