Isaiah 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ¹ 

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. ² 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

Isaiah 31:4

The Lord Will Defend Zion

31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:

“The Lord will be like a growling lion,

like a young lion growling over its prey. ³ 

Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,

it is not afraid of their shouts

or intimidated by their yelling. ⁴ 

In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. ⁵ 

Isaiah 41:26

41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?

Who announced it ⁶  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?

Indeed, none of them decreed it!

Indeed, none of them announced it!

Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

Isaiah 43:21

43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,

so they might praise me.” ⁷ 

Isaiah 51:21

51:21 So listen to this, oppressed one,

who is drunk, but not from wine!

[29:8]  ¹ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ² tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”

[31:4]  ³ tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”

[31:4]  ⁵ tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.

[41:26]  ⁵ tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[43:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”