Isaiah 1:11

1:11 “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 15:5

15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, ⁴ 

and for the fugitives ⁵  stretched out ⁶  as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;

they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. ⁷ 

Isaiah 24:2

24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, ⁸ 

the master as well as the servant, ⁹ 

the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, ¹⁰ 

the seller as well as the buyer, ¹¹ 

the borrower as well as the lender, ¹² 

the creditor as well as the debtor. ¹³ 

Isaiah 39:2

39:2 Hezekiah welcomed ¹⁴  them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 43:9-10

43:9 All nations gather together,

the peoples assemble.

Who among them announced this?

Who predicted earlier events for us? ¹⁶ 

Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;

let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’

43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,

“my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may consider ¹⁷  and believe in me,

and understand that I am he.

No god was formed before me,

and none will outlive me. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 49:21

49:21 Then you will think to yourself, ¹⁹ 

‘Who bore these children for me?

I was bereaved and barren,

dismissed and divorced. ²⁰ 

Who raised these children?

Look, I was left all alone;

where did these children come from?’”

Isaiah 50:1

50:1 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

by which I divorced her?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ²¹ 

Look, you were sold because of your sins; ²² 

because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ²³ 

Isaiah 54:1

Zion Will Be Secure

54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!

Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate one are more numerous

than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ²⁴ 

Indeed, ²⁵  you depart from me ²⁶  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ²⁷ 

You purchase favors from them, ²⁸ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ²⁹  on their genitals. ³⁰ 

Isaiah 58:3

58:3 They lament, ³¹  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ³² 

you oppress your workers. ³³ 

Isaiah 63:11

63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. ³⁴ 

Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,

along with the shepherd of ³⁵  his flock?

Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, ³⁶ 

[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.

[15:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.

[15:5]  ⁵ tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.

[15:5]  ⁶ tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”

[24:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”

[24:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”

[24:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”

[24:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”

[24:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”

[24:2]  ¹² tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”

[39:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “was happy with”; NAB, NASB “was pleased”; NIV “received the envoys gladly.”

[39:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”

[43:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”

[43:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[43:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”

[49:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”

[49:21]  ²⁰ tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”

[50:1]  ²² sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.

[50:1]  ²³ sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.

[50:1]  ²⁴ sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.

[57:8]  ²⁵ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ²⁶ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ²⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ²⁹ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[58:3]  ²⁸ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[63:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.

[63:11]  ³² tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.

[63:11]  ³³ sn See the note at v. 10.