Isaiah 1:13

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ¹  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ² 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ³ 

Isaiah 8:3-4

8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, 8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria ⁴  will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” ⁵ 

Isaiah 29:12

29:12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read ⁶  and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” ⁷ 

Isaiah 40:6

40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks, ⁸  “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds: ⁹  “All people are like grass, ¹⁰ 

and all their promises ¹¹  are like the flowers in the field.

Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ¹² 

Who ¹³  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ¹⁵  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ¹⁶ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Isaiah 58:1

The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion

58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!

Yell as loud as a trumpet!

Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; ¹⁷ 

confront Jacob’s family with their sin! ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 59:4

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ¹⁹ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ²⁰  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ²¹ 

and give birth to sin.

Isaiah 65:1

The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly

65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; ²² 

I appeared to those who did not look for me. ²³ 

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation that did not invoke ²⁴  my name.

[1:13]  ¹ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ² sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ³ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[8:4]  ⁴ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[8:4]  ⁵ sn The child’s name foreshadows what will happen to Judah’s enemies; when their defeat takes place, the child will be a reminder that God predicted the event and brought it to pass. As such the child will be a reminder of God’s protective presence with his people.

[29:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”

[29:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”

[40:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”

[40:6]  ¹¹ tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.

[40:6]  ¹² tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.

[40:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.

[41:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ¹⁴ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

[46:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[58:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

[58:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[59:4]  ²² tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ²³ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[65:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”

[65:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek.”

[65:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “call out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “call on.”