Isaiah 50:3

50:3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;

I can cover it with sackcloth.”

Isaiah 41:18-19

41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes

and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.

I will turn the desert into a pool of water

and the arid land into springs.

41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;

I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ¹  Do you not recognize ²  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ³  in the wilderness.

Isaiah 42:16

42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; ⁴ 

I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. ⁵ 

I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,

and level out the rough ground. ⁶ 

This is what I will do for them.

I will not abandon them.

Isaiah 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ⁷ 

Is my hand too weak ⁸  to deliver ⁹  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹⁰  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹¹ 

[43:19]  ¹ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ² tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ³ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[42:16]  ¹ tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”

[42:16]  ² tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”

[42:16]  ³ tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”

[50:2]  ¹ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ² tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ³ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”