Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ¹ 

Why spend ²  your hard-earned money ³  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ⁴  to me and eat what is nourishing! ⁵ 

Enjoy fine food! ⁶ 

Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ⁷  of Egypt and the revenue ⁸  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ⁹  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ¹⁰ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ¹¹ 

‘Truly God is with ¹²  you; he has no peer; ¹³ 

there is no other God!’”

[55:2]  ¹ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ² tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ³ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[45:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ¹⁰ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ¹¹ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.