1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way; 1
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood. 2
3:6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother
right in his father’s house 3 and say, 4
‘You own a coat –
you be our leader!
This heap of ruins will be under your control.’ 5
14:11 Your splendor 16 has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. 17
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you. 18
14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,
just because the club that beat you has been broken! 19
For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,
and its fruit will be a darting adder. 20
26:9 I 21 look for 22 you during the night,
my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,
for when your judgments come upon the earth,
those who live in the world learn about justice. 23
26:14 The dead do not come back to life,
the spirits of the dead do not rise. 24
That is because 25 you came in judgment 26 and destroyed them,
you wiped out all memory of them.
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 27
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 28
and rely on that kind of behavior. 29
30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 30
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 31
30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols 32
and your gold-plated images. 33
You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,
saying to them, “Get out!”
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 34
and you will ask yourselves, 35 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 36
40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me, 39
My God is not concerned with my vindication”? 40
40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth. 41
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom. 42
41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!
Praise him 43 from the horizon of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, 44
you coastlands 45 and those who live there!
43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider 46 and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me. 47
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! 48
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock; 49 I know of none.
49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! 50
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth; 51
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. 52
49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;
it is desolate and devastated. 53
But now you will be too small to hold your residents,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law! 54
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
51:9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! 55
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!
Did you not smash 56 the Proud One? 57
Did you not 58 wound the sea monster? 59
51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make 60 a path through the depths of the sea,
so those delivered from bondage 61 could cross over?
54:10 Even if the mountains are removed
and the hills displaced,
my devotion will not be removed from you,
nor will my covenant of friendship 62 be displaced,”
says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.
55:3 Pay attention and come to me!
Listen, so you can live! 63
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to 64 you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. 65
58:7 I want you 66 to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. 67
When you see someone naked, clothe him!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! 68
58:12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; 69
you will reestablish the ancient foundations.
You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,
the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’ 70
58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, 71
and I will give you great prosperity, 72
and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” 73
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. 74
60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. 75
They will go up on my altar acceptably, 76
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
60:22 The least of you will multiply into 77 a thousand;
the smallest of you will become a large nation.
When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!” 78
63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray 79 from your ways, 80
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? 81
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
64:5 You assist 82 those who delight in doing what is right, 83
who observe your commandments. 84
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved? 85
65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts! 86
But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; 87
you will wail because your spirits will be crushed. 88
1 tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”
2 sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.
3 tn Heb “[in] the house of his father” (so ASV); NIV “at his father’s home.”
4 tn The words “and say” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “your hand”; NASB “under your charge.”
sn The man’s motives are selfish. He tells his brother to assume leadership because he thinks he has some wealth to give away.
6 tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.
7 tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.
8 tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.
9 sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.
10 tn The Hebrew term אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) can refer to a miraculous event (see v. 11), but it does not carry this sense inherently. Elsewhere in Isaiah the word usually refers to a natural occurrence or an object/person vested with special significance (see 8:18; 19:20; 20:3; 37:30; 55:13; 66:19). Only in 38:7-8, 22 does it refer to a miraculous deed that involves suspending or overriding natural laws. The sign outlined in vv. 14-17 involves God’s providential control over events and their timing, but not necessarily miraculous intervention.
11 tn Heb “the young woman.” The Hebrew article has been rendered as a demonstrative pronoun (“this”) in the translation to bring out its force. It is very likely that Isaiah pointed to a woman who was present at the scene of the prophet’s interview with Ahaz. Isaiah’s address to the “house of David” and his use of second plural forms suggests other people were present, and his use of the second feminine singular verb form (“you will name”) later in the verse is best explained if addressed to a woman who is present.
12 tn Traditionally, “virgin.” Because this verse from Isaiah is quoted in Matt 1:23 in connection with Jesus’ birth, the Isaiah passage has been regarded since the earliest Christian times as a prophecy of Christ’s virgin birth. Much debate has taken place over the best way to translate this Hebrew term, although ultimately one’s view of the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ is unaffected. Though the Hebrew word used here (עַלְמָה, ’almah) can sometimes refer to a woman who is a virgin (Gen 24:43), it does not carry this meaning inherently. The word is simply the feminine form of the corresponding masculine noun עֶלֶם (’elem, “young man”; cf. 1 Sam 17:56; 20:22). The Aramaic and Ugaritic cognate terms are both used of women who are not virgins. The word seems to pertain to age, not sexual experience, and would normally be translated “young woman.” The LXX translator(s) who later translated the Book of Isaiah into Greek sometime between the second and first century
13 tn Elsewhere the adjective הָרָה (harah), when used predicatively, refers to a past pregnancy (from the narrator’s perspective, 1 Sam 4:19), to a present condition (Gen 16:11; 38:24; 2 Sam 11:5), and to a conception that is about to occur in the near future (Judg 13:5, 7). (There is some uncertainty about the interpretation of Judg 13:5, 7, however. See the notes to those verses.) In Isa 7:14 one could translate, “the young woman is pregnant.” In this case the woman is probably a member of the royal family. Another option, the one followed in the present translation, takes the adjective in an imminent future sense, “the young woman is about to conceive.” In this case the woman could be a member of the royal family, or, more likely, the prophetess with whom Isaiah has sexual relations shortly after this (see 8:3).
