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 6:1

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ⁶  I saw the sovereign master ⁷  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 13:2

13:2 ⁸ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Isaiah 14:13

14:13 You said to yourself, ⁹ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ¹⁰ 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 23:4

23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,

for the sea ¹²  says this, O fortress of the sea:

“I have not gone into labor

or given birth;

I have not raised young men

or brought up young women.” ¹³ 

Isaiah 26:11

26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, ¹⁴ 

but they don’t even notice.

They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, ¹⁵ 

yes, fire will consume your enemies. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ¹⁷ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 37:23

37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted

and looked so arrogantly? ¹⁹ 

At the Holy One of Israel! ²⁰ 

Isaiah 58:1

The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion

58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!

Yell as loud as a trumpet!

Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; ²¹ 

confront Jacob’s family with their sin! ²² 

Isaiah 62:10

62:10 Come through! Come through the gates!

Prepare the way for the people!

Build it! Build the roadway!

Remove the stones!

Lift a signal flag for the nations!

[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).

[6:1]  ⁶ sn That is, approximately 740 b.c.

[6:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[13:2]  ¹¹ sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).

[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.

[23:4]  ²¹ tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.

[23:4]  ²² tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).

[26:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”

[26:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”

[26:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”

[30:18]  ³¹ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ³² tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[37:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”

[37:23]  ³⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[58:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

[58:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).