Isaiah 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead,

who do their work in secret and boast,

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”

Isaiah 45:3

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures,

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place.

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements.

Isaiah 48:16

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit.


tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.