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 5:7

5:7 Indeed ³  Israel ⁴  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ⁵  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ⁶ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ⁷ 

Isaiah 10:12

10:12 But when ⁸  the sovereign master ⁹  finishes judging ¹⁰  Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I ¹¹  will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. ¹² 

Isaiah 19:1

The Lord Will Judge Egypt

19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:

Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud

and approaches Egypt.

The idols of Egypt tremble before him;

the Egyptians lose their courage. ¹³ 

Isaiah 26:21

26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, ¹⁴ 

to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.

The earth will display the blood shed on it;

it will no longer cover up its slain. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 28:16

28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying ¹⁶  a stone in Zion,

an approved ¹⁷  stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ¹⁸ 

The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 30:27

30:27 Look, the name ²⁰  of the Lord comes from a distant place

in raging anger and awesome splendor. ²¹ 

He speaks angrily

and his word is like destructive fire. ²² 

Isaiah 41:10

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ²³ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ²⁴ 

Isaiah 44:11

44:11 Look, all his associates ²⁵  will be put to shame;

the craftsmen are mere humans. ²⁶ 

Let them all assemble and take their stand!

They will panic and be put to shame.

Isaiah 56:11

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ²⁷ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ²⁸ 

Isaiah 60:5

60:5 Then you will look and smile, ²⁹ 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ³⁰ 

For the riches of distant lands ³¹  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

[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.

[5:7]  ³ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[10:12]  ⁵ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[10:12]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[10:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”

[10:12]  ⁸ tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.

[10:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.

[19:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”

[26:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).

[26:21]  ¹⁰ sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.

[28:16]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.

[28:16]  ¹² tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.

[28:16]  ¹³ sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).

[28:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

[30:27]  ¹³ sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests – he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.

[30:27]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (masa’ah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.

[30:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).

[41:10]  ¹⁵ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ¹⁶ tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[44:11]  ¹⁷ tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.

[44:11]  ¹⁸ sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”

[56:11]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[60:5]  ²¹ tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:5]  ²² tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

[60:5]  ²³ tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.