2:5 O descendants 1 of Jacob,
come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light. 2
13:1 4 This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: 5
14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
32:3 Eyes 6 will no longer be blind 7
and ears 8 will be attentive.
43:11 I, I am the Lord,
and there is no deliverer besides me.
44:19 No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire –
yes, I baked bread over the coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 9
45:25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord
and will boast in him. 10
51:21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine!
1 tn Heb “house,” referring to the family line or descendants (likewise in v. 6).
2 tn Heb “let’s walk in the light of the Lord.” In this context, which speaks of the Lord’s instruction and commands, the “light of the Lord” refers to his moral standards by which he seeks to guide his people. One could paraphrase, “let’s obey the Lord’s commands.”
3 tn Ahaz uses the verb נָסַה (nasah, “test”) in its negative sense of “challenge, provoke.” However, this is false piety, a smokescreen designed to cover up his lack of faith in the Lord.
4 sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.
5 tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”
6 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
7 tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.
8 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
9 tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.
10 tn Heb “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and boast.”