Isaiah 10:7

10:7 But he does not agree with this,

his mind does not reason this way, ¹ 

for his goal is to destroy,

and to eliminate many nations. ² 

Isaiah 11:10

Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited

11:10 At that time ³  a root from Jesse ⁴  will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, ⁵  and his residence will be majestic.

Isaiah 13:4

13:4 ⁶ There is a loud noise on the mountains –

it sounds like a large army! ⁷ 

There is great commotion among the kingdoms ⁸  –

nations are being assembled!

The Lord who commands armies is mustering

forces for battle.

Isaiah 14:9

14:9 Sheol ⁹  below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses ¹⁰  the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth; ¹¹ 

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones. ¹² 

Isaiah 30:28

30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ¹³ 

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ¹⁴ 

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ¹⁶ 

Who ¹⁷  officially commissions him for service? ¹⁸ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹⁹ 

and enables him to subdue ²⁰  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ²¹ 

Isaiah 52:15

52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human ²²  –

so now ²³  he will startle ²⁴  many nations.

Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, ²⁵ 

for they will witness something unannounced to them,

and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Isaiah 60:5

60:5 Then you will look and smile, ²⁶ 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ²⁷ 

For the riches of distant lands ²⁸  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

Isaiah 60:11

60:11 Your gates will remain open at all times;

they will not be shut during the day or at night,

so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,

with their kings leading the way. ²⁹ 

Isaiah 60:16

60:16 You will drink the milk of nations;

you will nurse at the breasts of kings. ³⁰ 

Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your deliverer,

your protector, ³¹  the powerful ruler of Jacob. ³² 

Isaiah 61:6

61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,

servants of our God.’ ³³ 

You will enjoy ³⁴  the wealth of nations

and boast about ³⁵  the riches you receive from them. ³⁶ 

Isaiah 62:2

62:2 Nations will see your vindication,

and all kings your splendor.

You will be called by a new name

that the Lord himself will give you. ³⁷ 

Isaiah 64:2

64:2 (64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,

or fire makes water boil,

let your adversaries know who you are, ³⁸ 

and may the nations shake at your presence!

[10:7]  ¹ tn Heb “but he, not so does he intend, and his heart, not so does it think.”

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “for to destroy [is] in his heart, and to cut off nations, not a few.”

[11:10]  ³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:10]  ⁴ sn See the note at v. 1.

[11:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “ a root from Jesse, which stands for a signal flag of the nations, of him nations will inquire” [or “seek”].

[13:4]  ⁵ sn In vv. 4-10 the prophet appears to be speaking, since the Lord is referred to in the third person. However, since the Lord refers to himself in the third person later in this chapter (see v. 13), it is possible that he speaks throughout the chapter.

[13:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “a sound, a roar [is] on the mountains, like many people.”

[13:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “a sound, tumult of kingdoms.”

[14:9]  ⁷ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.

[30:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.

[30:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.

[30:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.

[41:2]  ¹¹ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ¹² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹⁵ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ¹⁶ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[52:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”

[52:15]  ¹⁴ tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.

[52:15]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.

[52:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.

[60:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

[60:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.

[60:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “led in procession.” The participle is passive.

[60:16]  ¹⁹ sn The nations and kings are depicted as a mother nursing her children. Restored Zion will be nourished by them as she receives their wealth as tribute.

[60:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[60:16]  ²¹ sn See 1:24 and 49:26.

[61:6]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”

[61:6]  ²² tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”

[61:6]  ²³ tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).

[61:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).

[62:2]  ²³ tn Heb “which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”

[64:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to make known your name to your adversaries.” Perhaps the infinitive construct with preposition -לְ (lamed) should be construed with “come down” in v. 1a, or subordinated to the following line: “To make known your name to your adversaries, let the nations shake from before you.”