Isaiah 36:14

36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you!

Isaiah 42:9

42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; ¹ 

now I announce new events.

Before they begin to occur,

I reveal them to you.” ² 

Isaiah 5:5

5:5 Now I will inform you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, ³ 

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. ⁴ 

Isaiah 28:19

28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;

indeed, ⁵  every morning it will sweep by,

it will come through during the day and the night.” ⁶ 

When this announcement is understood,

it will cause nothing but terror.

Isaiah 36:15

36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

Isaiah 36:17-18

36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ⁷ 

Isaiah 50:1

50:1 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

by which I divorced her?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ⁸ 

Look, you were sold because of your sins; ⁹ 

because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 65:12

65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, ¹¹ 

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, ¹² 

because I called to you, and you did not respond,

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me; ¹³ 

you chose to do what displeases me.”

[42:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”

[42:9]  ² tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).

[5:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”

[5:5]  ² tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).

[28:19]  ¹ tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[28:19]  ² tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[36:18]  ¹ tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”

[50:1]  ¹ sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.

[50:1]  ² sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.

[50:1]  ³ sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.

[65:12]  ¹ tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.

[65:12]  ² tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”

[65:12]  ³ tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”