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 24:6

24:6 So a treaty curse ³  devours the earth;

its inhabitants pay for their guilt. ⁴ 

This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, ⁵ 

and are reduced to just a handful of people. ⁶ 

Isaiah 46:1

The Lord Carries His People

46:1 Bel ⁷  kneels down,

Nebo ⁸  bends low.

Their images weigh down animals and beasts. ⁹ 

Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 54:14

54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ¹¹ 

You will not experience oppression; ¹² 

indeed, you will not be afraid.

You will not be terrified, ¹³ 

for nothing frightening ¹⁴  will come near you.

[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.”

[24:6]  ³ sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.

[24:6]  ⁴ tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).

[24:6]  ⁵ tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).

[24:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”

[46:1]  ⁵ sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.

[46:1]  ⁶ sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.

[46:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”

[46:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”

[54:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.

[54:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.

[54:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.

[54:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.