Isaiah 3:6

3:6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother

right in his father’s house ¹  and say, ² 

‘You own a coat –

you be our leader!

This heap of ruins will be under your control.’ ³ 

Isaiah 8:11

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people: ⁴ 

Isaiah 21:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ⁵ 

Like strong winds blowing in the south, ⁶ 

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

Isaiah 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ⁷ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ⁸  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ⁹ 

Isaiah 19:3

19:3 The Egyptians will panic, ¹⁰ 

and I will confuse their strategy. ¹¹ 

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. ¹² 

Isaiah 37:7

37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; ¹³  he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down ¹⁴  with a sword in his own land.”’”

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “[in] the house of his father” (so ASV); NIV “at his father’s home.”

[3:6]  ² tn The words “and say” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[3:6]  ³ tn Heb “your hand”; NASB “under your charge.”

[8:11]  ⁴ tc Heb “with strength of hand and he warned me from walking in the way of these people, saying.” Some want to change the pointing of the suffix and thereby emend the Qal imperfect יִסְּרֵנִי (yissÿreni, “he was warning me”) to the more common Piel perfect יִסְּרַנִי (yissÿrani, “he warned me”). Others follow the lead of the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and read יְסִירֵנִי (yÿsireni, “he was turning me aside,” a Hiphil imperfect from סוּר, sur).

[21:1]  ⁷ sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.

[21:1]  ⁸ tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).

[8:19]  ¹⁰ tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.

[8:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

[8:19]  ¹² tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.

[19:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”

[19:3]  ¹⁴ tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.

[19:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.

[37:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.

[37:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”