Isaiah 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ¹  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ² 

Isaiah 21:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ³ 

Like strong winds blowing in the south, ⁴ 

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

Isaiah 23:16

23:16 “Take the harp,

go through the city,

forgotten prostitute!

Play it well,

play lots of songs,

so you’ll be noticed!” ⁵ 

Isaiah 60:15

60:15 You were once abandoned

and despised, with no one passing through,

but I will make you ⁶  a permanent source of pride

and joy to coming generations.

[10:2]  ¹ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ² tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[21:1]  ³ sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.

[21:1]  ⁴ tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).

[23:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “so you will be remembered.”

[60:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “Instead of your being abandoned and despised, with no one passing through, I will make you.”