Isaiah 31:8

31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; ¹ 

a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. ² 

They will run away from this sword ³ 

and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

Isaiah 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Isaiah 45:13

45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him; ⁴ 

I will make all his ways level.

He will rebuild my city;

he will send my exiled people home,

but not for a price or a bribe,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 53:11

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ⁵ 

“My servant ⁶  will acquit many, ⁷ 

for he carried their sins. ⁸ 

Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ⁹ 

Why spend ¹⁰  your hard-earned money ¹¹  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ¹²  to me and eat what is nourishing! ¹³ 

Enjoy fine food! ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 56:2

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ¹⁵ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ¹⁶ 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 58:6

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ¹⁸ 

I want you ¹⁹  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ²⁰ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

Isaiah 62:8

62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,

by his strong arm: ²¹ 

“I will never again give your grain

to your enemies as food,

and foreigners will not drink your wine,

which you worked hard to produce.

Isaiah 63:5

63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;

I was shocked because there was no one offering support. ²² 

So my right arm accomplished deliverance;

my raging anger drove me on. ²³ 

Isaiah 66:14

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ²⁴ 

and you will be revived. ²⁵ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ²⁶ 

[31:8]  ¹ tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”

[31:8]  ² tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”

[31:8]  ³ tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”

[45:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.

[53:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.

[53:11]  ⁸ sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.

[53:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.

[53:11]  ¹⁰ tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.

[55:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ¹¹ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ¹² tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ¹³ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[56:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

[56:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”

[56:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[58:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ¹⁷ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “crushed.”

[62:8]  ¹⁹ tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.

[63:5]  ²² sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.

[63:5]  ²³ tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”

[66:14]  ²⁵ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”