Isaiah 6:12

6:12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,

and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. ¹ 

Isaiah 7:12

7:12 But Ahaz responded, “I don’t want to ask; I don’t want to put the Lord to a test.” ² 

Isaiah 40:13

40:13 Who comprehends ³  the mind ⁴  of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor? ⁵ 

Isaiah 41:6

41:6 They help one another; ⁶ 

one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’

[6:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and great is the abandonment in the midst of the land.”

[7:12]  ² tn Ahaz uses the verb נָסַה (nasah, “test”) in its negative sense of “challenge, provoke.” However, this is false piety, a smokescreen designed to cover up his lack of faith in the Lord.

[40:13]  ³ tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).

[40:13]  ⁴ tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).

[40:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”

[41:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “each his neighbor helps”; NCV “The workers help each other.”