Isaiah 24:4

24:4 The earth ¹  dries up ²  and withers,

the world shrivels up and withers;

the prominent people of the earth ³  fade away.

Isaiah 33:5

33:5 The Lord is exalted, ⁴ 

indeed, ⁵  he lives in heaven; ⁶ 

he fills Zion with justice and fairness.

Isaiah 37:24

37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ⁷ 

‘With my many chariots I climbed up

the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions, ⁸ 

its thickest woods.

Isaiah 22:16

22:16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? ⁹ 

Why ¹⁰  do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?

He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,

he carves out his tomb on a cliff.

Isaiah 26:5

26:5 Indeed, ¹¹  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ¹² 

he throws it down to the dust.

Isaiah 37:23

37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted

and looked so arrogantly? ¹³ 

At the Holy One of Israel! ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 40:26

40:26 Look up at the sky! ¹⁵ 

Who created all these heavenly lights? ¹⁶ 

He is the one who leads out their ranks; ¹⁷ 

he calls them all by name.

Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,

not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹⁸  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ¹⁹ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ²⁰ 

[24:4]  ¹ tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (erets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37;12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).

[24:4]  ² tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.

[24:4]  ³ tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (mÿrom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (mÿrome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.

[33:5]  ⁴ tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”

[33:5]  ⁵ tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).

[33:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”

[37:24]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[37:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”

[22:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “What to you here? And who to you here?” The point of the second question is not entirely clear. The interpretation reflected in the translation is based on the following context, which suggests that Shebna has no right to think of himself so highly and arrange such an extravagant burial place for himself.

[22:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “that you chisel out.”

[26:5]  ¹³ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ¹⁴ tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.

[37:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”

[37:23]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[40:26]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”

[40:26]  ²⁰ tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.

[40:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)

[57:15]  ²² tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ²³ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”