Isaiah 2:5

2:5 O descendants ¹  of Jacob,

come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light. ² 

Isaiah 55:1

The Lord Gives an Invitation

55:1 “Hey, ³  all who are thirsty, come to the water!

You who have no money, come!

Buy and eat!

Come! Buy wine and milk

without money and without cost! ⁴ 

Isaiah 1:18

1:18 ⁵ Come, let’s consider your options,” ⁶  says the Lord.

“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,

you can become ⁷  white like snow;

though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,

you can become ⁸  white like wool. ⁹ 

Isaiah 30:21

30:21 You ¹⁰  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ¹¹  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

Isaiah 50:11

50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with ¹²  flaming arrows, ¹³ 

walk ¹⁴  in the light ¹⁵  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ¹⁶ 

This is what you will receive from me: ¹⁷ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 2:3

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ¹⁹  he can teach us his requirements, ²⁰ 

and ²¹  we can follow his standards.” ²² 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ²³ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Isaiah 18:2

18:2 that sends messengers by sea,

who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, ²⁵ 

to a people that are feared far and wide, ²⁶ 

to a nation strong and victorious, ²⁷ 

whose land rivers divide. ²⁸ 

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “house,” referring to the family line or descendants (likewise in v. 6).

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “let’s walk in the light of the Lord.” In this context, which speaks of the Lord’s instruction and commands, the “light of the Lord” refers to his moral standards by which he seeks to guide his people. One could paraphrase, “let’s obey the Lord’s commands.”

[55:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.

[55:1]  ⁴ sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”

[1:18]  ⁵ sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).

[1:18]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.

[1:18]  ⁷ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁸ tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.

[1:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.

[30:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ⁸ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[50:11]  ⁹ tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).

[50:11]  ¹⁰ tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ¹¹ tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ¹³ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ¹⁵ sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ¹³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[18:2]  ¹³ tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”

[18:2]  ¹⁵ tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”