Yesaya 5:4

5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard

beyond what I have already done?

When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,

why did it produce sour ones instead?

Yesaya 13:3

13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ¹ 

I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ² 

my boasting, arrogant ones. ³ 

Yesaya 16:5

16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;

he will rule in a reliable manner,

this one from David’s family. ⁴ 

He will be sure to make just decisions

and will be experienced in executing justice. ⁵ 

Yesaya 27:9

27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, ⁶ 

and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: ⁷ 

They will make all the stones of the altars ⁸ 

like crushed limestone,

and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. ⁹ 

Yesaya 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, ¹⁰ 

who do their work in secret and boast, ¹¹ 

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” ¹² 

Yesaya 31:2

31:2 Yet he too is wise ¹³  and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree. ¹⁴ 

He will attack the wicked nation, ¹⁵ 

and the nation that helps ¹⁶  those who commit sin. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 32:7

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; ¹⁸ 

he dreams up evil plans ¹⁹ 

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 37:32

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ²¹  will accomplish this.

Yesaya 38:3

38:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you ²²  faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, ²³  and how I have carried out your will.” ²⁴  Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. ²⁵ 

Yesaya 38:15

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ²⁶ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ²⁷ 

Yesaya 38:19

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

Yesaya 41:20

41:20 I will do this so ²⁸  people ²⁹  will observe and recognize,

so they will pay attention and understand

that the Lord’s power ³⁰  has accomplished this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ³¹ 

Yesaya 41:23

41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, ³² 

so we might know you are gods.

Yes, do something good or bad,

so we might be frightened and in awe. ³³ 

Yesaya 46:10

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ³⁴  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

Yesaya 47:9

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ³⁵ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ³⁶ 

despite ³⁷  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 48:8

48:8 You did not hear,

you do not know,

you were not told beforehand. ³⁹ 

For I know that you are very deceitful; ⁴⁰ 

you were labeled ⁴¹  a rebel from birth.

Yesaya 51:19

51:19 These double disasters confronted you.

But who feels sorry for you?

Destruction and devastation,

famine and sword.

But who consoles you? ⁴² 

Yesaya 53:9

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, ⁴³ 

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, ⁴⁴ 

because ⁴⁵  he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Yesaya 56:1

The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter

56:1 This is what the Lord says,

“Promote ⁴⁶  justice! Do what is right!

For I am ready to deliver you;

I am ready to vindicate you openly. ⁴⁷ 

Yesaya 56:4

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ⁴⁸  my covenant,

Yesaya 59:7

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ⁴⁹ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ⁵⁰ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ⁵¹ 

[13:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.

[13:3]  ² tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”

[13:3]  ³ tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”

[16:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”

[16:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”

[27:9]  ⁶ tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”

[27:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a corruption of לְכַפֵּר (lekhaper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).

[27:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.

[27:9]  ⁹ sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.

[29:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

[29:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

[29:15]  ¹² tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

[31:2]  ¹³ sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.

[31:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”

[31:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”

[31:2]  ¹⁶ sn That is, Egypt.

[31:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”

[32:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”

[32:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”

[32:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

[37:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[38:3]  ²² tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.

[38:3]  ²³ tn Heb “and with a complete heart”; KJV, ASV “with a perfect heart.”

[38:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”

[38:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “wept with great weeping”; NCV “cried loudly”; TEV “began to cry bitterly.”

[38:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”

[38:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”

[41:20]  ²⁸ tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”

[41:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”

[41:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[41:20]  ³¹ tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”

[41:23]  ³² tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”

[41:23]  ³³ tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).

[41:23]  tn Heb “so we might be frightened and afraid together.” On the meaning of the verb שָׁתָע (shata’), see the note at v. 10.

[46:10]  ³⁴ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[47:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ³⁷ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  ³⁸ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.

[48:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”

[48:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[48:8]  ⁴¹ tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[51:19]  ⁴² tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.

[53:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.

[53:9]  ⁴⁴ tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.

[53:9]  ⁴⁵ tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”

[56:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”

[56:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”

[56:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[59:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”