Isaiah 1:26

1:26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,

wise advisers as in earlier days. ¹ 

Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,

Faithful Town.’”

Isaiah 28:16

28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:

“Look, I am laying ²  a stone in Zion,

an approved ³  stone,

set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. ⁴ 

The one who maintains his faith will not panic. ⁵ 

Isaiah 55:3

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ⁶ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ⁷  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ⁸ 

Isaiah 60:4

60:4 Look all around you! ⁹ 

They all gather and come to you –

your sons come from far away

and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

[1:26]  ¹ tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.

[28:16]  ² tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.

[28:16]  ³ tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.

[28:16]  ⁴ sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).

[28:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.

[55:3]  ³ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  ⁴ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”

[60:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see!”