Isaiah 27:3

27:3 I, the Lord, protect it; ¹ 

I water it regularly. ² 

I guard it night and day,

so no one can harm it. ³ 

Isaiah 26:3

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ⁴ 

Isaiah 1:8

1:8 Daughter Zion ⁵  is left isolated,

like a hut in a vineyard,

or a shelter in a cucumber field;

she is a besieged city. ⁶ 

Isaiah 42:6

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ⁷ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ⁸  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁹ 

and a light ¹⁰  to the nations, ¹¹ 

Isaiah 48:6

48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence! ¹² 

Will you not admit that what I say is true? ¹³ 

From this point on I am announcing to you new events

that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 65:4

65:4 They sit among the tombs ¹⁵ 

and keep watch all night long. ¹⁶ 

They eat pork, ¹⁷ 

and broth ¹⁸  from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

Isaiah 49:8

49:8 This is what the Lord says:

“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;

in the day of deliverance I will help you;

I will protect you ¹⁹  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ²⁰ 

to rebuild ²¹  the land ²² 

and to reassign the desolate property.

[27:3]  ¹ tn Heb “her.” Apparently “vineyard” is the antecedent, though normally this noun is understood as masculine (see Lev 25:3, however).

[27:3]  ² tn Or perhaps, “constantly.” Heb “by moments.”

[27:3]  ³ tn Heb “lest [someone] visit [harm] upon it, night and day I guard it.”

[26:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.

[1:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).

[42:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ¹¹ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ¹² tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ¹³ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[48:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”

[48:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”

[48:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”

[65:4]  ¹⁶ sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.

[65:4]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (nÿtsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).

[65:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”

[65:4]  ¹⁹ tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, reads מְרַק (mÿraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (feraq, “fragment”).

[49:8]  ¹⁹ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).

[49:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.

[49:8]  ²¹ tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”

[49:8]  ²² tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.