Isaiah 34:11

34:11 Owls and wild animals ¹  will live there, ² 

all kinds of wild birds ³  will settle in it.

The Lord ⁴  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ⁵  of destruction. ⁶ 

Isaiah 44:9

44:9 All who form idols are nothing;

the things in which they delight are worthless.

Their witnesses cannot see;

they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ⁷ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ⁸ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁹ 

Isaiah 49:4

49:4 But I thought, ¹⁰  “I have worked in vain;

I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” ¹¹ 

But the Lord will vindicate me;

my God will reward me. ¹² 

Isaiah 59:4

59:4 No one is concerned about justice; ¹³ 

no one sets forth his case truthfully.

They depend on false words ¹⁴  and tell lies;

they conceive of oppression ¹⁵ 

and give birth to sin.

Isaiah 45:18

45:18 For this is what the Lord says,

the one who created the sky –

he is the true God, ¹⁶ 

the one who formed the earth and made it;

he established it,

he did not create it without order, ¹⁷ 

he formed it to be inhabited –

“I am the Lord, I have no peer.

[34:11]  ¹ tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).

[34:11]  ² tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.

[34:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ⁶ sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[45:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁸ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁹ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[49:4]  ¹³ tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”

[49:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.

[49:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”

[59:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”

[59:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”

[59:4]  ²¹ tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”

[45:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.

[45:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.