1:2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth! 1
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children, 2 I brought them up, 3
but 4 they have rebelled 5 against me!
5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 6
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 7
8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. 10
Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.
9:3 You 14 have enlarged the nation;
you give them great joy. 15
They rejoice in your presence
as harvesters rejoice;
as warriors celebrate 16 when they divide up the plunder.
9:10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;
the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.” 17
9:13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,
they did not seek reconciliation 18 with the Lord who commands armies.
13:2 19 On a bare hill raise a signal flag,
shout to them,
wave your hand,
so they might enter the gates of the princes!
13:17 Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; 20
they are not concerned about silver,
nor are they interested in gold. 21
14:20 You will not be buried with them, 22
because you destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never be mentioned again.
15:3 In their streets they wear sackcloth;
on their roofs and in their town squares
all of them wail,
they fall down weeping.
19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master, 23 the Lord who commands armies.
19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; 24
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 25
19:16 At that time 26 the Egyptians 27 will be like women. 28 They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 29
30:20 The sovereign master 30 will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink; 31
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them. 32
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered 33 along with them,
as well as strong bulls. 34
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
34:17 He assigns them their allotment; 35
he measures out their assigned place. 36
They will live there 37 permanently;
they will settle in it through successive generations.
36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, 38 King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 39
40:7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord 45 blows on them.
Surely humanity 46 is like grass.
40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart; 47
he leads the ewes along.
41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! 48
Let the nations find renewed strength!
Let them approach and then speak;
let us come together for debate! 49
41:28 I look, but there is no one,
among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,
that I might ask questions and receive answers.
42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; 50
now I announce new events.
Before they begin to occur,
I reveal them to you.” 51
52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
56:10 All their watchmen 52 are blind,
they are unaware. 53
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant, 54 lie down,
and love to snooze.
59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust. 55
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. 56
59:18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies. 57
He repays the coastlands. 58
63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, 59
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation, 60
65:17 For look, I am ready to create
new heavens and a new earth! 61
The former ones 62 will not be remembered;
no one will think about them anymore. 63
1 sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
2 tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).
sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses (1:7-9, 19-20) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.
3 sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).
4 sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.
5 sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).
6 tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
7 tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”
8 tn Heb “and all the hills which were hoed with a hoe, you will not go there [for] fear of the thorns and briers.”
9 tn Heb “and it will become a pasture for cattle and a trampling place for sheep.”
sn At this point one is able to summarize the content of the “sign” (vv. 14-15) as follows: A young woman known to be present when Isaiah delivered this message to Ahaz (perhaps a member of the royal family or the prophetess mentioned in 8:3) would soon give birth to a boy whom the mother would name Immanuel, “God is with us.” Eventually Immanuel would be forced to eat sour milk and honey, which would enable him to make correct moral decisions. How would this situation come about and how would it constitute a sign? Before this situation developed, the Israelites and Syrians would be defeated. But then the Lord would usher in a period of time unlike any since the division of the kingdom almost 200 years before. The Assyrians would overrun the land, destroy the crops, and force the people to subsist on goats’ milk and honey. At that time, as the people saw Immanuel eating his sour milk and honey, the Davidic family would be forced to acknowledge that God was indeed with them. He was present with them in the Syrian-Israelite crisis, fully capable of rescuing them; but he was also present with them in judgment, disciplining them for their lack of trust. The moral of the story is quite clear: Failure to appropriate God’s promises by faith can turn potential blessing into disciplinary judgment.
10 tn Heb “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ with respect to all which these people say, ‘Conspiracy.’” The verb translated “do not say” is second masculine plural, indicating that this exhortation is directed to Isaiah and other followers of the Lord (see v. 16).
sn The background of this command is uncertain. Perhaps the “conspiracy” in view is the alliance between Israel and Syria. Some of the people may even have thought that individuals in Judah were plotting with Israel and Syria to overthrow the king.
11 tn Heb “he will pass through it.” The subject of the collective singular verb is the nation. (See the preceding note.) The immediately preceding context supplies no antecedent for “it” (a third feminine singular suffix in the Hebrew text); the suffix may refer to the land, which would be a reasonable referent with a verb of motion. Note also that אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) does appear at the beginning of the next verse.
12 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
13 tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).
14 sn The Lord is addressed directly in vv. 3-4.
15 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.
16 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.
17 sn Though judgment (see v. 8) had taken away the prosperity they did have (symbolized by the bricks and sycamore fig trees), they arrogantly expected the future to bring even greater prosperity (symbolized by the chiseled stone and cedars).
18 tn This verse describes the people’s response to the judgment described in vv. 11-12. The perfects are understood as indicating simple past.
19 sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).
20 tn Heb “against them”; NLT “against Babylon.”
21 sn They cannot be bought off, for they have a lust for bloodshed.
22 tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).
23 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
24 tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”
25 tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”
26 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
27 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
28 sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.
29 tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.
30 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
31 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”
32 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.
33 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
34 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
35 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
36 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
37 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
38 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
39 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
40 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
42 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
43 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
44 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
45 tn The Hebrew text has רוּחַ יְהוָה (ruakh yehvah), which in this context probably does not refer to the Lord’s personal Spirit. The phrase is better translated “the breath of the Lord,” or “the wind of [i.e., sent by] the Lord.” The Lord’s sovereign control over nature, including the hot desert winds that dry up vegetation, is in view here (cf. Ps 147:18; Isa 59:19).
46 tn Heb “the people” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
47 tn Heb “in his bosom” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), an expression which reflects closeness and protective care.
48 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”
49 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.
50 tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”
51 tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).
52 sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.
53 tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”
54 tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.
55 tn Heb “a way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their pathways.”
56 tn Heb “their paths they make crooked, everyone who walks in it does not know peace.”
57 tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”
58 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).
59 tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”
60 tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”
61 sn This hyperbolic statement likens the coming transformation of Jerusalem (see vv. 18-19) to a new creation of the cosmos.
62 tn Or perhaps, “the former things” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “The events of the past.”
63 tn Heb “and they will not come up on the mind.”