Isaiah 3:13

3:13 The Lord takes his position to judge;

he stands up to pass sentence on his people. ¹ 

Isaiah 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ²  The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. ³ 

In earlier times he ⁴  humiliated

the land of Zebulun,

and the land of Naphtali; ⁵ 

but now he brings honor ⁶ 

to the way of the sea,

the region beyond the Jordan,

and Galilee of the nations. ⁷ 

Isaiah 10:13

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ⁸ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ⁹  I brought down rulers. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 18:1

The Lord Will Judge a Distant Land in the South

18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, ¹¹ 

the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

Isaiah 22:20

22:20 “At that time ¹²  I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.

Isaiah 24:17-18

24:17 Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! ¹³ 

24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit; ¹⁴ 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ¹⁵  are opened up ¹⁶ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Isaiah 27:2

27:2 When that time comes, ¹⁷ 

sing about a delightful vineyard! ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 32:8

32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;

his honorable character gives him security. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 43:18

43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; ²⁰ 

don’t recall these former events.

Isaiah 44:4

44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, ²¹ 

like poplars beside channels of water.

Isaiah 46:7

46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;

they put it in its place and it just stands there;

it does not ²²  move from its place.

Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;

it does not deliver him from his distress.

Isaiah 61:10

61:10 I ²³  will greatly rejoice ²⁴  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ²⁵ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ²⁶ 

I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;

I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 65:1

The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly

65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; ²⁸ 

I appeared to those who did not look for me. ²⁹ 

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation that did not invoke ³⁰  my name.

Isaiah 66:4

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment ³¹  for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me; ³² 

they chose to do what displeases me.”

[3:13]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has “nations,” but the preceding and following contexts make it clear that the Lord is judging his covenant people. עָמִים (’amim) should be changed (with support from the LXX) to עמו. The final mem (ם) on the form in the Hebrew is either dittographic or enclitic. When the mem was added or read as a plural ending, the vav (ו) was then misread as a yod (י).

[9:1]  ² sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) the chapter division comes one verse later than in the English Bible; 9:1 (8:23 HT). Thus 9:2-21 in the English Bible = 9:1-20 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[9:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew text reads, “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her.” The feminine singular pronominal suffix “her” must refer to the land (cf. vv. 22a, 23b). So one could translate, “Indeed there will be no gloom for the land which was anxious.” In this case the statement introduces the positive message to follow. Some assume an emendation of לֹא (lo’, “no”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and of לָהּ (lah, “to her”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”), yielding this literal reading: “indeed there is gloom for him, for the one to whom there was anxiety for him.” In this case the statement concludes the preceding description of judgment.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn The Lord must be understood as the subject of the two verbs in this verse.

[9:1]  ⁵ sn The statement probably alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Israel in ca. 734-733 b.c., when Tiglath-pileser III annexed much of Israel’s territory and reduced Samaria to a puppet state.

[9:1]  ⁶ tn Heb Just as in earlier times he humiliated…, [in] the latter times he has brought honor.” The main verbs in vv. 1b-4 are Hebrew perfects. The prophet takes his rhetorical stance in the future age of restoration and describes future events as if they have already occurred. To capture the dramatic effect of the original text, the translation uses the English present or present perfect.

[9:1]  ⁷ sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733 b.c. The “way of the sea” is the province of Dor, along the Mediterranean coast, the “region beyond the Jordan” is the province of Gilead in Transjordan, and “Galilee of the nations” (a title that alludes to how the territory had been overrun by foreigners) is the province of Megiddo located west of the Sea of Galilee. See Y. Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 374.

[10:13]  ³ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ⁴ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[18:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[22:20]  ⁵ tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.

[24:18]  ⁷ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ⁹ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[27:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[27:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “vineyard of delight,” or “vineyard of beauty.” Many medieval mss read כֶּרֶם חֶמֶר (kerem khemer, “vineyard of wine”), i.e., “a productive vineyard.”

[32:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”

[43:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”

[44:4]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term בֵין (ven) is usually taken as a preposition, in which case one might translate, “among the grass.” But בֵין is probably the name of a tree (cf. C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 133). If one alters the preposition bet (בְּ) to kaf (כְּ), one can then read, “like a binu-tree.” (The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supports this reading.) This forms a nice parallel to “like poplars” in the next line. חָצִיר (khatsir) is functioning as an adverbial accusative of location.

[46:7]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.

[61:10]  ¹³ sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.

[61:10]  ¹⁴ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[61:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

[61:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

[61:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[65:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”

[65:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek.”

[65:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “call out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “call on.”

[66:4]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”