Yesaya 7:1

Ahaz Receives a Sign

7:1 During ¹  the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem ²  to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. ³ 

Yesaya 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ⁴ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ⁵  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ⁶ 

Yesaya 44:13

44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; ⁷ 

he marks out an outline of its form; ⁸ 

he scrapes ⁹  it with chisels,

and marks it with a compass.

He patterns it after the human form, ¹⁰ 

like a well-built human being,

and puts it in a shrine. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 62:8

62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,

by his strong arm: ¹² 

“I will never again give your grain

to your enemies as food,

and foreigners will not drink your wine,

which you worked hard to produce.

Yesaya 64:7

64:7 No one invokes ¹³  your name,

or makes an effort ¹⁴  to take hold of you.

For you have rejected us ¹⁵ 

and handed us over to our own sins. ¹⁶ 

[7:1]  ¹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:1]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “but they were unable to attack it.” This statement sounds like a summary of the whole campaign. The following context explains why they were unable to defeat the southern kingdom. The parallel passage (2 Kgs 16:5; cf. Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9 for a similar construction) affirms that Syria and Israel besieged Ahaz. Consequently, the statement that “they were not able to battle against them” must refer to the inability to conquer Ahaz.

[8:19]  ⁴ tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.

[8:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

[8:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.

[44:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”

[44:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”

[44:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”

[44:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”

[44:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”

[62:8]  ¹² tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.

[64:7]  ¹³ tn Or “calls out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “calls on.”

[64:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “rouses himself”; NASB “arouses himself.”

[64:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for you have hidden your face from us.”

[64:7]  ¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and you caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.” The verb וַתְּמוּגֵנוּ (vattÿmugenu) is a Qal preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the root מוּג (mug, “melt”). However, elsewhere the Qal of this verb is intransitive. If the verbal root מוּג (mug) is retained here, the form should be emended to a Polel pattern (וַתְּמֹגְגֵנוּ, vattÿmogÿgenu). The translation assumes an emendation to וַתְּמַגְּנֵנוּ (vattÿmaggÿnenu, “and you handed us over”). This form is a Piel preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the verbal root מִגֵּן (miggen, “hand over, surrender”; see HALOT 545 s.v. מגן and BDB 171 s.v. מָגָן). The point is that God has abandoned them to their sinful ways and no longer seeks reconciliation.