Isaiah 54:6

54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ¹ 

like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

Isaiah 13:16

13:16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;

their houses will be looted

and their wives raped.

Isaiah 45:10

45:10 Danger awaits one who says ²  to his father,

“What in the world ³  are you fathering?”

and to his mother,

“What in the world are you bringing forth?” ⁴ 

Isaiah 3:12

3:12 Oppressors treat my ⁵  people cruelly;

creditors rule over them. ⁶ 

My people’s leaders mislead them;

they give you confusing directions. ⁷ 

Isaiah 32:9

The Lord Will Give True Security

32:9 You complacent ⁸  women,

get up and listen to me!

You carefree ⁹  daughters,

pay attention to what I say!

Isaiah 49:15

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ¹⁰ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ¹¹ 

Even if mothers ¹²  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ¹³ 

Isaiah 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ¹⁴ 

They will say, “We will provide ¹⁵  our own food,

we will provide ¹⁶  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ¹⁷  –

take away our shame!” ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 19:16

19:16 At that time ¹⁹  the Egyptians ²⁰  will be like women. ²¹  They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. ²² 

Isaiah 34:15

34:15 Owls ²³  will make nests and lay eggs ²⁴  there;

they will hatch them and protect them. ²⁵ 

Yes, hawks ²⁶  will gather there,

each with its mate.

Isaiah 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ²⁷  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ²⁸ 

For these people lack understanding, ²⁹ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Isaiah 34:16

34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! ³⁰ 

Not one of these creatures will be missing, ³¹ 

none will lack a mate. ³² 

For the Lord has issued the decree, ³³ 

and his own spirit gathers them. ³⁴ 

[54:6]  ¹ tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[45:10]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to] one who says” (NASB and NIV both similar); NCV “How terrible it will be.”

[45:10]  ³ tn See the note at v. 9. This phrase occurs a second time later in this verse.

[45:10]  ⁴ sn Verses 9-10 may allude to the exiles’ criticism that the Lord does not appear to know what he is doing.

[3:12]  ³ sn This may refer to the prophet or to the Lord.

[3:12]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text appears to read literally, “My people, his oppressors, he deals severely, and women rule over them.” The correct text and precise meaning of the verse are debated. The translation above assumes (1) an emendation of נֹגְשָׂיו (nogÿsayv, “his oppressors”) to נֹגְשִׂים (nogÿshim, “oppressors”) by moving the mem (ם) on the following form to the end of the word and dropping the vav (ו) as virtually dittographic; (2) an emendation of מְעוֹלֵל (mÿ’olel, a singular participle that does not agree with the preceding plural subject) to עֹלְלוּ (’olÿlu), a third plural Poel perfect from עָלַל (’alal, “deal severely”; note that the following form begins with a vav [ו]; the text may be haplographic or misdivided); and (3) an emendation (with support from the LXX) of נָשִׁים (nashim, “women”) to נֹשִׁים (noshim, “creditors”; a participle from נָשַׁא, nasa’). Another option is to emend מְעוֹלֵל to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”) and read, “My people’s oppressors are children; women rule over them.” In this case the point is the same as in v. 4; the leadership void left by the judgment will be filled by those incompetent to lead the community – children and women. (The text reflects the ancient Israelite patriarchal mindset.)

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the way of your paths they confuse.” The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”; HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”; see HALOT 134 s.v. בלע).

[32:9]  ⁴ tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”

[32:9]  ⁵ tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”

[49:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

[49:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

[49:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

[49:15]  ⁸ sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[19:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.

[19:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.

[19:16]  ⁹ sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.

[19:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.

[34:15]  ⁸ tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.

[34:15]  ⁹ tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.

[34:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”

[34:15]  ¹¹ tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.

[27:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[34:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”

[34:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:16]  ¹² tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”

[34:16]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and a few medieval mss have פִּיהוּ (pihu, “his mouth [has commanded]”), while a few other medieval mss read פִּי יְהוָה (pi yÿhvah, “the mouth of the Lord [has commanded]”).

[34:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).