Isaiah 30:8

30:8 Now go, write it ¹  down on a tablet in their presence, ² 

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness. ³ 

Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ⁴ 

Who ⁵  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ⁶ 

Isaiah 44:6

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ⁷  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

[30:8]  ¹ tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.

[30:8]  ² tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.

[30:8]  ³ sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.

[41:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ⁵ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

[44:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.