Isaiah 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ¹ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ²  will fill the surface of the world. ³ 

Isaiah 32:15

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ⁴ 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ⁵ 

Isaiah 37:31-32

37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ⁶ 

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ⁷  will accomplish this.

Isaiah 51:3

51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;

he will console all her ruins.

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Happiness and joy will be restored to ⁸  her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

Isaiah 55:13

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁹ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 60:21

60:21 All of your people will be godly; ¹¹ 

they will possess the land permanently.

I will plant them like a shoot;

they will be the product of my labor,

through whom I reveal my splendor. ¹² 

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ¹³  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ¹⁴  instead of discouragement. ¹⁵ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹⁶ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 61:11

61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops

and a garden yields its produce,

so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ¹⁸  to grow,

and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 92:13-14

92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

92:14 They bear fruit even when they are old;

they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. ²⁰ 

Ezekiel 17:22-24

17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will take a sprig ²¹  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ²² 

I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;

I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,

and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.

Every bird will live under it;

Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

Ezekiel 47:12

47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” ²³ 

[27:6]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ² tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ³ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

[32:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.

[32:15]  ⁵ sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.

[37:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”

[37:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[51:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”

[60:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “righteous” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “just.”

[60:21]  ¹² tn Heb “a shoot of his planting, the work of my hands, to reveal splendor.”

[61:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ¹⁶ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[61:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

[61:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”

[92:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”

[17:22]  ²¹ sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same.

[17:22]  ²² tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”

[47:12]  ²³ sn See Rev 22:1-2.