Isaiah 14:28

The Lord Will Judge the Philistines

14:28 In the year King Ahaz died, ¹  this message was revealed: ² 

Isaiah 38:18

38:18 Indeed ³  Sheol does not give you thanks;

death does not ⁴  praise you.

Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

Isaiah 6:1

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ⁵  I saw the sovereign master ⁶  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 28:18

28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; ⁷ 

your agreement ⁸  with Sheol will not last. ⁹ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, ¹⁰ 

you will be overrun by it. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 53:9

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, ¹² 

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, ¹³ 

because ¹⁴  he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Isaiah 25:8

25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. ¹⁵ 

The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,

and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Indeed, the Lord has announced it! ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 28:15

28:15 For you say,

“We have made a treaty with death,

with Sheol ¹⁷  we have made an agreement. ¹⁸ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by ¹⁹ 

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” ²⁰ 

Isaiah 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ²¹ 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ²² 

because he willingly submitted ²³  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ²⁴  on behalf of the rebels.”

[14:28]  ¹ sn Perhaps 715 b.c., but the precise date is uncertain.

[14:28]  ² tn Heb “this oracle came.”

[38:18]  ³ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[38:18]  ⁴ tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.

[6:1]  ⁵ sn That is, approximately 740 b.c.

[6:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:18]  ⁷ tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.

[28:18]  ⁸ tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ⁹ tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).

[28:18]  ¹⁰ tn See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”

[53:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.

[53:9]  ¹⁰ tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.

[53:9]  ¹¹ tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”

[25:8]  ¹¹ sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.

[25:8]  ¹² tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:15]  ¹³ sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.

[28:15]  ¹⁴ tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.

[28:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).

[28:15]  ¹⁶ sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.

[53:12]  ¹⁵ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ¹⁶ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ¹⁸ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.