Isaiah 10:28

10:28 ¹ They ²  attacked ³  Aiath,

moved through Migron,

depositing their supplies at Micmash.

Isaiah 32:8

32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;

his honorable character gives him security. ⁴ 

Isaiah 44:4

44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, ⁵ 

like poplars beside channels of water.

Isaiah 46:8

46:8 Remember this, so you can be brave! ⁶ 

Think about it, you rebels! ⁷ 

Isaiah 49:16

49:16 Look, I have inscribed your name ⁸  on my palms;

your walls are constantly before me.

Isaiah 53:1

53:1 Who would have believed ⁹  what we ¹⁰  just heard? ¹¹ 

When ¹²  was the Lord’s power ¹³  revealed through him?

Isaiah 57:2

57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;

they rest on their beds. ¹⁴ 

[10:28]  ¹ sn Verses 28-31 display a staccato style; the statements are short and disconnected (no conjunctions appear in the Hebrew text). The translation to follow strives for a choppy style that reflects the mood of the speech.

[10:28]  ² tn Heb “he,” that is, the Assyrians (as the preceding context suggests). Cf. NCV “The army of Assyria.”

[10:28]  ³ tn Heb “came against,” or “came to.”

[32:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”

[44:4]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term בֵין (ven) is usually taken as a preposition, in which case one might translate, “among the grass.” But בֵין is probably the name of a tree (cf. C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 133). If one alters the preposition bet (בְּ) to kaf (כְּ), one can then read, “like a binu-tree.” (The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supports this reading.) This forms a nice parallel to “like poplars” in the next line. חָצִיר (khatsir) is functioning as an adverbial accusative of location.

[46:8]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the verb אָשַׁשׁ (’ashash, which appears here in the Hitpolel stem) is uncertain. BDB 84 s.v. אשׁשׁ relates it to a root meaning “found, establish” in Arabic; HALOT 100 s.v. II אשׁשׁ gives the meaning “pluck up courage.” The imperative with vav (ו) may indicate purpose following the preceding imperative.

[46:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “return [it], rebels, to heart”; NRSV “recall it to mind, you transgressors.”

[49:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “you.” Here the pronoun is put by metonymy for the person’s name.

[53:1]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect has a hypothetical force in this rhetorical question. For another example, see Gen 21:7.

[53:1]  ¹⁷ sn The speaker shifts here from God to an unidentified group (note the first person plural pronouns throughout vv. 1-6). The content of the speech suggests that the prophet speaks here as representative of the sinful nation Israel. The group acknowledges its sin and recognizes that the servant suffered on their behalf.

[53:1]  ¹⁸ tn The first half of v. 1 is traditionally translated, “Who has believed our report?” or “Who has believed our message?” as if the group speaking is lamenting that no one will believe what they have to say. But that doesn’t seem to be the point in this context. Here the group speaking does not cast itself in the role of a preacher or evangelist. No, they are repentant sinners, who finally see the light. The phrase “our report” can mean (1) the report which we deliver, or (2) the report which was delivered to us. The latter fits better here, where the report is most naturally taken as the announcement that has just been made in 52:13-15.

[53:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to whom” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[53:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the arm of the Lord.” The “arm of the Lord” is a metaphor of military power; it pictures the Lord as a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and crushes his enemies (cf. 51:9-10; 63:5-6). But Israel had not seen the Lord’s military power at work in the servant.

[57:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he enters peace, they rest on their beds, the one who walks straight ahead of himself.” The tomb is here viewed in a fairly positive way as a place where the dead are at peace and sleep undisturbed.