Isaiah 5:20

5:20 Those who call evil good and good evil are as good as dead, ¹ 

who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,

who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter. ² 

Isaiah 29:18

29:18 At that time ³  the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,

and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. ⁴ 

Isaiah 42:7

42:7 to open blind eyes, ⁵ 

to release prisoners ⁶  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Isaiah 49:9

49:9 You will say ⁷  to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those who are in dark dungeons, ⁸  ‘Emerge.’ ⁹ 

They will graze beside the roads;

on all the slopes they will find pasture.

Isaiah 58:10

58:10 You must ¹⁰  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ¹¹ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ¹² 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ¹³ 

Isaiah 5:30

5:30 At that time ¹⁴  they will growl over their prey, ¹⁵ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ¹⁶ 

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

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 9:2

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ¹⁸ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 45:3

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ²⁰ 

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 45:7

45:7 I am ²¹  the one who forms light

and creates darkness; ²² 

the one who brings about peace

and creates calamity. ²³ 

I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ²⁴ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ²⁵ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ²⁶ 

Isaiah 47:5

47:5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, ²⁷ 

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ²⁸  you will no longer be called ‘Queen of kingdoms.’

Isaiah 59:9

Israel Confesses its Sin

59:9 For this reason deliverance ²⁹  is far from us ³⁰ 

and salvation does not reach us.

We wait for light, ³¹  but see only darkness; ³² 

we wait for ³³  a bright light, ³⁴  but live ³⁵  in deep darkness. ³⁶ 

Isaiah 60:2

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ³⁷  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ³⁸  appears over you.

[5:20]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who call.” See the note at v. 8.

[5:20]  ² sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness.

[29:18]  ³ tn Or “In that day” (KJV).

[29:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”

[42:7]  ⁵ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ⁶ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[49:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.

[49:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”

[49:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).

[58:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ¹² tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[5:30]  ¹¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ¹² tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ¹⁴ 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.”

[9:2]  ¹³ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.

[45:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[45:7]  ¹⁷ tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.

[45:7]  ¹⁸ tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”

[45:7]  ¹⁹ sn This verses affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).

[45:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ²⁰ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ²¹ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[47:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “darkness,” which may indicate a place of hiding where a fugitive would seek shelter and protection.

[47:5]  ²² tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[59:9]  ²³ tn מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which refers to “justice” in the earlier verses, here refers to “justice from God,” or “vindication.” Because the people are unjust, God refuses to vindicate them before their enemies. See v. 11.

[59:9]  ²⁴ sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.

[59:9]  ²⁵ sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing.

[59:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”

[59:9]  ²⁷ tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[59:9]  ²⁸ tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.

[59:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.”

[59:9]  ³⁰ tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.

[60:2]  ²⁵ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”