Isaiah 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ¹ 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ²  I brought them up, ³ 

but ⁴  they have rebelled ⁵  against me!

Isaiah 13:10

13:10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations

no longer give out their light; ⁶ 

the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,

and the moon does not shine. ⁷ 

Isaiah 13:13

13:13 So I will shake the heavens, ⁸ 

and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, ⁹ 

because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies,

in the day he vents his raging anger. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 14:13

14:13 You said to yourself, ¹¹ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ¹² 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ¹³ 

Isaiah 40:12

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters ¹⁴  in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully ¹⁵  measured the sky, ¹⁶ 

or carefully weighed ¹⁷  the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales? ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 42:5

42:5 This is what the true God, ¹⁹  the Lord, says –

the one who created the sky and stretched it out,

the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, ²⁰ 

the one who gives breath to the people on it,

and life to those who live on it: ²¹ 

Isaiah 44:24

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, ²²  says,

the one who formed you in the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the sky,

who fashioned the earth all by myself, ²³ 

Isaiah 45:8

45:8 O sky, rain down from above!

Let the clouds send down showers ²⁴  of deliverance!

Let the earth absorb it ²⁵  so salvation may grow, ²⁶ 

and deliverance may sprout up ²⁷  along with it.

I, the Lord, create it. ²⁸ 

Isaiah 45:12

45:12 I made the earth,

I created the people who live ²⁹  on it.

It was me – my hands ³⁰  stretched out the sky, ³¹ 

I give orders to all the heavenly lights. ³² 

Isaiah 47:13

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ³³ 

Let them take their stand –

the ones who see omens in the sky,

who gaze at the stars,

who make monthly predictions –

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ³⁴ 

Isaiah 49:13

49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! ³⁵ 

Rejoice, O earth!

Let the mountains give a joyful shout!

For the Lord consoles his people

and shows compassion to the ³⁶  oppressed.

Isaiah 51:16

Zion’s Time to Celebrate

51:16 I commission you ³⁷  as my spokesman; ³⁸ 

I cover you with the palm of my hand, ³⁹ 

to establish ⁴⁰  the sky and to found the earth,

to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” ⁴¹ 

Isaiah 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ⁴²  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ⁴³ 

Isaiah 65:17

65:17 For look, I am ready to create

new heavens and a new earth! ⁴⁴ 

The former ones ⁴⁵  will not be remembered;

no one will think about them anymore. ⁴⁶ 

Isaiah 66:1

66:1 This is what the Lord says:

“The heavens are my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is the house you will build for me?

Where is the place where I will rest?

Isaiah 66:22

66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain.

[1:2]  ¹ sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ² tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  ³ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ⁵ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[13:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”

[13:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[13:13]  ¹² tn Heb “from its place” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV).

[13:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and in the day of the raging of his anger.”

[14:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ¹⁷ sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ¹⁸ sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[40:12]  ²¹ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.

[40:12]  ²² tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).

[40:12]  ²³ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[40:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”

[40:12]  ²⁵ sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.

[42:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.

[42:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”

[42:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).

[44:24]  ³¹ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ³² tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.

[45:8]  ³⁶ tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”

[45:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”

[45:8]  ³⁸ tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).

[45:8]  ³⁹ tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).

[45:8]  ⁴⁰ tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).

[45:12]  ⁴¹ tn The words “who live” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[45:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “I, even my hands”; NASB “I stretched out…with My hands”; NRSV “it was my hands that stretched out.” The same construction occurs at the beginning of v. 13.

[45:12]  ⁴³ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[45:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and to all their host I commanded.” See the notes at 40:26.

[47:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”

[49:13]  ⁵¹ tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[49:13]  ⁵² tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[51:16]  ⁵⁶ tn The addressee (second masculine singular, as in vv. 13, 15) in this verse is unclear. The exiles are addressed in the immediately preceding verses (note the critical tone of vv. 12-13 and the reference to the exiles in v. 14). However, it seems unlikely that they are addressed in v. 16, for the addressee appears to be commissioned to tell Zion, who here represents the restored exiles, “you are my people.” The addressee is distinct from the exiles. The language of v. 16a is reminiscent of 49:2 and 50:4, where the Lord’s special servant says he is God’s spokesman and effective instrument. Perhaps the Lord, having spoken to the exiles in vv. 1-15, now responds to this servant, who spoke just prior to this in 50:4-11.

[51:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “I place my words in your mouth.”

[51:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “with the shadow of my hand.”

[51:16]  ⁵⁹ tc The Hebrew text has לִנְטֹעַ (lintoa’, “to plant”). Several scholars prefer to emend this form to לִנְטֹת (lintot) from נָטָה (natah, “to stretch out”); see v. 13, as well as 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV. However, since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, LXX (and Aquila and Symmachus), and Vulgate support the MT reading, there is no need to emend the form. The interpretation is clear enough: Yahweh fixed the sky in its place.

[51:16]  ⁶⁰ tn The infinitives in v. 16b are most naturally understood as indicating the purpose of the divine actions described in v. 16a. The relationship of the third infinitive to the commission is clear enough – the Lord has made the addressee (his special servant?) his spokesman so that the latter might speak encouraging words to those in Zion. But how do the first two infinitives relate? The text seems to indicate that the Lord has commissioned the addressee so that the latter might create the universe! Perhaps creation imagery is employed metaphorically here to refer to the transformation that Jerusalem will experience (see 65:17-18).

[63:15]  ⁶¹ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.

[65:17]  ⁶⁶ sn This hyperbolic statement likens the coming transformation of Jerusalem (see vv. 18-19) to a new creation of the cosmos.

[65:17]  ⁶⁷ tn Or perhaps, “the former things” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “The events of the past.”

[65:17]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and they will not come up on the mind.”