1:17 Learn to do what is right!
Promote justice!
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! 1
Take up the cause of the orphan!
Defend the rights of the widow! 2
3:12 Oppressors treat my 3 people cruelly;
creditors rule over them. 4
My people’s leaders mislead them;
they give you confusing directions. 5
8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, 6
seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers. 7
9:3 You 8 have enlarged the nation;
you give them great joy. 9
They rejoice in your presence
as harvesters rejoice;
as warriors celebrate 10 when they divide up the plunder.
28:6 He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions,
and strength to those who defend the city from attackers. 11
30:5 all will be put to shame 12
because of a nation that cannot help them,
who cannot give them aid or help,
but only shame and disgrace.”
30:20 The sovereign master 13 will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink; 14
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them. 15
30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout 16
and intervene in power, 17
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, 18
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me. 19
Restore my health 20 and preserve my life.’
38:18 Indeed 21 Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not 22 praise you.
Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! 23
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the 24 oppressed.
57:18 I have seen their behavior, 25
but I will heal them and give them rest,
and I will once again console those who mourn. 26
62:2 Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you. 27
65:15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones. 28
The sovereign Lord will kill you,
but he will give his servants another name.
65:23 They will not work in vain,
or give birth to children that will experience disaster. 29
For the Lord will bless their children
and their descendants. 30
1 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”
2 tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.
3 sn This may refer to the prophet or to the Lord.
4 tc The Hebrew text appears to read literally, “My people, his oppressors, he deals severely, and women rule over them.” The correct text and precise meaning of the verse are debated. The translation above assumes (1) an emendation of נֹגְשָׂיו (nogÿsayv, “his oppressors”) to נֹגְשִׂים (nogÿshim, “oppressors”) by moving the mem (ם) on the following form to the end of the word and dropping the vav (ו) as virtually dittographic; (2) an emendation of מְעוֹלֵל (mÿ’olel, a singular participle that does not agree with the preceding plural subject) to עֹלְלוּ (’olÿlu), a third plural Poel perfect from עָלַל (’alal, “deal severely”; note that the following form begins with a vav [ו]; the text may be haplographic or misdivided); and (3) an emendation (with support from the LXX) of נָשִׁים (nashim, “women”) to נֹשִׁים (noshim, “creditors”; a participle from נָשַׁא, nasa’). Another option is to emend מְעוֹלֵל to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”) and read, “My people’s oppressors are children; women rule over them.” In this case the point is the same as in v. 4; the leadership void left by the judgment will be filled by those incompetent to lead the community – children and women. (The text reflects the ancient Israelite patriarchal mindset.)
5 tn Heb “and the way of your paths they confuse.” The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”; HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”; see HALOT 134 s.v. בלע).
6 tn Heb “tie up [the] testimony.” The “testimony” probably refers to the prophetic messages God has given him. When the prophecies are fulfilled, he will be able to produce this official, written record to confirm the authenticity of his ministry and to prove to the people that God is sovereign over events.
7 tn Heb “seal [the] instruction among my followers.” The “instruction” probably refers to the prophet’s exhortations and warnings. When the people are judged for the sins, the prophet can produce these earlier messages and essentially say, “I told you so.” In this way he can authenticate his ministry and impress upon the people the reality of God’s authority over them.
8 sn The Lord is addressed directly in vv. 3-4.
9 tc The Hebrew consonantal text reads “You multiply the nation, you do not make great the joy.” The particle לֹא (lo’, “not”) is obviously incorrect; the marginal reading has לוֹ (lo, “to him”). In this case, one should translate, “You multiply the nation, you increase his (i.e., their) joy.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one emends הַגּוֹי לוֹ (hagoy lo, “the nation, to him”) to הַגִּילָה (haggilah, “the joy,” a noun attested in Isa 65:18), which corresponds to הַשִּׂמְחָה (hasimkhah, “the joy”) later in the verse (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:386). As attractive as this reading is, it has not textual evidence supporting it. The MT reading (accepting the marginal reading “to him” for the negative particle “not”) affirms that Yahweh caused the nation to grow in population and increased their joy.
10 tn Heb “as they are happy.” The word “warriors” is supplied in the translation to clarify the word picture. This last simile comes close to reality, for vv. 4-5 indicate that the people have won a great military victory over their oppressors.
11 tn Heb “and [he will become] a spirit of justice for the one who sits [i.e., presides] over judgment, // and strength [for] the ones who turn back battle at the city gate.” The Lord will provide internal stability and national security.
12 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
13 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
14 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”
15 tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.
16 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
17 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
18 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
19 tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”
20 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.
21 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
22 tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.
23 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
24 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
25 tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”
26 tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”
27 tn Heb “which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”
28 tn Heb “you will leave your name for an oath to my chosen ones.”
sn For an example of such a curse formula see Jer 29:22.
29 tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”
30 tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”