Isaiah 1:12

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ¹ 

Isaiah 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ²  when he punishes, ³ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ⁴ 

Isaiah 33:10

33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.

“Now I will exalt myself;

now I will magnify myself. ⁵ 

Isaiah 43:26

43:26 Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate!

You, prove to me that you are right! ⁶ 

Isaiah 49:3

49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.” ⁷ 

Isaiah 59:14

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness ⁸  stands far off.

Indeed, ⁹  honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

[1:12]  ¹ tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.

[5:16]  ² tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

[5:16]  ³ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

[5:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

[33:10]  ³ tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”

[43:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “you, tell in order that you may be right”; NAB “prove your innocence.”

[49:3]  ⁵ sn This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to the exiled nation (cf. 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20), but in vv. 5-6 this servant says he has been commissioned to reconcile Israel to God, so he must be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal “Israel” who, like Moses of old, mediates a covenant for the nation (see v. 8), leads them out of bondage (v. 9a), and carries out God’s original plan for Israel by positively impacting the pagan nations (see v. 6b). By living according to God’s law, Israel was to be a model of God’s standards of justice to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6-8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant, the ideal “Israel,” will succeed by establishing justice throughout the earth.

[59:14]  ⁶ tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”

[59:14]  ⁷ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).