Isaiah 10:1

10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, ¹ 

those who are always instituting unfair regulations, ² 

Isaiah 41:29

41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, ³ 

their accomplishments are nonexistent;

their metal images lack any real substance. ⁴ 

Isaiah 29:20

29:20 For tyrants will disappear,

those who taunt will vanish,

and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated ⁵  –

Isaiah 1:13

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁶  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁷ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁸ 

Isaiah 31:2

31:2 Yet he too is wise ⁹  and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree. ¹⁰ 

He will attack the wicked nation, ¹¹ 

and the nation that helps ¹²  those who commit sin. ¹³ 

Isaiah 55:7

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ¹⁴ 

and sinful people their plans. ¹⁵ 

They should return ¹⁶  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹⁷ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 58:9

58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;

you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’

You must ¹⁹  remove the burdensome yoke from among you

and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

Isaiah 59:4

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ²⁰ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ²¹  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ²² 

and give birth to sin.

Isaiah 59:6-7

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ²³ 

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ²⁴ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ²⁵ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ²⁶ 

Isaiah 32:6

32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; ²⁷ 

his mind plans out sinful deeds. ²⁸ 

He commits godless deeds ²⁹ 

and says misleading things about the Lord;

he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite ³⁰ 

and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. ³¹ 

Isaiah 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ³² 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ³³ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ³⁴ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ³⁵ 

They have decided to behave this way; ³⁶ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ³⁷ 

[10:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[10:1]  ² tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.

[41:29]  ³ tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.

[41:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”

[29:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”

[1:13]  ⁷ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁸ sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[31:2]  ⁹ sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.

[31:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”

[31:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”

[31:2]  ¹² sn That is, Egypt.

[31:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”

[55:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹² tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹⁵ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[58:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 9b-10 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in vv. 9b-10a), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 10b.

[59:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[59:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[59:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”

[32:6]  ²¹ tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.

[32:6]  ²² tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”

[32:6]  ²³ tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”

[32:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”

[32:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”

[66:3]  ²³ tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”