43:26 Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate!
You, prove to me that you are right! 1
22:3 2 All your leaders ran away together –
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees 3 were captured together –
they were captured without a single arrow being shot. 4
27:4 I am not angry.
I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!
Then I would march against them 5 for battle;
I would set them 6 all on fire,
42:14 “I have been inactive 7 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 8
50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! 9
Who is my accuser? 10 Let him challenge me! 11
44:11 Look, all his associates 12 will be put to shame;
the craftsmen are mere humans. 13
Let them all assemble and take their stand!
They will panic and be put to shame.
45:8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers 14 of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it 15 so salvation may grow, 16
and deliverance may sprout up 17 along with it.
I, the Lord, create it. 18
1 tn Heb “you, tell in order that you may be right”; NAB “prove your innocence.”
2 tn Verse 3 reads literally, “All your leaders ran away, apart from a bow they were captured, all your found ones were captured together, to a distant place they fled.” J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:403, n. 3) suggests that the lines of the verse are arranged chiastically; lines 1 and 4 go together, while lines 2 and 3 are parallel. To translate the lines in the order they appear in the Hebrew text is misleading to the English reader, who is likely unfamiliar with, or at least insensitive to, chiastic parallelism. Consequently, the translation above arranges the lines as follows: line 1 (Hebrew) = line 1 (in translation); line 2 (Hebrew) = line 4 (in translation); line 3 (Hebrew) = line 3 (in translation); line 4 (Hebrew) = line 2 (in translation).
3 tn Heb “all your found ones.” To achieve tighter parallelism (see “your leaders”) some prefer to emend the form to אַמִּיצַיִךְ (’ammitsayikh, “your strong ones”) or to נֶאֱמָצַיִךְ (ne’ematsayikh, “your strengthened ones”).
4 tn Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”
3 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense. For other examples of a cohortative expressing resolve after a hypothetical statement introduced by נָתַן with מִי (miwith natan), see Judg 9:29; Jer 9:1-2; Ps 55:6.
4 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.
4 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
5 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
5 tn Heb “Let us stand together!”
6 tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”
7 tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”
6 tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.
7 sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”
7 tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”
8 tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”
9 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).
10 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).
11 tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).