Isaiah 19:14

19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; ¹ 

they lead Egypt astray in all she does,

so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. ² 

Isaiah 9:16

9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,

and the people being led were destroyed. ³ 

Isaiah 29:24

29:24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding; ⁴ 

those who complain will acquire insight. ⁵ 

Isaiah 3:12

3:12 Oppressors treat my ⁶  people cruelly;

creditors rule over them. ⁷ 

My people’s leaders mislead them;

they give you confusing directions. ⁸ 

Isaiah 19:13

19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,

the officials of Memphis ⁹  are misled;

the rulers ¹⁰  of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

Isaiah 21:4

21:4 My heart palpitates, ¹¹ 

I shake in fear; ¹² 

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

Isaiah 47:15

47:15 They will disappoint you, ¹³ 

those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. ¹⁴ 

Each strays off in his own direction, ¹⁵ 

leaving no one to rescue you.”

Isaiah 53:6

53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 63:17

63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray ¹⁷  from your ways, ¹⁸ 

and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? ¹⁹ 

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance!

Isaiah 28:7

28:7 Even these men ²⁰  stagger because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer –

priests and prophets stagger because of beer,

they are confused ²¹  because of wine,

they stumble around because of beer;

they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, ²² 

they totter while making legal decisions. ²³ 

Isaiah 30:28

30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ²⁴ 

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ²⁵ 

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ²⁶ 

Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ²⁷ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²⁸  –

fools ²⁹  will not stray into it.

Isaiah 16:8

16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,

as well as the vines of Sibmah.

The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,

which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;

their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

[19:14]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”

[19:14]  ² tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”

[9:16]  ³ tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mÿbulla’im) from בָּלַע (bala’, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.

[29:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”

[29:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”

[3:12]  ⁷ sn This may refer to the prophet or to the Lord.

[3:12]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text appears to read literally, “My people, his oppressors, he deals severely, and women rule over them.” The correct text and precise meaning of the verse are debated. The translation above assumes (1) an emendation of נֹגְשָׂיו (nogÿsayv, “his oppressors”) to נֹגְשִׂים (nogÿshim, “oppressors”) by moving the mem (ם) on the following form to the end of the word and dropping the vav (ו) as virtually dittographic; (2) an emendation of מְעוֹלֵל (mÿ’olel, a singular participle that does not agree with the preceding plural subject) to עֹלְלוּ (’olÿlu), a third plural Poel perfect from עָלַל (’alal, “deal severely”; note that the following form begins with a vav [ו]; the text may be haplographic or misdivided); and (3) an emendation (with support from the LXX) of נָשִׁים (nashim, “women”) to נֹשִׁים (noshim, “creditors”; a participle from נָשַׁא, nasa’). Another option is to emend מְעוֹלֵל to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”) and read, “My people’s oppressors are children; women rule over them.” In this case the point is the same as in v. 4; the leadership void left by the judgment will be filled by those incompetent to lead the community – children and women. (The text reflects the ancient Israelite patriarchal mindset.)

[3:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the way of your paths they confuse.” The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”; HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”; see HALOT 134 s.v. בלע).

[19:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”

[19:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.

[21:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”

[21:4]  ¹² tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”

[47:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “So they will be to you”; NIV “That is all they can do for you.”

[47:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that for which you toiled, your traders from your youth.” The omen readers and star gazers are likened to merchants with whom Babylon has had an ongoing economic relationship.

[47:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “each to his own side, they err.”

[53:6]  ¹⁵ tn Elsewhere the Hiphil of פָגַע (paga’) means “to intercede verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25) or “to intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16), but neither nuance fits here. Apparently here the Hiphil is the causative of the normal Qal meaning, “encounter, meet, touch.” The Qal sometimes refers to a hostile encounter or attack; when used in this way the object is normally introduced by the preposition -בְּ (bet, see Josh 2:16; Judg 8:21; 15:12, etc.). Here the causative Hiphil has a double object – the Lord makes “sin” attack “him” (note that the object attacked is introduced by the preposition -בְּ. In their sin the group was like sheep who had wandered from God’s path. They were vulnerable to attack; the guilt of their sin was ready to attack and destroy them. But then the servant stepped in and took the full force of the attack.

[63:17]  ¹⁷ tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.

[63:17]  ¹⁸ tn This probably refers to God’s commands.

[63:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[28:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.

[28:7]  ²⁰ tn According to HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע, the verb form is derived from בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”), not the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”). See earlier notes at 3:12 and 9:16.

[28:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “in the seeing.”

[28:7]  ²² tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”

[30:28]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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.

[35:8]  ²³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ²⁴ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ²⁵ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.