Isaiah 1:6

1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,

there is no spot that is unharmed. ¹ 

There are only bruises, cuts,

and open wounds.

They have not been cleansed ²  or bandaged,

nor have they been treated ³  with olive oil. ⁴ 

Isaiah 2:2

2:2 In the future ⁵ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ⁶ 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ⁷ 

All the nations will stream to it,

Isaiah 7:20

7:20 At that time ⁸  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ⁹  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ¹⁰  it will also shave off the beard.

Isaiah 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ¹¹ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ¹² 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ¹³  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 17:6

17:6 There will be some left behind,

like when an olive tree is beaten –

two or three ripe olives remain toward the very top,

four or five on its fruitful branches,”

says the Lord God of Israel.

Isaiah 28:1

The Lord Will Judge Samaria

28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, ¹⁵ 

the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, ¹⁶ 

situated ¹⁷  at the head of a rich valley,

the crown of those overcome with wine. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 29:10

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply. ¹⁹ 

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

Isaiah 35:10

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ²⁰ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ²¹ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ²²  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ²³ 

Isaiah 37:22

37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: ²⁴ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ²⁵ 

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ²⁶ 

Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ²⁷ 

Who ²⁸  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ²⁹ 

Isaiah 41:26

41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?

Who announced it ³⁰  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?

Indeed, none of them decreed it!

Indeed, none of them announced it!

Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

Isaiah 48:16

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ³¹  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ³² 

Isaiah 51:11

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ³³ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ³⁴  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 51:20

51:20 Your children faint;

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a snare.

They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,

by the battle cry of your God. ³⁶ 

Isaiah 59:17

59:17 He wears his desire for justice ³⁷  like body armor, ³⁸ 

and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. ³⁹ 

He puts on the garments of vengeance ⁴⁰ 

and wears zeal like a robe.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “pressed out.”

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”

[1:6]  ⁴ sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

[7:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ¹⁶ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[28:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] the crown [or “wreath”] of the splendor [or “pride”] of the drunkards of Ephraim.” The “crown” is Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom (Ephraim). Priests and prophets are included among these drunkards in v. 7.

[28:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the beauty of his splendor.” In the translation the masculine pronoun (“his”) has been replaced by “its” because the referent (the “crown”) is the city of Samaria.

[28:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “which [is].”

[28:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “ones overcome with wine.” The words “the crown of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The syntactical relationship of the final phrase to what precedes is uncertain. הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן (halume yayin, “ones overcome with wine”) seems to correspond to שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם (shikkore ’efrayim, “drunkards of Ephraim”) in line 1. The translation assumes that the phrase “the splendid crown” is to be understood in the final line as well.

[29:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.

[35:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”

[35:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[35:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”

[35:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

[37:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[37:22]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[41:4]  ³³ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ³⁴ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

[41:26]  ³⁷ tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[48:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ⁴² sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[51:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[51:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

[51:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

[51:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”

[59:17]  ⁵³ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”

[59:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”

[59:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”

[59:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”