Isaiah 9:17

9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased ¹  with their young men,

he took no pity ²  on their orphans and widows;

for the whole nation was godless ³  and did wicked things, ⁴ 

every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. ⁵ 

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ⁶ 

Isaiah 33:20

33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!

You ⁷  will see Jerusalem, ⁸ 

a peaceful settlement,

a tent that stays put; ⁹ 

its stakes will never be pulled up;

none of its ropes will snap in two.

Isaiah 44:23

44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; ¹⁰ 

shout out, you subterranean regions ¹¹  of the earth.

O mountains, give a joyful shout;

you too, O forest and all your trees! ¹² 

For the Lord protects ¹³  Jacob;

he reveals his splendor through Israel. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 54:17

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ¹⁵ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ¹⁶ 

says the Lord.

[9:17]  ¹ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”

[9:17]  ² tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yÿrakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)

[9:17]  ³ tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”

[9:17]  ⁴ tn מֵרַע (mera’) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.

[9:17]  ⁵ tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”

[33:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:20]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:20]  ⁹ tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”

[44:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”

[44:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.

[44:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”

[44:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ¹⁷ tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”

[54:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”