1:4 1 The sinful nation is as good as dead, 2
the people weighed down by evil deeds.
They are offspring who do wrong,
children 3 who do wicked things.
They have abandoned the Lord,
and rejected the Holy One of Israel. 4
They are alienated from him. 5
5:7 Indeed 6 Israel 7 is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,
the people 8 of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! 9
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! 10
5:25 So the Lord is furious 11 with his people;
he lifts 12 his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure 13 in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 14
6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, 15 like one of the large sacred trees 16 or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. 17 That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” 18
8:19 19 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. 20 Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 21
9:7 His dominion will be vast 22
and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. 23
He will rule on David’s throne
and over David’s kingdom, 24
establishing it 25 and strengthening it
by promoting justice and fairness, 26
from this time forward and forevermore.
The Lord’s intense devotion to his people 27 will accomplish this.
10:24 So 28 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 29
17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, 30
those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. 31
The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, 32
those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. 33
17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 34
when he shouts at 35 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 36 before a strong gale.
24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, 37
the master as well as the servant, 38
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 39
the seller as well as the buyer, 40
the borrower as well as the lender, 41
the creditor as well as the debtor. 42
30:26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare
and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,
like the light of seven days, 43
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones 44
and heals their severe wound. 45
42:5 This is what the true God, 46 the Lord, says –
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, 47
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it: 48
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 49
and held captive 50 in prisons.
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” 51
45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him; 52
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
49:8 This is what the Lord says:
“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;
in the day of deliverance I will help you;
I will protect you 53 and make you a covenant mediator for people, 54
to rebuild 55 the land 56
and to reassign the desolate property.
56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. 57
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” 58
58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? 59
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, 60
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out 61 on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, 62
or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, 63
for my people will live as long as trees, 64
and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced. 65
1 sn Having summoned the witnesses and announced the Lord’s accusation against Israel, Isaiah mourns the nation’s impending doom. The third person references to the Lord in the second half of the verse suggest that the quotation from the Lord (cf. vv. 2-3) has concluded.
2 tn Heb “Woe [to the] sinful nation.” The Hebrew term הוֹי, (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death. In highly dramatic fashion the prophet acts out Israel’s funeral in advance, emphasizing that their demise is inevitable if they do not repent soon.
3 tn Or “sons” (NASB). The prophet contrasts four terms of privilege – nation, people, offspring, children – with four terms that depict Israel’s sinful condition in Isaiah’s day – sinful, evil, wrong, wicked (see J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 43).
4 sn Holy One of Israel is one of Isaiah’s favorite divine titles for God. It pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
5 tn Heb “they are estranged backward.” The LXX omits this statement, which presents syntactical problems and seems to be outside the synonymous parallelistic structure of the verse.
6 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
7 tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
8 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
9 tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
10 tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
11 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”
12 tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”
13 tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”
14 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
15 tn Or “be burned” (NRSV); NIV “laid waste.”
16 tn Heb “like a massive tree or like a big tree” (perhaps, “like a terebinth or like an oak”).
17 tn The Hebrew text has “which in the felling, a sacred pillar in them.” Some take מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) as “stump,” and translate, “which, when chopped down, have a stump remaining in them.” But elsewhere מַצֶּבֶת refers to a memorial pillar (2 Sam 18:18) and the word resembles מַצֶּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”). בָּם (bam, “in them”) may be a corruption of בָּמָה (bamah, “high place”; the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has במה). אֳשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) becomes a problem in this case, but one might emend the form to וּכְּאֲשֵׁרָה (ukÿ’asherah, “or like an Asherah pole”) and translate, “like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole.” Though the text is difficult, the references to sacred trees and a sacred pillar suggest that the destruction of a high place is in view, an apt metaphor for the judgment of idolatrous Judah.
18 tn Heb “a holy offspring [is] its sacred pillar.” If מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) is taken as “stump,” one can see in this statement a brief glimpse of hope. The tree (the nation) is chopped down, but the stump (a righteous remnant) remains from which God can restore the nation. However, if מַצֶּבֶת is taken as “sacred pillar” (מַצֶּבָה, matsevah; see the previous note), it is much more difficult to take the final statement in a positive sense. In this case “holy offspring” alludes to God’s ideal for his covenant people, the offspring of the patriarchs. Ironically that “holy” nation is more like a “sacred pillar” and it will be thrown down like a sacred pillar from a high place and its land destroyed like the sacred trees located at such shrines. Understood in this way, the ironic statement is entirely negative in tone, just like the rest of the preceding announcement of judgment. It also reminds the people of their failure; they did not oppose pagan religion, instead they embraced it. Now they will be destroyed in the same way they should have destroyed paganism.
19 tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.
20 tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.
21 tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.
22 tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”
23 tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”
24 tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”
26 tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”
27 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.
28 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
29 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
30 tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
31 tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”
32 tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.
33 tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”
34 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
35 tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.
36 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
37 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
38 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
39 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
40 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
41 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
42 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
43 sn Light here symbolizes restoration of divine blessing and prosperity. The number “seven” is used symbolically to indicate intensity. The exact meaning of the phrase “the light of seven days” is uncertain; it probably means “seven times brighter” (see the parallel line).
44 tn Heb “the fracture of his people” (so NASB).
sn The Lord is here compared to a physician setting a broken bone in a bandage or cast.
45 tn Heb “the injury of his wound.” The joining of synonyms emphasizes the severity of the wound. Another option is to translate, “the wound of his blow.” In this case the pronominal suffix might refer to the Lord, not the people, yielding the translation, “the wound which he inflicted.”
46 tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.
47 tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”
48 tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).
49 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
50 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
51 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
52 tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.
53 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).
54 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.
55 tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”
56 tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.
57 tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”
58 tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”
59 tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”
60 tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
61 tn Or “making [their] bed.”
62 tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”
63 tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”
64 tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”
65 tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”