Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:18
Context1:18 1 Come, let’s consider your options,” 2 says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become 3 white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become 4 white like wool. 5
Isaiah 10:19
Context10:19 There will be so few trees left in his forest,
a child will be able to count them. 6
Isaiah 34:12
Context34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear. 7
Isaiah 41:11-12
Context41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;
your adversaries 8 will be reduced to nothing 9 and perish.
41:12 When you will look for your opponents, 10 you will not find them;
your enemies 11 will be reduced to absolutely nothing.
Isaiah 5:9
Context5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 12
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 13
Isaiah 15:6
Context15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; 14
the grass is dried up,
the vegetation has disappeared,
and there are no plants.
Isaiah 17:3
Context17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and Damascus will lose its kingdom. 15
The survivors in Syria
will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
Isaiah 17:9
Context17:9 At that time 16 their fortified cities will be
like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, 17
which they abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
Isaiah 19:18
Context19:18 At that time five cities 18 in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 19
Isaiah 31:8
Context31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 20
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 21
They will run away from this sword 22
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
Isaiah 59:6
Context59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are sinful;
they commit violent crimes. 23
Isaiah 45:14
Context45:14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit 24 of Egypt and the revenue 25 of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you 26 and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. 27
They will bow down to you
and pray to you: 28
‘Truly God is with 29 you; he has no peer; 30
there is no other God!’”
[1:18] 1 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
[1:18] 2 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
[1:18] 3 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 4 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
[1:18] 5 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
[10:19] 6 tn Heb “and the rest of the trees of his forest will be counted, and a child will record them.”
[34:12] 11 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
[41:11] 16 tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”
[41:11] 17 tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”
[41:12] 21 tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”
[41:12] 22 tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”
[5:9] 26 tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[5:9] 27 tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”
[15:6] 31 tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”
[17:3] 36 tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”
[17:9] 41 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[17:9] 42 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “like the abandonment of the wooded height and the top one.” The following relative clause appears to allude back to the Israelite conquest of the land, so it seems preferable to emend הַחֹרֶשׁ וְהָאָמִיר (hakhoresh vÿha’amir, “the wooded height and the top one”) to חֹרֵשֵׁי הָאֱמֹרִי (khoreshe ha’emori, “[like the abandonment] of the wooded heights of the Amorites”).
[19:18] 46 sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.
[19:18] 47 tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and some medieval Hebrew
[31:8] 51 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 52 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 53 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[59:6] 56 tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”
[45:14] 61 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”
[45:14] 62 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”
[45:14] 63 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”
[45:14] 64 sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
[45:14] 65 sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.
[45:14] 66 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”
[45:14] 67 tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.
