Isaiah 44:19

44:19 No one thinks to himself,

nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:

‘I burned half of it in the fire –

yes, I baked bread over the coals;

I roasted meat and ate it.

With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?

Should I bow down to dry wood?’ ¹ 

Isaiah 47:8

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly, ² 

who lives securely,

who says to herself, ³ 

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! ⁴ 

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’ ⁵ 

Isaiah 63:11

63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. ⁶ 

Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,

along with the shepherd of ⁷  his flock?

Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, ⁸ 

Isaiah 65:16

65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth ⁹ 

will do so in the name of the faithful God; ¹⁰ 

whoever makes an oath in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God. ¹¹ 

For past problems will be forgotten;

I will no longer think about them. ¹² 

[44:19]  ¹ tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.

[47:8]  ² tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8]  ³ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

[63:11]  ³ tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.

[63:11]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.

[63:11]  ⁵ sn See the note at v. 10.

[65:16]  ⁴ tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.

[65:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”

[65:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”

[65:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”