14 tn Heb “and you will call his name.” The words “young lady” are supplied in the translation to clarify the identity of the addressee. The verb is normally taken as an archaic third feminine singular form here, and translated, “she will call.” However the form (קָרָאת, qara’t) is more naturally understood as second feminine singular, in which case the words would be addressed to the young woman mentioned just before this. In the three other occurrences of the third feminine singular perfect of I קָרָא (qara’, “to call”), the form used is קָרְאָה (qar’ah; see Gen 29:35; 30:6; 1 Chr 4:9). A third feminine singular perfect קָרָאת does appear in Deut 31:29 and Jer 44:23, but the verb here is the homonym II קָרָא (“to meet, encounter”). The form קָרָאת (from I קָרָא, “to call”) appears in three other passages (Gen 16:11; Isa 60:18; Jer 3:4 [Qere]) and in each case is second feminine singular.
15 sn The name Immanuel means “God [is] with us.”
16 tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”
17 tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).
18 tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”
19 sn The identity of this “club” (also referred to as a “serpent” in the next line) is uncertain. It may refer to an Assyrian king, or to Ahaz. For discussion see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:331-32. The viper/adder referred to in the second half of the verse is his successor.
20 tn Heb “flying burning one.” The designation “burning one” may allude to the serpent’s appearance or the effect of its poisonous bite. (See the note at 6:2.) The qualifier “flying” probably refers to the serpent’s quick, darting movements, though one might propose a homonym here, meaning “biting.” (See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:332, n. 18.) Some might think in terms of a mythological flying, fire breathing dragon (cf. NAB “a flying saraph”; CEV “a flying fiery dragon”), but this proposal does not make good sense in 30:6, where the phrase “flying burning one” appears again in a list of desert animals.
21 tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).
22 tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).
23 tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).
24 sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.
25 tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen) normally indicates a cause-effect relationship between what precedes and follows and is translated, “therefore.” Here, however, it infers the cause from the effect and brings out what is implicit in the previous statement. See BDB 487 s.v.
26 tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”
27 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
28 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
29 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
30 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
31 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
32 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
33 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
34 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
35 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
36 sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.
37 sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
38 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
39 tn Heb “my way is hidden from the Lord” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
40 tn Heb “and from my God my justice passes away”; NRSV “my right is disregarded by my God.”
41 tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.
42 sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).
43 tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.
44 tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”
45 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”
46 tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
47 tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”
48 tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
49 tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
50 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”
sn The Lord’s special servant, introduced in chap. 42, speaks here of his commission.
51 tn Heb “called me from the womb.”
52 tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”
53 tn Heb “Indeed your ruins and your desolate places, and the land of your destruction.” This statement is abruptly terminated in the Hebrew text and left incomplete.
54 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
55 tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.
56 tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”
57 tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).
58 tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”
59 tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.
60 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”
61 tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”
62 tn Heb “peace” (so many English versions); NLT “of blessing.”
63 tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.
sn To live here refers to covenantal blessing, primarily material prosperity and national security (see vv. 4-5, 13, and Deut 30:6, 15, 19-20).
64 tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”
65 tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”
66 tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”
67 tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.
68 tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”
69 tn Heb “and they will build from you ancient ruins.”
70 tc The Hebrew text has “the one who restores paths for dwelling.” The idea of “paths to dwell in” is not a common notion. Some have proposed emending נְתִיבוֹת (nÿtivot, “paths”) to נְתִיצוֹת (nÿtitsot, “ruins”), a passive participle from נָתַץ (natats, “tear down”; see HALOT 732 s.v. *נְתִיצָה), because tighter parallelism with the preceding line is achieved. However, none of the textual sources support this emendation. The line may mean that paths must be repaired in order to dwell in the land.
71 tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.
72 tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.
73 tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).
74 tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).
75 tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.
76 tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (’al) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [ya’alu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (lÿratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleted the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (’al) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111) and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).
77 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).
78 tn Heb “I, the Lord, in its time, I will quickly do it.”
79 tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.
80 tn This probably refers to God’s commands.
81 tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
sn How direct this hardening is, one cannot be sure. The speaker may envision direct involvement on the Lord’s part. The Lord has brought the exile as judgment for the nation’s sin and now he continues to keep them at arm’s length by blinding them spiritually. The second half of 64:7 might support this, though the precise reading of the final verb is uncertain. On the other hand, the idiom of lament is sometimes ironic and hyperbolically deterministic. For example, Naomi lamented that Shaddai was directly opposing her and bringing her calamity (Ruth 1:20-21), while the author of Ps 88 directly attributes his horrible suffering and loneliness to God (see especially vv. 6-8, 16-18). Both individuals make little, if any, room for intermediate causes or the principle of sin and death which ravages the human race. In the same way, the speaker in Isa 63:17 (who evidences great spiritual sensitivity and is anything but “hardened”) may be referring to the hardships of exile, which discouraged and even embittered the people, causing many of them to retreat from their Yahwistic faith. In this case, the “hardening” in view is more indirect and can be lifted by the Lord’s intervention. Whether the hardening here is indirect or direct, it is important to recognize that the speaker sees it as one of the effects of rebellion against the Lord (note especially 64:5-6).
82 tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”
83 tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”
84 tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”
85 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).
86 tn Heb “from the good of the heart.”
87 tn Heb “from the pain of the heart.”
88 tn Heb “from the breaking of the spirit.”