43:27 The father of your nation 1 sinned;
your spokesmen 2 rebelled against me.
43:22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob;
you did not long 3 for me, O Israel.
12:1 At that time 4 you will say:
“I praise you, O Lord,
for even though you were angry with me,
your anger subsided, and you consoled me.
1:2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth! 5
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children, 6 I brought them up, 7
but 8 they have rebelled 9 against me!
45:23 I solemnly make this oath 11 –
what I say is true and reliable: 12
‘Surely every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will solemnly affirm; 13
57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols 14 help you!
The wind blows them all away, 15
a breeze carries them away. 16
But the one who looks to me for help 17 will inherit the land
and will have access to 18 my holy mountain.”
65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 22
Is my hand too weak 23 to deliver 24 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 25 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 26
1 tn Heb “your first father.” This could refer to Abraham (see 51:2), but elsewhere in Isaiah he does not appear in a negative light (see 29:22; 41:8; 63:16). A more likely candidate is Jacob/Israel, also referred to as the nation’s “father” elsewhere (see 58:14; 63:16).
2 tn On the meaning of the term לִיץ (lits), see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ. This may refer to the nation’s prophets, priests, and/or kings.
3 tn Or “strive”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “been weary of me.”
5 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
7 sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
8 tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).
9 sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).
10 sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.
11 sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).
9 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
11 tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”
12 tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”
13 tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”
13 tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.
14 tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”
15 tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”
16 tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”
17 tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.
15 tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”
16 tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”
17 tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
17 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
18 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
19 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
20 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
21 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”