Isaiah 13:3

13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ¹ 

I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ² 

my boasting, arrogant ones. ³ 

Isaiah 30:7

30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. ⁴ 

For this reason I call her

‘Proud one ⁵  who is silenced.’” ⁶ 

Isaiah 43:1

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,

the one who created you, O Jacob,

and formed you, O Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect ⁷  you.

I call you by name, you are mine.

Isaiah 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ⁸ 

Is my hand too weak ⁹  to deliver ¹⁰  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹¹  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹² 

Isaiah 65:12

65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, ¹³ 

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, ¹⁴ 

because I called to you, and you did not respond,

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me; ¹⁵ 

you chose to do what displeases me.”

Isaiah 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ¹⁶  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ¹⁷ 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

[13:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.

[13:3]  ² tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”

[13:3]  ³ tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”

[30:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”

[30:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Rahab” (רַהַב, rahav), which also appears as a name for Egypt in Ps 87:4. The epithet is also used in the OT for a mythical sea monster symbolic of chaos. See the note at 51:9. A number of English versions use the name “Rahab” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) while others attempt some sort of translation (cf. CEV “a helpless monster”; TEV, NLT “the Harmless Dragon”).

[30:7]  ⁶ tn The MT reads “Rahab, they, sitting.” The translation above assumes an emendation of הֵם שָׁבֶת (hem shavet) to הַמָּשְׁבָּת (hammashbat), a Hophal participle with prefixed definite article, meaning “the one who is made to cease,” i.e., “destroyed,” or “silenced.” See HALOT 444-45 s.v. ישׁב.

[43:1]  ⁷ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

[50:2]  ¹⁰ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹² tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”

[65:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.

[65:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”

[65:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”

[66:4]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”