Isaiah 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹  is the Lord who commands armies! ²  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Isaiah 6:8

6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” ³  I answered, “Here I am, send me!”

Isaiah 6:11

6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,

“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,

and houses are uninhabited,

and the land is ruined and devastated,

Isaiah 24:16

24:16 From the ends of the earth we ⁴  hear songs –

the Just One is majestic. ⁵ 

But I ⁶  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ⁷ 

Isaiah 25:9

25:9 At that time they will say, ⁸ 

“Look, here ⁹  is our God!

We waited for him and he delivered us.

Here ¹⁰  is the Lord! We waited for him.

Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”

Isaiah 29:12

29:12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read ¹¹  and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” ¹² 

Isaiah 40:6

40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks, ¹³  “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds: ¹⁴  “All people are like grass, ¹⁵ 

and all their promises ¹⁶  are like the flowers in the field.

Isaiah 41:9

41:9 you whom I am bringing back ¹⁷  from the earth’s extremities,

and have summoned from the remote regions –

I told you, “You are my servant.”

I have chosen you and not rejected you.

[6:3]  ¹ tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

[6:3]  ² tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[6:8]  ³ tn Heb “for us.” The plural pronoun refers to the Lord, the seraphs, and the rest of the heavenly assembly.

[24:16]  ⁵ sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.

[24:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.

[24:16]  ⁷ sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.

[24:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”

[25:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”

[25:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “this [one].”

[25:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “this [one].”

[29:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”

[29:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”

[40:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”

[40:6]  ¹² tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.

[40:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.

[40:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.

[41:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”