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 30:21

30:21 You ²  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ³  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

Isaiah 37:22

37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: ⁴ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ⁵ 

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ⁶ 

Isaiah 38:17

38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. ⁷ 

You delivered me ⁸  from the pit of oblivion. ⁹ 

For you removed all my sins from your sight. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹¹ 

Indeed, ¹²  you depart from me ¹³  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ¹⁴ 

You purchase favors from them, ¹⁵ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ¹⁶  on their genitals. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 59:13

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up ¹⁸  oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 65:2

65:2 I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired. ²⁰ 

Isaiah 66:17

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ²¹  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ²²  – they will all be destroyed together,” ²³  says the Lord.

Isaiah 43:10

43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,

“my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may consider ²⁴  and believe in me,

and understand that I am he.

No god was formed before me,

and none will outlive me. ²⁵ 

Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ²⁶  of Egypt and the revenue ²⁷  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ²⁸  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ²⁹ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ³⁰ 

‘Truly God is with ³¹  you; he has no peer; ³² 

there is no other God!’”

[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.

[30:21]  ² tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ³ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[37:22]  ³ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[37:22]  ⁴ sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

[37:22]  ⁵ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[38:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”

[38:17]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).

[38:17]  ⁶ tn בְּלִי (bÿli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”

[38:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”

[57:8]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ¹¹ 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.

[59:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[59:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”

[65:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”

[66:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.

[66:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”

[66:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”

[43:10]  ⁹ tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[43:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”

[45:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ¹² tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ¹³ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ¹⁴ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.