Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:11
Context1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 1
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 2 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 3
Isaiah 1:18
Context1:18 4 Come, let’s consider your options,” 5 says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become 6 white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become 7 white like wool. 8
Isaiah 8:12
Context8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. 9
Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.
Isaiah 19:18
Context19:18 At that time five cities 10 in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 11
Isaiah 29:16
Context29:16 Your thinking is perverse! 12
Should the potter be regarded as clay? 13
Should the thing made say 14 about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?
Isaiah 44:5
Context44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
and another will use 15 the name ‘Jacob.’
One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and use the name ‘Israel.’” 16
Isaiah 44:20
Contexthis deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 18
Isaiah 61:6
Context61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,
servants of our God.’ 19
You will enjoy 20 the wealth of nations
[1:11] 1 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
[1:11] 2 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
[1:11] 3 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
[1:18] 4 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
[1:18] 5 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
[1:18] 6 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 7 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 8 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
[8:12] 7 tn Heb “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ with respect to all which these people say, ‘Conspiracy.’” The verb translated “do not say” is second masculine plural, indicating that this exhortation is directed to Isaiah and other followers of the Lord (see v. 16).
[19:18] 10 sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.
[19:18] 11 tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and some medieval Hebrew
[29:16] 13 tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.
[29:16] 14 tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.
[29:16] 15 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
[44:5] 16 tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”
[44:5] 17 tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”
[44:20] 19 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
[44:20] 20 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
[61:6] 22 tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”
[61:6] 23 tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”
[61:6] 24 tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).
