Isaiah 8:6

8:6 “These people ¹  have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah ²  and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. ³ 

Isaiah 8:11

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people: ⁴ 

Isaiah 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ⁵  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ⁶ 

Isaiah 13:3

13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ⁷ 

I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ⁸ 

my boasting, arrogant ones. ⁹ 

Isaiah 13:22

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ¹⁰ 

Her time is almost up, ¹¹ 

her days will not be prolonged. ¹² 

Isaiah 14:8

14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, ¹³ 

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, ¹⁴ 

‘Since you fell asleep, ¹⁵ 

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 14:11

14:11 Your splendor ¹⁷  has been brought down to Sheol,

as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. ¹⁸ 

You lie on a bed of maggots,

with a blanket of worms over you. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 19:4

19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;

a powerful king will rule over them,”

says the sovereign master, ²⁰  the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 25:10

25:10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. ²¹ 

Moab will be trampled down where it stands, ²² 

as a heap of straw is trampled down in ²³  a manure pile.

Isaiah 41:20

41:20 I will do this so ²⁴  people ²⁵  will observe and recognize,

so they will pay attention and understand

that the Lord’s power ²⁶  has accomplished this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ²⁷ 

Isaiah 43:13

43:13 From this day forward I am he;

no one can deliver from my power; ²⁸ 

I will act, and who can prevent it?”

Isaiah 52:6

52:6 For this reason my people will know my name,

for this reason they will know ²⁹  at that time ³⁰  that I am the one who says,

‘Here I am.’”

Isaiah 59:15-16

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ³¹ 

for there is no justice.

The Lord Intervenes

59:16 He sees there is no advocate; ³² 

he is shocked ³³  that no one intervenes.

So he takes matters into his own hands; ³⁴ 

his desire for justice drives him on. ³⁵ 

[8:6]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text begins with “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 6-7 are one long sentence, with v. 6 giving the reason for judgment and v. 7 formally announcing it.

[8:6]  ² sn The phrase “waters of Shiloah” probably refers to a stream that originated at the Gihon Spring and supplied the city of Jerusalem with water. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:225. In this context these waters stand in contrast to the flood waters of Assyria and symbolize God’s presence and blessings.

[8:6]  ³ tn The precise meaning of v. 6 has been debated. The translation above assumes that “these people” are the residents of Judah and that מָשׂוֹשׂ (masos) is alternate form of מָסוֹס (masos, “despair, melt”; see HALOT 606 s.v. מסס). In this case vv. 7-8 in their entirety announce God’s disciplinary judgment on Judah. However, “these people” could refer to the Israelites and perhaps also the Syrians (cf v. 4). In this case מָשׂוֹשׂ probably means “joy.” One could translate, “and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah.” In this case v. 7a announces the judgment of Israel, with vv. 7b-8 then shifting the focus to the judgment of Judah.

[8:11]  ⁴ tc Heb “with strength of hand and he warned me from walking in the way of these people, saying.” Some want to change the pointing of the suffix and thereby emend the Qal imperfect יִסְּרֵנִי (yissÿreni, “he was warning me”) to the more common Piel perfect יִסְּרַנִי (yissÿrani, “he warned me”). Others follow the lead of the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and read יְסִירֵנִי (yÿsireni, “he was turning me aside,” a Hiphil imperfect from סוּר, sur).

[10:2]  ⁷ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[13:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.

[13:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”

[13:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”

[13:22]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).

[13:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ¹⁵ sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[14:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “concerning you.”

[14:8]  ¹⁷ tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.

[14:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

[14:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”

[14:11]  ¹⁹ tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”

[14:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[14:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”

[19:4]  ²² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[25:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “for the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain”; TEV “will protect Mount Zion”; NCV “will protect (rest on NLT) Jerusalem.”

[25:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”

[25:10]  ²⁷ tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”).

[41:20]  ²⁸ tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”

[41:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”

[41:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[41:20]  ³¹ tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”

[43:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “No one can oppose what I do.”

[52:6]  ³⁴ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[52:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[59:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[59:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”

[59:16]  ⁴¹ tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”

[59:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”

[59:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”