Isaiah 33:18

33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹ 

and you will ask yourselves, ²  “Where is the scribe?

Where is the one who weighs the money?

Where is the one who counts the towers?” ³ 

Isaiah 40:12

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters ⁴  in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully ⁵  measured the sky, ⁶ 

or carefully weighed ⁷  the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales? ⁸ 

Isaiah 46:6

46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse

and weigh out silver on the scale ⁹ 

hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.

They then bow down and worship it.

Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ¹⁰ 

Why spend ¹¹  your hard-earned money ¹²  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ¹³  to me and eat what is nourishing! ¹⁴ 

Enjoy fine food! ¹⁵ 

[33:18]  ¹ tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”

[33:18]  ² tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[33:18]  ³ sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.

[40:12]  ⁴ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.

[40:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).

[40:12]  ⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[40:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”

[40:12]  ⁸ sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.

[46:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.

[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.”