Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ¹  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ² 

Isaiah 14:12

14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,

O shining one, son of the dawn! ³ 

You have been cut down to the ground,

O conqueror ⁴  of the nations! ⁵ 

Isaiah 47:11

47:11 Disaster will overtake you;

you will not know how to charm it away. ⁶ 

Destruction will fall on you;

you will not be able to appease it.

Calamity will strike you suddenly,

before you recognize it. ⁷ 

Isaiah 58:8

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ⁸ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ⁹ 

your godly behavior ¹⁰  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ¹¹ 

[8:20]  ¹ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

[8:20]  ² tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

[14:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.

[14:12]  ⁴ tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”

[14:12]  ⁵ sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.

[47:11]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.

[47:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”

[58:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ⁹ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ¹⁰ sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.