Isaiah 1:15

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ¹ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ² 

Isaiah 19:8

19:8 The fishermen will mourn and lament,

all those who cast a fishhook into the river,

and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve. ³ 

Isaiah 33:23

33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, ⁴ 

the mast is not secured, ⁵ 

and the sail ⁶  is not unfurled,

at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; ⁷ 

even the lame will drag off plunder. ⁸ 

Isaiah 37:14

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ⁹  from the messengers and read it. ¹⁰  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.

Isaiah 65:2

65:2 I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired. ¹¹ 

[1:15]  ¹ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ² sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[19:8]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “will disappear”; cf. TEV “will be useless.”

[33:23]  ⁵ tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.

[33:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.

[33:23]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “flag.”

[33:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”

[33:23]  ⁹ sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.

[37:14]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).

[37:14]  ⁸ tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).

[65:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”