Isaiah 10:15

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ¹ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

Isaiah 26:19

26:19 ² Your dead will come back to life;

your corpses will rise up.

Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! ³ 

For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, ⁴ 

and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. ⁵ 

Isaiah 27:9

27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, ⁶ 

and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: ⁷ 

They will make all the stones of the altars ⁸ 

like crushed limestone,

and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. ⁹ 

Isaiah 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ¹⁰  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ¹¹ 

For these people lack understanding, ¹² 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Isaiah 30:33

30:33 For ¹³  the burial place is already prepared; ¹⁴ 

it has been made deep and wide for the king. ¹⁵ 

The firewood is piled high on it. ¹⁶ 

The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,

will ignite it.

Isaiah 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹⁷ 

Indeed, ¹⁸  you depart from me ¹⁹  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ²⁰ 

You purchase favors from them, ²¹ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ²²  on their genitals. ²³ 

Isaiah 59:21

59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to ²⁴  them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” ²⁵  says the Lord.

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ²⁶  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ²⁷  instead of discouragement. ²⁸ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ²⁹ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ³⁰ 

Isaiah 62:4

62:4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”

and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”

Indeed, ³¹  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ³² 

and your land “Married.” ³³ 

For the Lord will take delight in you,

and your land will be married to him. ³⁴ 

[10:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[26:19]  ² sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.

[26:19]  ³ tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.

[26:19]  ⁵ sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).

[27:9]  ³ tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”

[27:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a corruption of לְכַפֵּר (lekhaper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).

[27:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.

[27:9]  ⁶ sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.

[27:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[30:33]  ⁵ tn Or “indeed.”

[30:33]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).

[30:33]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”

[30:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”

[57:8]  ⁶ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ⁷ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ¹² tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[59:21]  ⁷ tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”

[59:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”

[61:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ¹¹ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[62:4]  ⁹ tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

[62:4]  ¹⁰ tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ¹¹ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

[62:4]  ¹² tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.