Isaiah 1:3

1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; ¹ 

but Israel does not recognize me, ² 

my people do not understand.”

Isaiah 24:2

24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, ³ 

the master as well as the servant, ⁴ 

the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, ⁵ 

the seller as well as the buyer, ⁶ 

the borrower as well as the lender, ⁷ 

the creditor as well as the debtor. ⁸ 

Isaiah 43:24

43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds; ⁹ 

you did not present to me ¹⁰  the fat of your sacrifices.

Yet you burdened me with your sins;

you made me weary with your evil deeds. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 11:11

11:11 At that time ¹²  the sovereign master ¹³  will again lift his hand ¹⁴  to reclaim ¹⁵  the remnant of his people ¹⁶  from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, ¹⁷  Cush, ¹⁸  Elam, Shinar, ¹⁹  Hamath, and the seacoasts. ²⁰ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

[1:3]  ² tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).

[24:2]  ³ tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”

[24:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”

[24:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”

[24:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”

[24:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”

[24:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”

[43:24]  ⁵ tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”

[43:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”

[43:24]  ⁷ sn In vv. 22-24 the Lord appears to be condemning his people for failure to bring the proper sacrifices. However, this is problematic. If this refers to the nation’s behavior while in exile, such cultic service was impossible and could hardly be expected by the Lord. If this refers to the nation’s conduct before the exile, it contradicts other passages that depict Israel as bringing excessive sacrifices (see, e.g., Isa 1:11-14; Jer 6:20; Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-23). Rather than being a condemnation of Israel’s failure to bring sacrifices, these verses are better taken as a highly rhetorical comment on the worthlessness of Israel’s religious ritual. They may have brought sacrifices, but not to the Lord, for he did not accept them or even want them. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 127, and R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 91.

[11:11]  ⁷ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:11]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[11:11]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).

[11:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”

[11:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”

[11:11]  ¹² sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).

[11:11]  ¹³ tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”