2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so 1 he can teach us his requirements, 2
and 3 we can follow his standards.” 4
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 5
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 6
5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 7 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 8
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 9 of the Holy One of Israel. 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
9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 17 with their young men,
he took no pity 18 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 19 and did wicked things, 20
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 21
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 22
10:24 So 23 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. 24
27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, 25
and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: 26
They will make all the stones of the altars 27
like crushed limestone,
and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. 28
28:13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like
meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there. 29
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, 30
and be injured, ensnared, and captured. 31
29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. 32
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. 33
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. 34
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough 35
to scoop a hot coal from a fire 36
or to skim off water from a cistern.” 37
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 41
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 42
nor will he build siege works against it.
47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. 43
Let them take their stand –
the ones who see omens in the sky,
who gaze at the stars,
who make monthly predictions –
let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! 44
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 45 of Israel? 46
I will make you a light to the nations, 47
so you can bring 48 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 49
Is my hand too weak 50 to deliver 51 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 52 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 53
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, 54
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, 55
because he willingly submitted 56 to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened 57 on behalf of the rebels.”
65:8 This is what the Lord says:
“When 58 juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,
someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ 59
So I will do for the sake of my servants –
I will not destroy everyone. 60
66:4 So I will choose severe punishment 61 for them;
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me; 62
they chose to do what displeases me.”
66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, 63 those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice 64 – they will all be destroyed together,” 65 says the Lord.
1 tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).
2 tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.
3 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.
4 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
5 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”
6 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
7 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
8 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
9 tn Heb “the word.”
10 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
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 The name means “a remnant will return.” Perhaps in this context, where the Lord is trying to encourage Ahaz, the name suggests that only a few of the enemy invaders will return home; the rest will be defeated.
16 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “the Washerman’s Field.”
17 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa 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.”
18 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.”)
19 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
20 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.
21 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
22 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
sn See the note at 9:12.
23 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.
24 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
25 tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”
26 tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a corruption of לְכַפֵּר (lekhaper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).
27 tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.
28 sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.
29 tn Heb “And the word of the Lord will be to them, ‘tsahv latsahv,’ etc.” See the note at v. 10. In this case the “Lord’s word” is not the foreigner’s strange sounding words (as in v. 10), but the Lord’s repeated appeals to them (like the one quoted in v. 12). As time goes on, the Lord’s appeals through the prophets will have no impact on the people; they will regard prophetic preaching as gibberish.
30 tn Heb “as a result they will go and stumble backward.” Perhaps an infant falling as it attempts to learn to walk is the background image here (cf. v. 9b). The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) could be taken as indicating purpose (“in order that”), rather than simple result. In this case the people’s insensitivity to the message is caused by the Lord as a means of expediting their downfall.
31 sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.
32 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
33 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
34 tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”
35 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
36 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
37 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
38 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
39 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
40 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
41 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
42 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
43 tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”
44 tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”
45 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
46 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
47 tn See the note at 42:6.
48 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
49 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
50 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
51 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
52 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
53 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
54 tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).
55 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
56 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
57 tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.
58 tn Heb “just as.” In the Hebrew text the statement is one long sentence, “Just as…, so I will do….”
59 tn Heb “for a blessing is in it.”
60 tn Heb “by not destroying everyone.”
61 tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”
62 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
63 tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.
64 tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”
65 tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”