Isaiah 3:4

3:4 The Lord says, ¹  “I will make youths their officials;

malicious young men ²  will rule over them.

Isaiah 3:20

3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, ³  amulets,

Isaiah 3:25

3:25 Your ⁴  men will fall by the sword,

your strong men will die in battle. ⁵ 

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, ⁶ 

the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

Isaiah 31:6

31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! ⁷ 

Isaiah 33:1

The Lord Will Restore Zion

33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, ⁸ 

you who have not been destroyed!

The deceitful one is as good as dead, ⁹ 

the one whom others have not deceived!

When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;

when you finish ¹⁰  deceiving, others will deceive you!

Isaiah 41:7

41:7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith,

the one who wields the hammer encourages ¹¹  the one who pounds on the anvil.

He approves the quality of the welding, ¹² 

and nails it down so it won’t fall over.”

Isaiah 44:1

The Lord Will Renew Israel

44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!”

Isaiah 44:10

44:10 Who forms a god and casts an idol

that will prove worthless? ¹³ 

Isaiah 46:8

46:8 Remember this, so you can be brave! ¹⁴ 

Think about it, you rebels! ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 50:3

50:3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;

I can cover it with sackcloth.”

Isaiah 65:22

65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, ¹⁶ 

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, ¹⁷ 

for my people will live as long as trees, ¹⁸ 

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced. ¹⁹ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The prophet speaks in vv. 1-3 (note the third person reference to the Lord in v. 1), but here the Lord himself announces that he will intervene in judgment. It is unclear where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s pick up again. The prophet is apparently speaking again by v. 8, where the Lord is referred to in the third person. Since vv. 4-7 comprise a thematic unity, the quotation probably extends through v. 7.

[3:4]  ² tn תַעֲלוּלִים (ta’alulim) is often understood as an abstract plural meaning “wantonness, cruelty” (cf. NLT). In this case the chief characteristic of these leaders is substituted for the leaders themselves. However, several translations make the parallelism tighter by emending the form to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”; cf. ESV, NASB, NCV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV). This emendation is unnecessary for at least two reasons. The word in the MT highlights the cruelty or malice of the “leaders” who are left behind in the wake of God’s judgment. The immediate context makes clear the fact that they are mere youths. The coming judgment will sweep away the leaders, leaving a vacuum which will be filled by incompetent, inexperienced youths.

[3:20]  ³ tn Heb “houses of breath.” HALOT 124 s.v. בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. NAB, NRSV “perfume boxes.”

[3:25]  ⁵ tn The pronoun is feminine singular, suggesting personified Zion, as representative of its women, is the addressee. The reference to “her gates’ in v. 26 makes this identification almost certain.

[3:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[31:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.

[33:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”

[33:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.

[33:1]  ¹³ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”

[41:7]  ¹³ tn The verb “encourages” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “saying of the welding, ‘It is good.’”

[44:10]  ¹⁵ tn The rhetorical question is sarcastic. The sense is, “Who is foolish enough…?”

[46:8]  ¹⁷ tn The meaning of the verb אָשַׁשׁ (’ashash, which appears here in the Hitpolel stem) is uncertain. BDB 84 s.v. אשׁשׁ relates it to a root meaning “found, establish” in Arabic; HALOT 100 s.v. II אשׁשׁ gives the meaning “pluck up courage.” The imperative with vav (ו) may indicate purpose following the preceding imperative.

[46:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “return [it], rebels, to heart”; NRSV “recall it to mind, you transgressors.”

[65:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”

[65:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”

[65:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”

[65:22]  ²² tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”