Isaiah 5:12

5:12 They have stringed instruments, ¹  tambourines, flutes,

and wine at their parties.

So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,

they do not perceive what he is bringing about. ² 

Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ³ 

Who ⁴  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ⁵ 

Isaiah 45:11

45:11 This is what the Lord says,

the Holy One of Israel, ⁶  the one who formed him,

concerning things to come: ⁷ 

“How dare you question me ⁸  about my children!

How dare you tell me what to do with ⁹  the work of my own hands!

[5:12]  ¹ tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).

[5:12]  ² tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).

[41:4]  ³ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ⁴ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

[45:11]  ⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[45:11]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”

[45:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.

[45:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.