Isaiah 23:13

23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,

these people who have lost their identity! ¹ 

The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.

They erected their siege towers, ² 

demolished ³  its fortresses,

and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁴ 

Isaiah 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ⁵ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ⁶  for the nations. ⁷ 

Isaiah 44:11

44:11 Look, all his associates ⁸  will be put to shame;

the craftsmen are mere humans. ⁹ 

Let them all assemble and take their stand!

They will panic and be put to shame.

Isaiah 50:11

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

and who equip yourselves with ¹⁰  flaming arrows, ¹¹ 

walk ¹²  in the light ¹³  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ¹⁴ 

This is what you will receive from me: ¹⁵ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 54:16

54:16 Look, I create the craftsman,

who fans the coals into a fire

and forges a weapon. ¹⁷ 

I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

Isaiah 55:5

55:5 Look, you will summon nations ¹⁸  you did not previously know;

nations ¹⁹  that did not previously know you will run to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ²⁰ 

for he bestows honor on you.

Isaiah 58:3-4

58:3 They lament, ²¹  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ²² 

you oppress your workers. ²³ 

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ²⁴  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ²⁵ 

Do not fast as you do today,

trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

Isaiah 64:5

64:5 You assist ²⁶  those who delight in doing what is right, ²⁷ 

who observe your commandments. ²⁸ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ²⁹ 

Isaiah 64:9

64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!

Do not hold our sins against us continually! ³⁰ 

Take a good look at your people, at all of us! ³¹ 

[23:13]  ¹ tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”

[23:13]  ² tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.

[23:13]  ³ tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.

[23:13]  ⁴ sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.

[42:1]  ⁵ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ⁷ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[44:11]  ⁹ tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.

[44:11]  ¹⁰ sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”

[50:11]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ¹⁵ tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ¹⁷ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ¹⁹ 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.

[54:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “who brings out an implement for his work.”

[55:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs in the next line indicate (note that both “know” and “run” are third plural forms).

[55:5]  ²² tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs that follow indicate.

[55:5]  ²³ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[58:3]  ²⁵ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ²⁷ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”

[64:5]  ³³ tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ³⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).

[64:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”

[64:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”