4:1 Seven women will grab hold of
one man at that time. 1
They will say, “We will provide 2 our own food,
we will provide 3 our own clothes;
but let us belong to you 4 –
take away our shame!” 5
10:24 So 6 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 7
11:15 The Lord will divide 8 the gulf 9 of the Egyptian Sea; 10
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River 11 and send a strong wind, 12
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, 13
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will wait 14 and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, 15
like a cloud of mist 16 in the heat 17 of harvest.” 18
24:13 This is what will happen throughout 20 the earth,
among the nations.
It will be like when they beat an olive tree,
and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. 21
28:22 So now, do not mock,
or your chains will become heavier!
For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,
from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. 22
28:28 Grain is crushed,
though one certainly does not thresh it forever.
The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it,
but his horses do not crush it.
44:20 He feeds on ashes; 23
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?’ 24
45:8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers 25 of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it 26 so salvation may grow, 27
and deliverance may sprout up 28 along with it.
I, the Lord, create it. 29
47:11 Disaster will overtake you;
you will not know how to charm it away. 30
Destruction will fall on you;
you will not be able to appease it.
Calamity will strike you suddenly,
before you recognize it. 31
47:12 Persist 32 in trusting 33 your amulets
and your many incantations,
which you have faithfully recited 34 since your youth!
Maybe you will be successful 35 –
maybe you will scare away disaster. 36
48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens, 37 I am there.”
So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. 38
51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 39
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 40
56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, 41
the people who commit themselves to obedience, 42
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. 43
61:7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; 44
instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. 45
Yes, 46 they will possess a double portion in their land
and experience lasting joy.
1 tn Or “in that day” (ASV).
2 tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”
3 tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”
4 tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.
5 sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.
6 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
7 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
11 tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”
12 tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
13 sn That is, the Red Sea.
14 tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.
15 tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.
16 tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.
16 tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”
17 tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
18 tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
19 tc Some medieval Hebrew
20 sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.
21 sn This may refer to a literal insignia worn by the chief administrator. Even so, it would still symbolize the administrator’s authority to grant or exclude access to the king. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:422.
26 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
27 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
31 tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).
36 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
37 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
41 tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”
42 tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”
43 tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).
44 tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).
45 tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).
46 tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.
47 tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”
51 tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”
52 tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.
53 tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”
54 tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”
55 tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.
56 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
57 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
61 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
62 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.
66 tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”
67 tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”
68 tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
71 tn Heb “instead of your shame, a double portion.”
72 tn Heb “and [instead of] humiliation they will rejoice [over] their portion.” The term תָחָת (takhat, “instead of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
73 tn Heb “therefore” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “and so.”