Isaiah 1:30

1:30 For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither,

like an orchard ¹  that is unwatered.

Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ²  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ³ 

Isaiah 27:4

27:4 I am not angry.

I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!

Then I would march against them ⁴  for battle;

I would set them ⁵  all on fire,

Isaiah 45:5

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ⁶ 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ⁷  even though you do not recognize ⁸  me.

Isaiah 47:15

47:15 They will disappoint you, ⁹ 

those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. ¹⁰ 

Each strays off in his own direction, ¹¹ 

leaving no one to rescue you.”

Isaiah 51:18

51:18 There was no one to lead her

among all the children she bore;

there was no one to take her by the hand

among all the children she raised.

[1:30]  ¹ tn Or “a garden” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[8:20]  ² tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ³ tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[27:4]  ³ tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense. For other examples of a cohortative expressing resolve after a hypothetical statement introduced by נָתַן with מִי (miwith natan), see Judg 9:29; Jer 9:1-2; Ps 55:6.

[27:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.

[45:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.

[45:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

[45:5]  ⁶ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”

[47:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “So they will be to you”; NIV “That is all they can do for you.”

[47:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “that for which you toiled, your traders from your youth.” The omen readers and star gazers are likened to merchants with whom Babylon has had an ongoing economic relationship.

[47:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “each to his own side, they err.”