Isaiah 22:11

22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls

for the water of the old pool –

but you did not trust in ¹  the one who made it; ² 

you did not depend on ³  the one who formed it long ago!

Isaiah 30:14

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. ⁴ 

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough ⁵ 

to scoop a hot coal from a fire ⁶ 

or to skim off water from a cistern.” ⁷ 

Isaiah 37:26

37:26 ⁸ Certainly you must have heard! ⁹ 

Long ago I worked it out,

in ancient times I planned ¹⁰  it,

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 41:25

41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north ¹²  and he advances,

one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ¹³ 

He steps on ¹⁴  rulers as if they were clay,

like a potter treading the clay.

Isaiah 43:1

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,

the one who created you, O Jacob,

and formed you, O Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect ¹⁵  you.

I call you by name, you are mine.

Isaiah 44:2

44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says –

the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:

“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,

Jeshurun, ¹⁶  whom I have chosen!

Isaiah 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Isaiah 44:12

44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool ¹⁷ 

and forges metal over the coals.

He forms it ¹⁸  with hammers;

he makes it with his strong arm.

He gets hungry and loses his energy; ¹⁹ 

he drinks no water and gets tired.

Isaiah 44:21

44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob,

O Israel, for you are my servant.

I formed you to be my servant;

O Israel, I will not forget you! ²⁰ 

Isaiah 44:24

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, ²¹  says,

the one who formed you in the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the sky,

who fashioned the earth all by myself, ²² 

Isaiah 45:7

45:7 I am ²³  the one who forms light

and creates darkness; ²⁴ 

the one who brings about peace

and creates calamity. ²⁵ 

I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

Isaiah 45:11

45:11 This is what the Lord says,

the Holy One of Israel, ²⁶  the one who formed him,

concerning things to come: ²⁷ 

“How dare you question me ²⁸  about my children!

How dare you tell me what to do with ²⁹  the work of my own hands!

Isaiah 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ³⁰  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ³¹ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

[22:11]  ¹ tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”

[22:11]  ² tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.

[22:11]  ³ tn Heb “did not see.”

[30:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”

[30:14]  ⁵ tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”

[30:14]  ⁷ tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.

[37:26]  ⁷ tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.

[37:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.

[37:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).

[37:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.

[41:25]  ¹⁰ sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.

[41:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”

[41:25]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).

[43:1]  ¹³ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

[44:2]  ¹⁶ sn Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel; it occurs here and in Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.

[44:12]  ¹⁹ tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.

[44:12]  ²⁰ tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.

[44:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”

[44:21]  ²² tc The verb in the Hebrew text is a Niphal imperfect with a pronominal suffix. Although the Niphal ordinarily has the passive sense, it can have a reflexive nuance as well (see above translation). Some have suggested an emendation to a Qal form: “Do not forget me” (all the ancient versions, NEB, REB; see GKC 369 §117.x). “Do not forget me” would make a good parallel with “remember these things” in the first line. Since the MT is the harder reading and fits with Israel’s complaint that God had forgotten her (Isa 40:27), the MT reading should be retained (NASB, NKJV, NRSV, ESV). The passive has been rendered as an active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style (so also NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[44:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ²⁶ tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.

[45:7]  ²⁸ tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.

[45:7]  ²⁹ tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”

[45:7]  ³⁰ sn This verses affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).

[45:11]  ³¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[45:11]  ³² tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”

[45:11]  ³³ tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.

[45:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.

[46:11]  ³⁴ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”