24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 1
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 2 are opened up 3
and the foundations of the earth shake.
30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; 4
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, 5
until the remaining few are as isolated 6
as a flagpole on a mountaintop
or a signal flag on a hill.”
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 7
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 8
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 9 deceiving, others will deceive you!
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 10
and held captive 11 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!” 12
45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, 13
one who is like a mere 14 shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter, 15
“What in the world 16 are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!” 17
45:11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, 18 the one who formed him,
concerning things to come: 19
“How dare you question me 20 about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with 21 the work of my own hands!
45:18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky –
he is the true God, 22
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order, 23
he formed it to be inhabited –
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
47:8 So now, listen to this,
O one who lives so lavishly, 24
who lives securely,
who says to herself, 25
‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! 26
I will never have to live as a widow;
I will never lose my children.’ 27
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 28
Is my hand too weak 29 to deliver 30 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 31 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 32
54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 33 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 34
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 35
63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, 36
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? 37
Who 38 is this one wearing royal attire, 39
who marches confidently 40 because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!” 41
65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days 42
or an old man die before his time. 43
Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred, 44
anyone who fails to reach 45 the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.
1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
3 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
4 tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.
5 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
6 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
7 tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”
sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.
8 tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.
9 tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”
10 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
11 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
12 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
13 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”
14 tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.
15 tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”
16 tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.
17 tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”
18 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
19 tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
20 tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
21 tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
22 tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
23 tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.
24 tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”
25 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
26 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.
27 tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”
28 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.
29 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
30 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
31 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
32 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
33 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
34 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
35 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”
36 sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.
37 tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”
38 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.
39 tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”
40 tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).
41 tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”
42 tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.
43 tn Heb “or an old [man] who does not fill out his days.”
44 tn Heb “for the child as a son of one hundred years will die.” The point seems to be that those who die at the age of a hundred will be considered children, for the average life span will be much longer than that. The category “child” will be redefined in light of the expanded life spans that will characterize this new era.
45 tn Heb “the one who misses.” חָטָא (khata’) is used here in its basic sense of “miss the mark.” See HALOT 305 s.v. חטא. Another option is to translate, “and the sinner who reaches the age of a hundred will be cursed.”