Isaiah 28:23

28:23 Pay attention and listen to my message! ¹ 

Be attentive and listen to what I have to say! ² 

Isaiah 29:4

29:4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground ³  you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. ⁴ 

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; ⁵ 

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. ⁶ 

Isaiah 32:9

The Lord Will Give True Security

32:9 You complacent ⁷  women,

get up and listen to me!

You carefree ⁸  daughters,

pay attention to what I say!

Isaiah 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ⁹  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ¹⁰ 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ¹¹  of the Holy One of Israel. ¹² 

[28:23]  ¹ tn Heb “to my voice.”

[28:23]  ² tn Heb “to my word”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “hear my speech.”

[29:4]  ³ tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).

[29:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”

[29:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.

[29:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.

[32:9]  ⁵ tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”

[32:9]  ⁶ tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”

[5:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ⁸ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.