Isaiah 11:2

11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him ¹  –

a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, ² 

a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, ³ 

a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. ⁴ 

Isaiah 16:3

16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! ⁵ 

Provide some shade in the middle of the day! ⁶ 

Hide the fugitives! Do not betray ⁷  the one who tries to escape!

Isaiah 19:3

19:3 The Egyptians will panic, ⁸ 

and I will confuse their strategy. ⁹ 

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 25:1

25:1 O Lord, you are my God! ¹¹ 

I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. ¹² 

For you have done extraordinary things,

and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. ¹³ 

Isaiah 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, ¹⁴ 

who do their work in secret and boast, ¹⁵ 

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 30:1

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious ¹⁷  children are as good as dead,” ¹⁸  says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me, ¹⁹ 

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, ²⁰ 

and thereby compound their sin. ²¹ 

Isaiah 36:5

36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. ²²  In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?

Isaiah 44:26

44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants ²³ 

and brings to pass the announcements ²⁴  of his messengers,

who says about Jerusalem, ²⁵  ‘She will be inhabited,’

and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,

her ruins I will raise up,’

Isaiah 46:10-11

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ²⁶  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

46:11 who summons an eagle ²⁷  from the east,

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

Yes, I have decreed, ²⁸ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Isaiah 47:13

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ²⁹ 

Let them take their stand –

the ones who see omens in the sky,

who gaze at the stars,

who make monthly predictions –

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ³⁰ 

[11:2]  ¹ sn Like David (1 Sam 16:13), this king will be energized by the Lord’s spirit.

[11:2]  ² tn Heb “a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of wisdom he will possess. His wisdom will enable him to make just legal decisions (v. 3). A very similar phrase occurs in Eph 1:17.

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “a spirit of counsel [or “strategy”] and strength.” The construction is a hendiadys; the point is that he will have the strength/ability to execute the plans/strategies he devises. This ability will enable him to suppress oppressors and implement just policies (v. 4).

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” “Knowledge” is used here in its covenantal sense and refers to a recognition of God’s authority and a willingness to submit to it. See Jer 22:16. “Fear” here refers to a healthy respect for God’s authority which produces obedience. Taken together the two terms emphasize the single quality of loyalty to the Lord. This loyalty guarantees that he will make just legal decisions and implement just policies (vv. 4-5).

[16:3]  ⁵ sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.

[16:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.

[16:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”

[19:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰ tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.

[19:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.

[25:1]  ¹³ sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.

[25:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.

[25:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.

[29:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

[29:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

[29:15]  ¹⁹ tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

[30:1]  ²¹ tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”

[30:1]  ²² tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”

[30:1]  ²³ tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”

[30:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.

[30:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”

[36:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.

[44:26]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.

[44:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.

[44:26]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[46:10]  ³³ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[46:11]  ³⁷ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[47:13]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ⁴² tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”