Isaiah 43:27

43:27 The father of your nation ¹  sinned;

your spokesmen ²  rebelled against me.

Isaiah 1:28

1:28 All rebellious sinners will be shattered, ³ 

those who abandon the Lord will perish.

Isaiah 46:8

46:8 Remember this, so you can be brave! ⁴ 

Think about it, you rebels! ⁵ 

Isaiah 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ⁶ 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ⁷ 

because he willingly submitted ⁸  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ⁹  on behalf of the rebels.”

Isaiah 1:2

Obedience, not Sacrifice

1:2 Listen, O heavens,

pay attention, O earth! ¹⁰ 

For the Lord speaks:

“I raised children, ¹¹  I brought them up, ¹² 

but ¹³  they have rebelled ¹⁴  against me!

Isaiah 59:13

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up ¹⁵  oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 66:24

66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, ¹⁷  and the fire that consumes them will not die out. ¹⁸  All people will find the sight abhorrent.” ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 48:8

48:8 You did not hear,

you do not know,

you were not told beforehand. ²⁰ 

For I know that you are very deceitful; ²¹ 

you were labeled ²²  a rebel from birth.

[43:27]  ¹ tn Heb “your first father.” This could refer to Abraham (see 51:2), but elsewhere in Isaiah he does not appear in a negative light (see 29:22; 41:8; 63:16). A more likely candidate is Jacob/Israel, also referred to as the nation’s “father” elsewhere (see 58:14; 63:16).

[43:27]  ² tn On the meaning of the term לִיץ (lits), see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ. This may refer to the nation’s prophets, priests, and/or kings.

[1:28]  ³ tn Heb “and [there will be] a shattering of rebels and sinners together.”

[46:8]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the verb אָשַׁשׁ (’ashash, which appears here in the Hitpolel stem) is uncertain. BDB 84 s.v. אשׁשׁ relates it to a root meaning “found, establish” in Arabic; HALOT 100 s.v. II אשׁשׁ gives the meaning “pluck up courage.” The imperative with vav (ו) may indicate purpose following the preceding imperative.

[46:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “return [it], rebels, to heart”; NRSV “recall it to mind, you transgressors.”

[53:12]  ⁷ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ⁸ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ¹⁰ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

[1:2]  ⁹ sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).

[1:2]  ¹¹ sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).

[1:2]  ¹² sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.

[1:2]  ¹³ sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).

[59:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[59:13]  ¹² tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”

[66:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”

[66:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”

[66:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

[48:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”

[48:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[48:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).