Isaiah 28:15

28:15 For you say,

“We have made a treaty with death,

with Sheol ¹  we have made an agreement. ² 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by ³ 

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” ⁴ 

Isaiah 36:16

36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. ⁵  Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

Isaiah 49:25

49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,

“captives will be taken from a warrior;

spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.

I will oppose your adversary

and I will rescue your children.

Isaiah 54:17

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ⁶ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ⁷ 

says the Lord.

Isaiah 57:15

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

the one who rules ⁸  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ⁹ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 59:21

59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to ¹¹  them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” ¹²  says the Lord.

Isaiah 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ¹³  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ¹⁴  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ¹⁵ 

the Holy One of Israel, ¹⁶  for he has bestowed honor on you.

[28:15]  ¹ sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.

[28:15]  ² tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.

[28:15]  ³ tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).

[28:15]  ⁴ sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.

[36:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”

[54:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”

[57:15]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[59:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”

[59:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”

[60:9]  ²¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ²² tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ²³ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ²⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.