Isaiah 37:3

37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: ¹  ‘This is a day of distress, insults, ²  and humiliation, ³  as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁴ 

Isaiah 40:9

40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!

Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! ⁵ 

Shout, don’t be afraid!

Say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

Isaiah 40:26

40:26 Look up at the sky! ⁶ 

Who created all these heavenly lights? ⁷ 

He is the one who leads out their ranks; ⁸ 

he calls them all by name.

Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,

not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ⁹ 

Is my hand too weak ¹⁰  to deliver ¹¹  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹²  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹³ 

[37:3]  ¹ tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).

[37:3]  ² tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”

[37:3]  ³ tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”

[37:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”

[40:9]  ⁵ tn The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.

[40:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”

[40:26]  ¹⁰ tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.

[40:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)

[50:2]  ¹³ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”