Isaiah 6:13

6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, ¹  like one of the large sacred trees ²  or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. ³  That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” ⁴ 

Isaiah 10:13

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ⁵ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ⁶  I brought down rulers. ⁷ 

Isaiah 18:2

18:2 that sends messengers by sea,

who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, ⁸ 

to a people that are feared far and wide, ⁹ 

to a nation strong and victorious, ¹⁰ 

whose land rivers divide. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 18:7

18:7 At that time

tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,

by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,

a people that are feared far and wide,

a nation strong and victorious,

whose land rivers divide. ¹² 

The tribute ¹³  will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 24:18

24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit; ¹⁵ 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ¹⁶  are opened up ¹⁷ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Isaiah 31:1

Egypt Will Disappoint

31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, ¹⁸ 

those who rely on war horses,

and trust in Egypt’s many chariots ¹⁹ 

and in their many, many horsemen. ²⁰ 

But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel ²¹ 

and do not seek help from the Lord.

Isaiah 45:9

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ²² 

one who is like a mere ²³  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ²⁴ 

“What in the world ²⁵  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ²⁶ 

Isaiah 49:26

49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. ²⁷ 

Then all humankind ²⁸  will recognize that

I am the Lord, your deliverer,

your protector, ²⁹  the powerful ruler of Jacob.” ³⁰ 

Isaiah 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ³¹  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ³²  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ³³  will not disappear. ³⁴ 

Isaiah 65:8

65:8 This is what the Lord says:

“When ³⁵  juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ ³⁶ 

So I will do for the sake of my servants –

I will not destroy everyone. ³⁷ 

[6:13]  ¹ tn Or “be burned” (NRSV); NIV “laid waste.”

[6:13]  ² tn Heb “like a massive tree or like a big tree” (perhaps, “like a terebinth or like an oak”).

[6:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has “which in the felling, a sacred pillar in them.” Some take מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) as “stump,” and translate, “which, when chopped down, have a stump remaining in them.” But elsewhere מַצֶּבֶת refers to a memorial pillar (2 Sam 18:18) and the word resembles מַצֶּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”). בָּם (bam, “in them”) may be a corruption of בָּמָה (bamah, “high place”; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has במה). אֳשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) becomes a problem in this case, but one might emend the form to וּכְּאֲשֵׁרָה (ukÿ’asherah, “or like an Asherah pole”) and translate, “like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole.” Though the text is difficult, the references to sacred trees and a sacred pillar suggest that the destruction of a high place is in view, an apt metaphor for the judgment of idolatrous Judah.

[6:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “a holy offspring [is] its sacred pillar.” If מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) is taken as “stump,” one can see in this statement a brief glimpse of hope. The tree (the nation) is chopped down, but the stump (a righteous remnant) remains from which God can restore the nation. However, if מַצֶּבֶת is taken as “sacred pillar” (מַצֶּבָה, matsevah; see the previous note), it is much more difficult to take the final statement in a positive sense. In this case “holy offspring” alludes to God’s ideal for his covenant people, the offspring of the patriarchs. Ironically that “holy” nation is more like a “sacred pillar” and it will be thrown down like a sacred pillar from a high place and its land destroyed like the sacred trees located at such shrines. Understood in this way, the ironic statement is entirely negative in tone, just like the rest of the preceding announcement of judgment. It also reminds the people of their failure; they did not oppose pagan religion, instead they embraced it. Now they will be destroyed in the same way they should have destroyed paganism.

[10:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ⁶ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[18:2]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”

[18:2]  ¹¹ tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ¹² tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”

[18:7]  ¹³ tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.

[18:7]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.

[18:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”

[24:18]  ¹⁷ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ¹⁹ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[31:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”

[31:1]  ²² tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”

[31:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”

[31:1]  ²⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[45:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ²⁶ tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ²⁸ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

[49:26]  ²⁹ sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.

[49:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:26]  ³¹ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[49:26]  ³² tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.

[51:6]  ³³ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

[51:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”

[65:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “just as.” In the Hebrew text the statement is one long sentence, “Just as…, so I will do….”

[65:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “for a blessing is in it.”

[65:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “by not destroying everyone.”