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 5:30

5:30 At that time ³  they will growl over their prey, ⁴ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ⁵ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ⁶ 

Isaiah 18:4

18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait ⁷  and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ⁸ 

like a cloud of mist ⁹  in the heat ¹⁰  of harvest.” ¹¹ 

Isaiah 22:11

22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls

for the water of the old pool –

but you did not trust in ¹²  the one who made it; ¹³ 

you did not depend on ¹⁴  the one who formed it long ago!

Isaiah 38:11

38:11 “I thought,

‘I will no longer see the Lord ¹⁵  in the land of the living,

I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 51:1

There is Hope for the Future

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ¹⁷ 

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry ¹⁸  from which you were dug! ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ²⁰  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ²¹ 

Isaiah 64:9

64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!

Do not hold our sins against us continually! ²² 

Take a good look at your people, at all of us! ²³ 

[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).

[5:30]  ³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[18:4]  ⁵ tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”

[18:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.

[18:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”

[18:4]  ⁸ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”

[18:4]  ⁹ sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.

[22:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”

[22:11]  ⁸ tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.

[22:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “did not see.”

[38:11]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has יָהּ יָהּ (yah yah, the abbreviated form of יְהוָה [yÿhvah] repeated), but this is probably a corruption of יְהוָה.

[38:11]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text has חָדֶל (khadel), which appears to be derived from a verbal root meaning “to cease, refrain.” But the form has probably suffered an error of transmission; the original form (attested in a few medieval Hebrew mss) was likely חֶלֶד (kheled, “world”).

[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.

[63:15]  ¹³ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.

[64:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “do not remember sin continually.”

[64:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Look, gaze at your people, all of us.” Another option is to translate, “Take a good look! We are all your people.”