Isaiah 48:21

48:21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;

he makes water flow out of a rock for them;

he splits open a rock and water flows out.’ ¹ 

Isaiah 2:10

2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,

hide in the ground.

Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, ² 

from his royal splendor!

Isaiah 26:4

26:4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward, ³ 

even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector! ⁴ 

Isaiah 2:19

2:19 They ⁵  will go into caves in the rocky cliffs

and into holes in the ground, ⁶ 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ⁷ 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ⁸ 

Isaiah 2:21

2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs

and the openings under the rocky overhangs, ⁹ 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ¹⁰ 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 8:14

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, ¹² 

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble –

to the two houses of Israel. ¹³ 

He will become ¹⁴  a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 10:26

10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ¹⁶  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ¹⁷  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 17:10

17:10 For you ignore ¹⁹  the God who rescues you;

you pay no attention to your strong protector. ²⁰ 

So this is what happens:

You cultivate beautiful plants

and plant exotic vines. ²¹ 

Isaiah 30:29

30:29 You will sing

as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.

You will be happy like one who plays a flute

as he goes to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock who shelters Israel. ²² 

Isaiah 44:8

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ²³ 

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; ²⁴  I know of none.

Isaiah 51:1

There is Hope for the Future

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ²⁵ 

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry ²⁶  from which you were dug! ²⁷ 

[48:21]  ¹ sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “get away” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[26:4]  ³ tn Or “forevermore.” For other uses of the phrase עֲדֵי־עַד (’ade-’ad) see Isa 65:18 and Pss 83:17; 92:7.

[26:4]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has “for in Yah, the Lord, an everlasting rock.” Some have suggested that the phrase בְּיָהּ (beyah, “in Yah”) is the result of dittography. A scribe seeing כִּי יְהוָה (ki yÿhvah) in his original text would somehow have confused the letters and accidentally inserted בְּיָהּ between the words (bet and kaf [ב and כ] can be confused in later script phases). A number of English versions retain both divine names for emphasis (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). One of the Qumran texts (1QIsa^a) confirms the MT reading as well.

[2:19]  ⁴ tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.

[2:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”

[2:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:19]  ⁷ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.

[2:21]  ⁵ sn The precise point of vv. 20-21 is not entirely clear. Are they taking the idols into their hiding places with them, because they are so attached to their man-made images? Or are they discarding the idols along the way as they retreat into the darkest places they can find? In either case it is obvious that the gods are incapable of helping them.

[2:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:21]  ⁷ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men. Almost all English versions translate “earth,” taking this to refer to universal judgment.

[8:14]  ⁶ tn Because the metaphor of protection (“sanctuary”) does not fit the negative mood that follows in vv. 14b-15, some contend that מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “sanctuary”) is probably a corruption of an original מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), a word that appears in the next line (cf. NAB and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:355-56). If the MT reading is retained (as in the above translation), the fact that Yahweh is a sanctuary wraps up the point of v. 13 and stands in contrast to God’s treatment of those who rebel against him (the rest of v. 14).

[8:14]  ⁷ sn The two “houses” of Israel (= the patriarch Jacob) are the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

[8:14]  ⁸ tn These words are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. וְהָיָה (vÿhayah, “and he will be”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.

[8:14]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”

[10:26]  ⁸ sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.

[10:26]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.

[17:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[17:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”

[17:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a vine, a strange one.” The substantival adjective זָר (zar) functions here as an appositional genitive. It could refer to a cultic plant of some type, associated with a pagan rite. But it is more likely that it refers to an exotic, or imported, type of vine, one that is foreign (i.e., “strange”) to Israel.

[30:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).

[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.”

[51:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”

[51:1]  ¹² tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”

[51:1]  ¹³ sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.