Isaiah 1:18

1:18 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 28:22

28:22 So now, do not mock,

or your chains will become heavier!

For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,

from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. ⁶ 

Isaiah 36:8

36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

Isaiah 42:14

42:14 “I have been inactive ⁷  for a long time;

I kept quiet and held back.

Like a woman in labor I groan;

I pant and gasp. ⁸ 

Isaiah 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ⁹  Do you not recognize ¹⁰  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ¹¹  in the wilderness.

[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.

[28:22]  ⁶ tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).

[42:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”

[42:14]  ¹² sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.

[43:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).