Isaiah 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Isaiah 43:9

43:9 All nations gather together,

the peoples assemble.

Who among them announced this?

Who predicted earlier events for us? ¹ 

Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;

let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’

Isaiah 48:14

48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!

Who among them ²  announced these things?

The Lord’s ally ³  will carry out his desire against Babylon;

he will exert his power against the Babylonians. ⁴ 

Isaiah 64:5

64:5 You assist ⁵  those who delight in doing what is right, ⁶ 

who observe your commandments. ⁷ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ⁸ 

[43:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”

[48:14]  ¹ sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).

[48:14]  ² tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.”

[48:14]  ³ tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”

[64:5]  ¹ tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ² tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ³ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).