Isaiah 5:7

5:7 Indeed ¹  Israel ²  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ³  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ⁴ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ⁵ 

Isaiah 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ⁶  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ⁷  Destruction has been decreed; ⁸  just punishment ⁹  is about to engulf you. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 45:8

45:8 O sky, rain down from above!

Let the clouds send down showers ¹¹  of deliverance!

Let the earth absorb it ¹²  so salvation may grow, ¹³ 

and deliverance may sprout up ¹⁴  along with it.

I, the Lord, create it. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 45:23

45:23 I solemnly make this oath ¹⁶  –

what I say is true and reliable: ¹⁷ 

‘Surely every knee will bow to me,

every tongue will solemnly affirm; ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 51:8

51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;

a clothes moth will devour them like wool.

But the vindication I provide ¹⁹  will be permanent;

the deliverance I give will last.”

Isaiah 59:9

Israel Confesses its Sin

59:9 For this reason deliverance ²⁰  is far from us ²¹ 

and salvation does not reach us.

We wait for light, ²²  but see only darkness; ²³ 

we wait for ²⁴  a bright light, ²⁵  but live ²⁶  in deep darkness. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 59:14

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness ²⁸  stands far off.

Indeed, ²⁹  honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

Isaiah 59:16-17

The Lord Intervenes

59:16 He sees there is no advocate; ³⁰ 

he is shocked ³¹  that no one intervenes.

So he takes matters into his own hands; ³² 

his desire for justice drives him on. ³³ 

59:17 He wears his desire for justice ³⁴  like body armor, ³⁵ 

and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. ³⁶ 

He puts on the garments of vengeance ³⁷ 

and wears zeal like a robe.

Isaiah 61:11

61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops

and a garden yields its produce,

so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ³⁸  to grow,

and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ³⁹ 

Isaiah 63:1

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁴⁰ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁴¹ 

Who ⁴²  is this one wearing royal attire, ⁴³ 

who marches confidently ⁴⁴  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ⁴⁵ 

Isaiah 64:6

64:6 We are all like one who is unclean,

all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. ⁴⁶ 

We all wither like a leaf;

our sins carry us away like the wind.

[5:7]  ¹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ² tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ³ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[10:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ⁷ sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).

[10:22]  ⁸ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ⁹ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[45:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”

[45:8]  ¹² tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”

[45:8]  ¹³ tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).

[45:8]  ¹⁴ tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).

[45:8]  ¹⁵ tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).

[45:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”

[45:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”

[45:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”

[51:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”

[59:9]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.

[59:9]  ²⁸ sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing.

[59:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”

[59:9]  ³⁰ tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[59:9]  ³¹ tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.

[59:9]  ³² tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.”

[59:9]  ³³ tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.

[59:14]  ³¹ tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”

[59:14]  ³² tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[59:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”

[59:16]  ³⁷ tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”

[59:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”

[59:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”

[59:17]  ⁴¹ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”

[59:17]  ⁴² tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”

[59:17]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”

[59:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”

[61:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

[61:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”

[63:1]  ⁵¹ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁵³ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ⁵⁵ tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).

[63:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[64:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and like a garment of menstruation [are] all our righteous acts”; KJV, NIV “filthy rags”; ASV “a polluted garment.”