Isaiah 37:32

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ¹  will accomplish this.

Isaiah 45:9

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ² 

one who is like a mere ³  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ⁴ 

“What in the world ⁵  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ⁶ 

Isaiah 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ⁷ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ⁸ 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ⁹ 

establishing it ¹⁰  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ¹¹ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ¹²  will accomplish this.

[37:32]  ¹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[45:9]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ³ tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ⁵ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

[9:7]  ³ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

[9:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

[9:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:7]  ⁶ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

[9:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

[9:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.