Isaiah 44:23

44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; ¹ 

shout out, you subterranean regions ²  of the earth.

O mountains, give a joyful shout;

you too, O forest and all your trees! ³ 

For the Lord protects ⁴  Jacob;

he reveals his splendor through Israel. ⁵ 

Isaiah 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ⁶  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ⁷  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ⁸  will not disappear. ⁹ 

Isaiah 51:13

51:13 Why do you forget ¹⁰  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ¹¹ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ¹² 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ¹³ 

[44:23]  ¹ tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”

[44:23]  ² tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.

[44:23]  ³ tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”

[44:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ⁵ tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”

[51:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

[51:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”

[51:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ¹² tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ¹⁴ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.