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 2:4

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ³ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ⁴ 

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Isaiah 3:7

3:7 At that time ⁵  the brother will shout, ⁶ 

‘I am no doctor, ⁷ 

I have no food or coat in my house;

don’t make me a leader of the people!’”

Isaiah 7:20

7:20 At that time ⁸  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ⁹  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ¹⁰  it will also shave off the beard.

Isaiah 8:8

8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, ¹¹  O Immanuel.” ¹² 

Isaiah 13:8

13:8 They panic –

cramps and pain seize hold of them

like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.

They look at one another in astonishment;

their faces are flushed red. ¹³ 

Isaiah 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ¹⁴  uprightly ¹⁵ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ¹⁶ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ¹⁷ 

and does not seek to harm others ¹⁸  –

Isaiah 34:16

34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! ¹⁹ 

Not one of these creatures will be missing, ²⁰ 

none will lack a mate. ²¹ 

For the Lord has issued the decree, ²² 

and his own spirit gathers them. ²³ 

Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ²⁴ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²⁵  –

fools ²⁶  will not stray into it.

Isaiah 36:18

36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ²⁷ 

Isaiah 41:23

41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, ²⁸ 

so we might know you are gods.

Yes, do something good or bad,

so we might be frightened and in awe. ²⁹ 

Isaiah 43:12

43:12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,

and there was no other god among you.

You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.

Isaiah 44:5-6

44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’

and another will use ³⁰  the name ‘Jacob.’

One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and use the name ‘Israel.’” ³¹ 

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ³²  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

Isaiah 47:10

47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; ³³ 

you thought, ³⁴  ‘No one sees me.’

Your self-professed ³⁵  wisdom and knowledge lead you astray,

when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ ³⁶ 

Isaiah 53:11

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ³⁷ 

“My servant ³⁸  will acquit many, ³⁹ 

for he carried their sins. ⁴⁰ 

Isaiah 59:10

59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,

we grope like those who cannot see; ⁴¹ 

we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.

Though others are strong, we are like dead men. ⁴² 

Isaiah 65:5

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

[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.

[2:4]  ³ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[2:4]  ⁴ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will lift up [his voice].”

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “wrapper [of wounds]”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “healer.”

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.

[8:8]  ¹⁰ sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)

[13:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.

[33:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[34:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”

[34:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”

[34:16]  ¹⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and a few medieval mss have פִּיהוּ (pihu, “his mouth [has commanded]”), while a few other medieval mss read פִּי יְהוָה (pi yÿhvah, “the mouth of the Lord [has commanded]”).

[34:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[35:8]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ¹⁸ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ¹⁹ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[36:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”

[41:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”

[41:23]  ²² tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).

[44:5]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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.”

[44:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[47:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”

[47:10]  ²⁸ tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”

[47:10]  ²⁹ tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[47:10]  ³⁰ tn See the note at v. 8.

[53:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.

[53:11]  ³⁰ sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.

[53:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.

[53:11]  ³² tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.

[59:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “like there are no eyes.”

[59:10]  ³² tn Heb among the strong, like dead men.”