Isaiah 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ¹  The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. ² 

In earlier times he ³  humiliated

the land of Zebulun,

and the land of Naphtali; ⁴ 

but now he brings honor ⁵ 

to the way of the sea,

the region beyond the Jordan,

and Galilee of the nations. ⁶ 

Isaiah 22:25

22:25 “At that time,” ⁷  says the Lord who commands armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.” ⁸  Indeed, ⁹  the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 37:24

37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ¹⁰ 

‘With my many chariots I climbed up

the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions, ¹¹ 

its thickest woods.

Isaiah 44:19

44:19 No one thinks to himself,

nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:

‘I burned half of it in the fire –

yes, I baked bread over the coals;

I roasted meat and ate it.

With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?

Should I bow down to dry wood?’ ¹² 

Isaiah 57:8

57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. ¹³ 

Indeed, ¹⁴  you depart from me ¹⁵  and go up

and invite them into bed with you. ¹⁶ 

You purchase favors from them, ¹⁷ 

you love their bed,

and gaze longingly ¹⁸  on their genitals. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 66:20

66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen ²⁰  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ²¹  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ²²  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

[9:1]  ¹ sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) the chapter division comes one verse later than in the English Bible; 9:1 (8:23 HT). Thus 9:2-21 in the English Bible = 9:1-20 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[9:1]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads, “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her.” The feminine singular pronominal suffix “her” must refer to the land (cf. vv. 22a, 23b). So one could translate, “Indeed there will be no gloom for the land which was anxious.” In this case the statement introduces the positive message to follow. Some assume an emendation of לֹא (lo’, “no”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and of לָהּ (lah, “to her”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”), yielding this literal reading: “indeed there is gloom for him, for the one to whom there was anxiety for him.” In this case the statement concludes the preceding description of judgment.

[9:1]  ³ tn The Lord must be understood as the subject of the two verbs in this verse.

[9:1]  ⁴ sn The statement probably alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Israel in ca. 734-733 b.c., when Tiglath-pileser III annexed much of Israel’s territory and reduced Samaria to a puppet state.

[9:1]  ⁵ tn Heb Just as in earlier times he humiliated…, [in] the latter times he has brought honor.” The main verbs in vv. 1b-4 are Hebrew perfects. The prophet takes his rhetorical stance in the future age of restoration and describes future events as if they have already occurred. To capture the dramatic effect of the original text, the translation uses the English present or present perfect.

[9:1]  ⁶ sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733 b.c. The “way of the sea” is the province of Dor, along the Mediterranean coast, the “region beyond the Jordan” is the province of Gilead in Transjordan, and “Galilee of the nations” (a title that alludes to how the territory had been overrun by foreigners) is the province of Megiddo located west of the Sea of Galilee. See Y. Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 374.

[22:25]  ⁷ tn Or “In that day” (KJV).

[22:25]  ⁸ sn Eliakim’s authority, though seemingly secure, will eventually be removed, and with it his family’s prominence.

[22:25]  ⁹ tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[37:24]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[37:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”

[44:19]  ¹⁹ tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.

[57:8]  ²⁵ tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.

[57:8]  ²⁶ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[57:8]  ²⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).

[57:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).

[57:8]  ²⁹ tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.

[57:8]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).

[57:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.

[66:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

[66:20]  ³² tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[66:20]  ³³ tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.