Isaiah 2:4

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ¹ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ² 

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Isaiah 7:17

7:17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time ³  unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah – the king of Assyria!” ⁴ 

Isaiah 23:18

23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. ⁵ 

Isaiah 25:8

25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. ⁶ 

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! ⁷ 

Isaiah 28:13

28:13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like

meaningless gibberish,

senseless babbling,

a syllable here, a syllable there. ⁸ 

As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, ⁹ 

and be injured, ensnared, and captured. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 44:23

44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; ¹¹ 

shout out, you subterranean regions ¹²  of the earth.

O mountains, give a joyful shout;

you too, O forest and all your trees! ¹³ 

For the Lord protects ¹⁴  Jacob;

he reveals his splendor through Israel. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 49:21

49:21 Then you will think to yourself, ¹⁶ 

‘Who bore these children for me?

I was bereaved and barren,

dismissed and divorced. ¹⁷ 

Who raised these children?

Look, I was left all alone;

where did these children come from?’”

Isaiah 65:12

65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, ¹⁸ 

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, ¹⁹ 

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

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me; ²⁰ 

you chose to do what displeases me.”

[2:4]  ¹ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[2:4]  ² sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.

[7:17]  ³ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB); NASB, NRSV “such days.”

[7:17]  ⁴ sn Initially the prophecy appears to be a message of salvation. Immanuel seems to have a positive ring to it, sour milk and honey elsewhere symbolize prosperity and blessing (see Deut 32:13-14; Job 20:17), verse 16 announces the defeat of Judah’s enemies, and verse 17a could be taken as predicting a return to the glorious days of David and Solomon. However, the message turns sour in verses 17b-25. God will be with his people in judgment, as well as salvation. The curds and honey will be signs of deprivation, not prosperity, the relief announced in verse 16 will be short-lived, and the new era will be characterized by unprecedented humiliation, not a return to glory. Because of Ahaz’s refusal to trust the Lord, potential blessing would be transformed into a curse, just as Isaiah turns an apparent prophecy of salvation into a message of judgment. Because the words “the king of Assyria” are rather awkwardly tacked on to the end of the sentence, some regard them as a later addition. However, the very awkwardness facilitates the prophet’s rhetorical strategy here, as he suddenly turns what sounds like a positive message into a judgment speech. Actually, “the king of Assyria,” stands in apposition to the earlier object “days,” and specifies who the main character of these coming “days” will be.

[23:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”

[25:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[28:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “And the word of the Lord will be to them, ‘tsahv latsahv,’ etc.” See the note at v. 10. In this case the “Lord’s word” is not the foreigner’s strange sounding words (as in v. 10), but the Lord’s repeated appeals to them (like the one quoted in v. 12). As time goes on, the Lord’s appeals through the prophets will have no impact on the people; they will regard prophetic preaching as gibberish.

[28:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as a result they will go and stumble backward.” Perhaps an infant falling as it attempts to learn to walk is the background image here (cf. v. 9b). The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) could be taken as indicating purpose (“in order that”), rather than simple result. In this case the people’s insensitivity to the message is caused by the Lord as a means of expediting their downfall.

[28:13]  ¹¹ sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.

[44:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”

[44:23]  ¹² tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.

[44:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”

[44:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ¹⁵ tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”

[49:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”

[49:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”

[65:12]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”

[65:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”