Isaiah 41:22

41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!

Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, ¹ 

so we may examine them ²  and see how they were fulfilled. ³ 

Or decree for us some future events!

Isaiah 42:9

42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; ⁴ 

now I announce new events.

Before they begin to occur,

I reveal them to you.” ⁵ 

Isaiah 43:9

43:9 All nations gather together,

the peoples assemble.

Who among them announced this?

Who predicted earlier events for us? ⁶ 

Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;

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

Isaiah 44:7-8

44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ⁷ 

Let him announce it and explain it to me –

since I established an ancient people – ⁸ 

let them announce future events! ⁹ 

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ¹⁰ 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ¹¹  I know of none.

Isaiah 45:21

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ¹² 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ¹³ 

there is none but me.

Isaiah 46:9-10

46:9 Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! ¹⁴ 

Truly I am God, I have no peer; ¹⁵ 

I am God, and there is none like me,

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ¹⁶  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

[41:22]  ¹ tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”

[41:22]  ² tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”

[41:22]  ³ tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”

[42:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”

[42:9]  ⁵ 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).

[43:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”

[44:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”

[44:7]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.

[44:7]  ⁹ tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”

[44:8]  ¹⁰ tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[45:21]  ¹² tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ¹³ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[46:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “remember the former things, from antiquity”; KJV, ASV “the former things of old.”

[46:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and there is no other” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[46:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”