Isaiah 11:16

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ¹ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ²  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 23:1

The Lord Will Judge Tyre

23:1 Here is a message about Tyre:

Wail, you large ships, ³ 

for the port is too devastated to enter! ⁴ 

From the land of Cyprus ⁵  this news is announced to them.

Isaiah 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ⁶  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ⁷ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ⁸ 

like a root out of parched soil; ⁹ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ¹⁰ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 53:8

53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial ¹²  –

but who even cared? ¹³ 

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; ¹⁴ 

because of the rebellion of his own ¹⁵  people he was wounded.

[11:16]  ¹ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ² tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[23:1]  ³ tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[23:1]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for it is destroyed, from a house, from entering.” The translation assumes that the mem (מ) on בַּיִת (bayit) was originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. This assumption allows one to take בַּיִת as the subject of the preceding verb. It is used in a metaphorical sense for the port city of Tyre. The preposition min (מִן) prefixed to בּוֹא (bo’) indicates negative consequence: “so that no one can enter.” See BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b.

[23:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.

[46:11]  ⁵ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[53:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ⁸ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:8]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The present translation assumes that מִן (min) here has an instrumental sense (“by, through”) and understands עֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט (’otser umimmishpat, “coercion and legal decision”) as a hendiadys meaning “coercive legal decision,” thus “an unjust trial.” Other interpretive options include: (1) “without [for this sense of מִן, see BDB 578 s.v. 1.b] hindrance and proper judicial process,” i.e., “unfairly and with no one to defend him,” (2) “from [in the sense of “after,” see BDB 581 s.v. 4.b] arrest and judgment.”

[53:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his generation, who considers?” (NASB similar). Some understand “his generation” as a reference to descendants. In this case the question would suggest that he will have none. However, אֶת (’et) may be taken here as specifying a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3). If “his generation” refers to the servant’s contemporary generation, one may then translate, “As for his contemporary generation, who took note?” The point would be that few were concerned about the harsh treatment he received.

[53:8]  ¹¹ sn The “land of the living” is an idiom for the sphere where people live, in contrast to the underworld realm of the dead. See, for example, Ezek 32:23-27.

[53:8]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text reads “my people,” a reading followed by most English versions, but this is problematic in a context where the first person plural predominates, and where God does not appear to speak again until v. 11b. Therefore, it is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a עמו (“his people”). In this case, the group speaking in these verses is identified as the servant’s people (compare פְּשָׁעֵנוּ [pÿsha’enu, “our rebellious deeds”] in v. 5 with פֶּשַׁע עַמִּי [pesha’ ’ammi, “the rebellion of his people”] in v. 8).