Isaiah 3:15

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ¹ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ²  has spoken.

Isaiah 7:7

7:7 For this reason the sovereign master, ³  the Lord, says:

“It will not take place;

it will not happen.

Isaiah 17:1

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

Isaiah 21:6

21:6 For this is what the sovereign master ⁴  has told me:

“Go, post a guard!

He must report what he sees.

Isaiah 21:13

The Lord Will Judge Arabia

21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:

In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,

you Dedanite caravans.

Isaiah 22:1

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: ⁵ 

What is the reason ⁶ 

that all of you go up to the rooftops?

Isaiah 23:5

23:5 When the news reaches Egypt,

they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre. ⁷ 

Isaiah 28:11

28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue

he will speak to these people. ⁸ 

Isaiah 32:3

32:3 Eyes ⁹  will no longer be blind ¹⁰ 

and ears ¹¹  will be attentive.

Isaiah 32:9

The Lord Will Give True Security

32:9 You complacent ¹²  women,

get up and listen to me!

You carefree ¹³  daughters,

pay attention to what I say!

Isaiah 41:27

41:27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ ¹⁴ 

I sent a herald to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 42:3

42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,

a dim wick he will not extinguish; ¹⁶ 

he will faithfully make just decrees. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 42:9

42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; ¹⁸ 

now I announce new events.

Before they begin to occur,

I reveal them to you.” ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 43:16

43:16 This is what the Lord says,

the one who made a road through the sea,

a pathway through the surging waters,

Isaiah 47:5

47:5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, ²⁰ 

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ²¹  you will no longer be called ‘Queen of kingdoms.’

Isaiah 48:15

48:15 I, I have spoken –

yes, I have summoned him;

I lead him and he will succeed. ²² 

Isaiah 53:1

53:1 Who would have believed ²³  what we ²⁴  just heard? ²⁵ 

When ²⁶  was the Lord’s power ²⁷  revealed through him?

Isaiah 57:14

57:14 He says, ²⁸ 

“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!

Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”

[3:15]  ¹ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ² tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[7:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 14, 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[21:6]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[22:1]  ⁷ sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).

[22:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “What to you, then?”

[23:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “they will be in pain at the report of Tyre.”

[28:11]  ¹¹ sn This verse alludes to the coming Assyrian invasion, when the people will hear a foreign language that sounds like gibberish to them. The Lord is the subject of the verb “will speak,” as v. 12 makes clear. He once spoke in meaningful terms, but in the coming judgment he will speak to them, as it were, through the mouth of foreign oppressors. The apparent gibberish they hear will be an outward reminder that God has decreed their defeat.

[32:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “Eyes that see.”

[32:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.

[32:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “ears that hear.”

[32:9]  ¹⁵ tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”

[32:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”

[41:27]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “First to Zion, ‘Look here they are!’” The words “I decreed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[41:27]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[42:3]  ¹⁹ sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

[42:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[42:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”

[42:9]  ²² tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).

[47:5]  ²³ tn Heb “darkness,” which may indicate a place of hiding where a fugitive would seek shelter and protection.

[47:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[48:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”

[53:1]  ²⁷ tn The perfect has a hypothetical force in this rhetorical question. For another example, see Gen 21:7.

[53:1]  ²⁸ sn The speaker shifts here from God to an unidentified group (note the first person plural pronouns throughout vv. 1-6). The content of the speech suggests that the prophet speaks here as representative of the sinful nation Israel. The group acknowledges its sin and recognizes that the servant suffered on their behalf.

[53:1]  ²⁹ tn The first half of v. 1 is traditionally translated, “Who has believed our report?” or “Who has believed our message?” as if the group speaking is lamenting that no one will believe what they have to say. But that doesn’t seem to be the point in this context. Here the group speaking does not cast itself in the role of a preacher or evangelist. No, they are repentant sinners, who finally see the light. The phrase “our report” can mean (1) the report which we deliver, or (2) the report which was delivered to us. The latter fits better here, where the report is most naturally taken as the announcement that has just been made in 52:13-15.

[53:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to whom” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[53:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “the arm of the Lord.” The “arm of the Lord” is a metaphor of military power; it pictures the Lord as a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and crushes his enemies (cf. 51:9-10; 63:5-6). But Israel had not seen the Lord’s military power at work in the servant.

[57:14]  ²⁹ tn Since God is speaking throughout this context, perhaps we should emend the text to “and I say.” However, divine speech is introduced in v. 15.