Isaiah 2:2

2:2 In the future ¹ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ² 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ³ 

All the nations will stream to it,

Isaiah 2:6

The Lord’s Day of Judgment

2:6 Indeed, O Lord, ⁴  you have abandoned your people,

the descendants of Jacob.

For diviners from the east are everywhere; ⁵ 

they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. ⁶ 

Plenty of foreigners are around. ⁷ 

Isaiah 3:6

3:6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother

right in his father’s house ⁸  and say, ⁹ 

‘You own a coat –

you be our leader!

This heap of ruins will be under your control.’ ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 5:7-8

5:7 Indeed ¹¹  Israel ¹²  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ¹³  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ¹⁴ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ¹⁵ 

Disaster is Coming

5:8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, ¹⁶ 

those who also accumulate landed property ¹⁷ 

until there is no land left, ¹⁸ 

and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 7:13

7:13 So Isaiah replied, ²⁰  “Pay attention, ²¹  family ²²  of David. ²³  Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God?

Isaiah 14:1-2

14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; ²⁴  he will again choose Israel as his special people ²⁵  and restore ²⁶  them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family ²⁷  of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. ²⁸  They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.

Isaiah 22:18

22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball

and throw you into a wide, open land. ²⁹ 

There you will die,

and there with you will be your impressive chariots, ³⁰ 

which bring disgrace to the house of your master. ³¹ 

Isaiah 22:24

22:24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, ³²  including the offspring and the offshoots. ³³  All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.’ ³⁴ 

Isaiah 31:2

31:2 Yet he too is wise ³⁵  and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree. ³⁶ 

He will attack the wicked nation, ³⁷ 

and the nation that helps ³⁸  those who commit sin. ³⁹ 

Isaiah 37:14

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ⁴⁰  from the messengers and read it. ⁴¹  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.

Isaiah 44:13

44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; ⁴² 

he marks out an outline of its form; ⁴³ 

he scrapes ⁴⁴  it with chisels,

and marks it with a compass.

He patterns it after the human form, ⁴⁵ 

like a well-built human being,

and puts it in a shrine. ⁴⁶ 

Isaiah 58:7

58:7 I want you ⁴⁷  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ⁴⁸ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ⁴⁹ 

Isaiah 64:11

64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, ⁵⁰ 

the place where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned with fire;

all our prized possessions have been destroyed. ⁵¹ 

Isaiah 66:1

66:1 This is what the Lord says:

“The heavens are my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is the house you will build for me?

Where is the place where I will rest?

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

[2:2]  ² tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn The words “O Lord” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Isaiah addresses the Lord in prayer.

[2:6]  ⁵ tc Heb “they are full from the east.” Various scholars retain the BHS reading and suggest that the prophet makes a general statement concerning Israel’s reliance on foreign customs (J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:32; J. de Waard, Isaiah, 12-13). Nevertheless, it appears that a word is missing. Based on the parallelism (note “omen readers” in 5:6c), many suggest that קֹסְמִים (qosÿmim, “diviners”) or מִקְסָם (miqsam, “divination”) has been accidentally omitted. Homoioteleuton could account for the omission of an original קֹסְמִים (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם [miqqedem, “from the east”] both end in mem); an original מִקְסָם could have fallen out by homoioarcton (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם both begin with mem).

[2:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “and omen readers like the Philistines.” Through this line and the preceding, the prophet contends that Israel has heavily borrowed the pagan practices of the east and west (in violation of Lev 19:26; Deut 18:9-14).

[2:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and with the children of foreigners they [?].” The precise meaning of the final word is uncertain. Some take this verb (I שָׂפַק, safaq) to mean “slap,” supply the object “hands,” and translate, “they slap [hands] with foreigners”; HALOT 1349 s.v. I שׂפק. This could be a reference to foreign alliances. This translation has two disadvantages: It requires the conjectural insertion of “hands” and the use of this verb with its object prefixed with a בְּ (bet) preposition with this meaning does not occur elsewhere. The other uses of this verb refer to clapping at someone, an indication of hostility. The translation above assumes the verb is derived from II שׂפק (“to suffice,” attested in the Qal in 1 Kgs 20:10; HALOT 1349 s.v. II שׂפק). In this case the point is that a sufficient number of foreigners (in this case, too many!) live in the land. The disadvantage of this option is that the preposition prefixed to “the children of foreigners” does not occur with this verb elsewhere. The chosen translation is preferred since it continues the idea of abundant foreign influence and does not require a conjectural insertion or emendation.

[3:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “[in] the house of his father” (so ASV); NIV “at his father’s home.”

[3:6]  ⁸ tn The words “and say” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[3:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “your hand”; NASB “under your charge.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ¹² tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death.

[5:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”

[5:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.”

[5:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.”

[7:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.

[7:13]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.

[7:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.

[7:13]  ¹⁹ sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.

[14:1]  ¹⁹ tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.

[14:1]  ²⁰ tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:1]  ²¹ tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[14:1]  ²² tn Heb “house.”

[14:2]  ²² tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”

[22:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”

[22:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”

[22:18]  ²⁷ sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.

[22:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and all the glory of the house of his father they will hang on him.” The Lord returns to the peg metaphor of v. 23a. Eliakim’s secure position of honor will bring benefits and jobs to many others in the family.

[22:24]  ²⁹ tn The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”

[22:24]  ³⁰ tn Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.

[31:2]  ³¹ sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.

[31:2]  ³² tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”

[31:2]  ³³ tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”

[31:2]  ³⁴ sn That is, Egypt.

[31:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”

[37:14]  ³⁴ tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).

[37:14]  ³⁵ tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).

[44:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”

[44:13]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”

[44:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”

[44:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”

[44:13]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”

[58:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”

[64:11]  ⁴³ tn Heb “our source of pride.”

[64:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”