Isaiah 29:10

29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you

a strong urge to sleep deeply. ¹ 

He has shut your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

Isaiah 40:26

40:26 Look up at the sky! ² 

Who created all these heavenly lights? ³ 

He is the one who leads out their ranks; ⁴ 

he calls them all by name.

Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,

not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ⁵  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ⁶  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ⁷  will not disappear. ⁸ 

[29:10]  ¹ tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.

[40:26]  ² tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”

[40:26]  ³ tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.

[40:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)

[51:6]  ³ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

[51:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”