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 3:9

3:9 The look on their faces ⁶  testifies to their guilt; ⁷ 

like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. ⁸ 

Too bad for them! ⁹ 

For they bring disaster on themselves.

Isaiah 37:19

37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹⁰  for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Isaiah 44:11

44:11 Look, all his associates ¹²  will be put to shame;

the craftsmen are mere humans. ¹³ 

Let them all assemble and take their stand!

They will panic and be put to shame.

Isaiah 44:15

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ¹⁴ 

he takes some of it and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 47:6

47:6 I was angry at my people;

I defiled my special possession

and handed them over to you.

You showed them no mercy; ¹⁶ 

you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 56:11

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ¹⁸ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ²⁰ 

Indeed, ²¹  you depart from me ²²  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ²³ 

You purchase favors from them, ²⁴ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ²⁵  on their genitals. ²⁶ 

Isaiah 59:8

59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;

their deeds are unjust. ²⁷ 

They use deceitful methods,

and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. ²⁸ 

Isaiah 61:9

61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,

their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will recognize that

the Lord has blessed them.” ²⁹ 

Isaiah 65:23

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster. ³⁰ 

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants. ³¹ 

Isaiah 66:5

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say! ³² 

Your countrymen, ³³  who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.” ³⁴ 

But they will be put to shame.

[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).

[3:9]  ⁶ sn This refers to their proud, arrogant demeanor.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “answers against them”; NRSV “bears witness against them.”

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “their sin, like Sodom, they declare, they do not conceal [it].”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “woe to their soul.”

[37:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[37:19]  ¹² tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).

[44:11]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.”

[44:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ²² tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[47:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “compassion.”

[47:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”

[56:11]  ³¹ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ³² tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[57:8]  ³⁶ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ³⁷ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ³⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ⁴⁰ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[59:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “a way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their pathways.”

[59:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “their paths they make crooked, everyone who walks in it does not know peace.”

[61:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”

[65:23]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”

[65:23]  ⁵² tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”

[66:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”

[66:5]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”

[66:5]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.