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 6:2

6:2 Seraphs ²  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ³  and they used the remaining two to fly.

Isaiah 13:2

13:2 ⁴ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Isaiah 16:3

16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! ⁵ 

Provide some shade in the middle of the day! ⁶ 

Hide the fugitives! Do not betray ⁷  the one who tries to escape!

Isaiah 22:3

22:3 ⁸ All your leaders ran away together –

they fled to a distant place;

all your refugees ⁹  were captured together –

they were captured without a single arrow being shot. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 33:14

33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;

panic ¹¹  grips the godless. ¹² 

They say, ¹³  ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?

Who among us can coexist with unquenchable ¹⁴  fire?’

Isaiah 33:16

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ¹⁵ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ¹⁶ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

Isaiah 34:7

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ¹⁷  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ¹⁸ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

Isaiah 62:12

62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,

the Ones Protected ¹⁹  by the Lord.”

You will be called, “Sought After,

City Not Abandoned.”

[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.

[6:2]  ² tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ³ sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

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

[16:3]  ⁴ sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.

[16:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.

[16:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”

[22:3]  ⁵ tn Verse 3 reads literally, “All your leaders ran away, apart from a bow they were captured, all your found ones were captured together, to a distant place they fled.” J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:403, n. 3) suggests that the lines of the verse are arranged chiastically; lines 1 and 4 go together, while lines 2 and 3 are parallel. To translate the lines in the order they appear in the Hebrew text is misleading to the English reader, who is likely unfamiliar with, or at least insensitive to, chiastic parallelism. Consequently, the translation above arranges the lines as follows: line 1 (Hebrew) = line 1 (in translation); line 2 (Hebrew) = line 4 (in translation); line 3 (Hebrew) = line 3 (in translation); line 4 (Hebrew) = line 2 (in translation).

[22:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “all your found ones.” To achieve tighter parallelism (see “your leaders”) some prefer to emend the form to אַמִּיצַיִךְ (’ammitsayikh, “your strong ones”) or to נֶאֱמָצַיִךְ (ne’ematsayikh, “your strengthened ones”).

[22:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”

[33:14]  ⁶ tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”

[33:14]  ⁷ tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”

[33:14]  ⁸ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[33:14]  ⁹ tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

[33:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”

[34:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.

[62:12]  ⁹ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).