Isaiah 6:9

6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

Isaiah 37:9

37:9 The king ¹  heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia ²  was marching out to fight him. ³  He again sent ⁴  messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them:

Isaiah 37:17

37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ⁵ 

Isaiah 41:26

41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?

Who announced it ⁶  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?

Indeed, none of them decreed it!

Indeed, none of them announced it!

Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

Isaiah 43:9

43:9 All nations gather together,

the peoples assemble.

Who among them announced this?

Who predicted earlier events for us? ⁷ 

Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;

let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’

Isaiah 52:7

52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains ⁸ 

the feet of a messenger who announces peace,

a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” ⁹ 

Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ¹⁰ 

Why spend ¹¹  your hard-earned money ¹²  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ¹³  to me and eat what is nourishing! ¹⁴ 

Enjoy fine food! ¹⁵ 

[37:9]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:9]  ² tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”

[37:9]  ³ tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”

[37:9]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”

[37:17]  ¹ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

[41:26]  ¹ tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[43:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”

[52:7]  ¹ tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”

[52:7]  ² tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.

[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.”