1:4 1 The sinful nation is as good as dead, 2
the people weighed down by evil deeds.
They are offspring who do wrong,
children 3 who do wicked things.
They have abandoned the Lord,
and rejected the Holy One of Israel. 4
They are alienated from him. 5
5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 6 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 7
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 8 of the Holy One of Israel. 9
7:1 During 10 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 11 to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. 12
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 13
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 14
and in their many, many horsemen. 15
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 16
and do not seek help from the Lord.
37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 19
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; 20
shout out, you subterranean regions 21 of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees! 22
For the Lord protects 23 Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. 24
49:5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth 25 to be his servant –
he did this 26 to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored 27 in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength 28 –
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 29 of Israel? 30
I will make you a light to the nations, 31
so you can bring 32 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
60:9 Indeed, the coastlands 33 look eagerly for me,
the large ships 34 are in the lead,
bringing your sons from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to honor the Lord your God, 35
the Holy One of Israel, 36 for he has bestowed honor on you.
63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all 37 the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel, 38
because of 39 his compassion and great faithfulness.
1 sn Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2-3) has concluded.
2 tn Heb “Woe [to the] sinful nation.” The Hebrew term הוֹי, (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death. In highly dramatic fashion the prophet acts out Israel’s funeral in advance, emphasizing that their demise is inevitable if they do not repent soon.
3 tn Or “sons” (NASB). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege – nation, people, offspring, children – with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day – sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 43).
4 sn Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
5 tn Heb “they are estranged backward.” The LXX omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.
6 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
7 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
8 tn Heb “the word.”
9 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
11 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
12 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
13 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.
16 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
17 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
18 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
19 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
21 sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
22 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
26 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”
31 tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”
32 tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.
33 tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”
34 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
35 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.”
36 tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).
37 tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.
38 tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”
39 tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.
41 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
42 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
43 tn See the note at 42:6.
44 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
46 tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”
47 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.
48 tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”
49 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
51 tn Heb “according to all which.”
52 tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”
53 tn Heb “according to.”
56 tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”
57 tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
58 tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.