Isaiah 5:5

5:5 Now I will inform you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, ¹ 

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. ² 

Isaiah 10:24

10:24 So ³  here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. ⁴ 

Isaiah 16:9

16:9 So I weep along with Jazer ⁵ 

over the vines of Sibmah.

I will saturate you ⁶  with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,

for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly

over your fruit and crops. ⁷ 

Isaiah 21:3

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ⁸ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ⁹  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

Isaiah 25:1

25:1 O Lord, you are my God! ¹⁰ 

I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. ¹¹ 

For you have done extraordinary things,

and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. ¹² 

Isaiah 36:8

36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

Isaiah 41:10

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ¹³ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 44:20

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ¹⁵ 

his deceived mind misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself,

nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 49:2

49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

he hid me in the hollow of his hand;

he made me like a sharpened ¹⁷  arrow,

he hid me in his quiver. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 51:22

51:22 This is what your sovereign master, ¹⁹  the Lord your God, says:

“Look, I have removed from your hand

the cup of intoxicating wine, ²⁰ 

the goblet full of my anger. ²¹ 

You will no longer have to drink it.

Isaiah 53:11

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ²² 

“My servant ²³  will acquit many, ²⁴ 

for he carried their sins. ²⁵ 

Isaiah 65:5

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

Isaiah 65:25

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ²⁶ 

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ²⁷ 

and a snake’s food will be dirt. ²⁸ 

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” ²⁹  says the Lord.

[5:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”

[5:5]  ² tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).

[10:24]  ³ tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.

[10:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”

[16:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).

[16:9]  ⁶ tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).

[16:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”

[21:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[25:1]  ⁹ sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.

[25:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.

[25:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.

[41:10]  ¹¹ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ¹² tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[44:20]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[49:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”

[49:2]  ¹⁶ sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.

[51:22]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[51:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”

[51:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”

[53:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.

[53:11]  ²⁰ sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.

[53:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.

[53:11]  ²² tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.

[65:25]  ²¹ sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.

[65:25]  ²² sn These words also appear in 11:7.

[65:25]  ²³ sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)

[65:25]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.