Isaiah 7:9

7:9 Ephraim’s leader is Samaria,

and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah.

If your faith does not remain firm,

then you will not remain secure.” ¹ 

Isaiah 10:12

10:12 But when ²  the sovereign master ³  finishes judging ⁴  Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I ⁵  will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. ⁶ 

Isaiah 28:13

28:13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like

meaningless gibberish,

senseless babbling,

a syllable here, a syllable there. ⁷ 

As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, ⁸ 

and be injured, ensnared, and captured. ⁹ 

Isaiah 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ¹⁰  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ¹¹ 

they say wonderful things about me, ¹² 

but they are not really loyal to me. ¹³ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 30:27

30:27 Look, the name ¹⁵  of the Lord comes from a distant place

in raging anger and awesome splendor. ¹⁶ 

He speaks angrily

and his word is like destructive fire. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ¹⁸  uprightly ¹⁹ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ²⁰ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ²¹ 

and does not seek to harm others ²²  –

Isaiah 40:2

40:2 “Speak kindly to ²³  Jerusalem, ²⁴  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ²⁵ 

that her punishment is completed. ²⁶ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ²⁷  for all her sins.”

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ²⁸ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ²⁹ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ³⁰ 

Isaiah 49:2

49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

he hid me in the hollow of his hand;

he made me like a sharpened ³¹  arrow,

he hid me in his quiver. ³² 

Isaiah 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ³³ 

so that I know how to help the weary. ³⁴ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 54:9

54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, ³⁶ 

when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood ³⁷  would never again cover the earth.

In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.

[7:9]  ¹ tn Heb “if you do not believe, you will not endure.” The verb forms are second plural; the Lord here addresses the entire Davidic family and court. (Verse 4 was addressed to the king.) There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text, designed to draw attention to the alternatives set before the king (cf. 1:20). “Believe” (תַאֳמִינוּ, ta’aminu) is a Hiphil form of the verb אָמָן (’aman); “endure” (תֵאָמֵנוּ, te’amenu) is a Niphal form of this same verb.

[10:12]  ² tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[10:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[10:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”

[10:12]  ⁵ tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.

[10:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.

[28:13]  ³ tn Heb “And the word of the Lord will be to them, ‘tsahv latsahv,’ etc.” See the note at v. 10. In this case the “Lord’s word” is not the foreigner’s strange sounding words (as in v. 10), but the Lord’s repeated appeals to them (like the one quoted in v. 12). As time goes on, the Lord’s appeals through the prophets will have no impact on the people; they will regard prophetic preaching as gibberish.

[28:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “as a result they will go and stumble backward.” Perhaps an infant falling as it attempts to learn to walk is the background image here (cf. v. 9b). The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) could be taken as indicating purpose (“in order that”), rather than simple result. In this case the people’s insensitivity to the message is caused by the Lord as a means of expediting their downfall.

[28:13]  ⁵ sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.

[29:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[30:27]  ⁵ sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests – he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.

[30:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (masa’ah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.

[30:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).

[33:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ⁷ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[40:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).

[45:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁹ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ¹⁰ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[49:2]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”

[49:2]  ¹⁰ sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.

[50:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ¹¹ tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ¹² tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[54:9]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “For [or “indeed”] the waters of Noah [is] this to me.” כִּי־מֵי (ki-me, “for the waters of”) should be emended to כְּמֵי (kÿmey, “like the days of”), which is supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and all the ancient versions except LXX.

[54:9]  ¹² tn Heb “the waters of Noah” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).