Isaiah 24:10

24:10 The ruined town ¹  is shattered;

all of the houses are shut up tight. ² 

Isaiah 40:17

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing. ³ 

Isaiah 40:23

40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;

he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.

Isaiah 41:29

41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, ⁴ 

their accomplishments are nonexistent;

their metal images lack any real substance. ⁵ 

Isaiah 29:21

29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, ⁶ 

who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate ⁷ 

and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. ⁸ 

Isaiah 34:11

34:11 Owls and wild animals ⁹  will live there, ¹⁰ 

all kinds of wild birds ¹¹  will settle in it.

The Lord ¹²  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ¹³  of destruction. ¹⁴ 

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 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ¹⁵ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ¹⁶ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 49:4

49:4 But I thought, ¹⁸  “I have worked in vain;

I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” ¹⁹ 

But the Lord will vindicate me;

my God will reward me. ²⁰ 

Isaiah 59:4

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ²¹ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ²²  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ²³ 

and give birth to sin.

Isaiah 45:18

45:18 For this is what the Lord says,

the one who created the sky –

he is the true God, ²⁴ 

the one who formed the earth and made it;

he established it,

he did not create it without order, ²⁵ 

he formed it to be inhabited –

“I am the Lord, I have no peer.

[24:10]  ¹ tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.

[24:10]  ² tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”

[40:17]  ³ tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”

[41:29]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.

[41:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”

[29:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”

[29:21]  ⁸ sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.

[29:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”

[34:11]  ⁹ tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).

[34:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.

[34:11]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ¹⁴ sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[45:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ¹² tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ¹³ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[49:4]  ¹³ tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”

[49:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.

[49:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”

[59:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[45:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.

[45:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.