Isaiah 25:5

25:5 like heat ¹  in a dry land,

you humble the boasting foreigners. ² 

Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, ³ 

so he causes the song of tyrants to cease. ⁴ 

Isaiah 28:13

28:13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like

meaningless gibberish,

senseless babbling,

a syllable here, a syllable there. ⁵ 

As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, ⁶ 

and be injured, ensnared, and captured. ⁷ 

Isaiah 40:20

40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; ⁸ 

he then seeks a skilled craftsman

to make ⁹  an idol that will not fall over.

Isaiah 41:23

41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, ¹⁰ 

so we might know you are gods.

Yes, do something good or bad,

so we might be frightened and in awe. ¹¹ 

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 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ¹²  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ¹³ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ¹⁴ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Isaiah 45:3

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ¹⁵ 

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 63:17

63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray ¹⁶  from your ways, ¹⁷ 

and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? ¹⁸ 

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance!

[25:5]  ¹ tn Or “drought” (TEV).

[25:5]  ² tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”

[25:5]  ³ tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”

[25:5]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes that the verb יַעֲנֶה (ya’aneh) is a Hiphil imperfect from עָנָה (’anah, “be afflicted, humiliated”). In this context with “song” as object it means to “quiet” (see HALOT 853-54 s.v. II ענה). Some prefer to emend the form to the second person singular, so that it will agree with the second person verb earlier in the verse. BDB 776 s.v. III עָנָה Qal.1 understands the form as Qal, with “song” as subject, in which case one might translate “the song of tyrants will be silent.” An emendation of the form to a Niphal (יֵעָנֶה, ye’aneh) would yield the same translation.

[28:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “And the word of the Lord will be to them, ‘tsahv latsahv,’ etc.” See the note at v. 10. In this case the “Lord’s word” is not the foreigner’s strange sounding words (as in v. 10), but the Lord’s repeated appeals to them (like the one quoted in v. 12). As time goes on, the Lord’s appeals through the prophets will have no impact on the people; they will regard prophetic preaching as gibberish.

[28:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “as a result they will go and stumble backward.” Perhaps an infant falling as it attempts to learn to walk is the background image here (cf. v. 9b). The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) could be taken as indicating purpose (“in order that”), rather than simple result. In this case the people’s insensitivity to the message is caused by the Lord as a means of expediting their downfall.

[28:13]  ⁷ sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.

[40:20]  ⁹ tn The first two words of the verse (הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה, hamsukan tÿrumah) are problematic. Some take מְסֻכָּן as an otherwise unattested Pual participle from סָכַן (sakhan, “be poor”) and translate “the one who is impoverished.” תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah, “contribution”) can then be taken as an adverbial accusative, “with respect to a contribution,” and the entire line translated, “the one who is too impoverished for such a contribution [i.e., the metal idol of v. 19?] selects wood that will not rot.” However, מְסֻכָּן is probably the name of a tree used in idol manufacturing (cognate with Akkadian musukkanu, cf. H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 133). מְסֻכָּן may be a scribal interpretive addition attempting to specify עֵץ (’ets) or עֵץ may be a scribal attempt to categorize מְסֻכָּן. How an idol constitutes a תְּרוּמָה (“contribution”) is not entirely clear.

[40:20]  ¹⁰ tn Or “set up” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NASB “to prepare.”

[41:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”

[41:23]  ¹⁴ tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).

[45:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ¹⁸ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[63:17]  ²⁵ tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.

[63:17]  ²⁶ tn This probably refers to God’s commands.

[63:17]  ²⁷ tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).