9:6 For a child has been 5 born to us,
a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility
and is called: 6
Extraordinary Strategist, 7
Mighty God, 8
Everlasting Father, 9
Prince of Peace. 10
17:6 There will be some left behind,
like when an olive tree is beaten –
two or three ripe olives remain toward the very top,
four or five on its fruitful branches,”
says the Lord God of Israel.
17:10 For you ignore 11 the God who rescues you;
you pay no attention to your strong protector. 12
So this is what happens:
You cultivate beautiful plants
and plant exotic vines. 13
21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, 14
what I have heard
from the Lord who commands armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.
25:1 O Lord, you are my God! 15
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. 16
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. 17
25:9 At that time they will say, 18
“Look, here 19 is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here 20 is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
29:23 For when they see their children,
whom I will produce among them, 21
they will honor 22 my name.
They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; 23
they will respect 24 the God of Israel.
30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 25
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 26
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 27 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 28
35:2 Let it richly bloom; 29
let it rejoice and shout with delight! 30
It is given the grandeur 31 of Lebanon,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the grandeur of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! 37
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me, 38
My God is not concerned with my vindication”? 39
40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth. 40
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom. 41
41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! 42
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! 43
41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; 44
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
43:3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, 45 your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba 46 in place of you.
43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider 47 and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me. 48
44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their protector, 49 the Lord who commands armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! 50
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock; 51 I know of none.
44:20 He feeds on ashes; 52
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 53
45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, 54
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.
46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale 55
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, 56 says,
the Holy One of Israel: 57
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you in the way you should go.
50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys 58 his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness, 59
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
51:20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God. 60
51:22 This is what your sovereign master, 61 the Lord your God, says:
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine, 62
the goblet full of my anger. 63
You will no longer have to drink it.
52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains 64
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 65
53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, 66
like a root out of parched soil; 67
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, 68
no special appearance that we should want to follow him. 69
54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –
the Lord who commands armies is his name.
He is your protector, 70 the Holy One of Israel. 71
He is called “God of the entire earth.”
54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back
like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, 72
like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.
55:5 Look, you will summon nations 73 you did not previously know;
nations 74 that did not previously know you will run to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, 75
for he bestows honor on you.
55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle 76
and sinful people their plans. 77
They should return 78 to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, 79
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 80
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up 81 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 82
60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,
nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;
the Lord will be your permanent source of light –
the splendor of your God will shine upon you. 83
61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,
servants of our God.’ 84
You will enjoy 85 the wealth of nations
and boast about 86 the riches you receive from them. 87
66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”
asks the Lord.
“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”
asks your God. 88
1 tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.
2 tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.
3 tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.
4 sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.
5 tn The Hebrew perfect (translated “has been born” and “has been given”) is used here as the prophet takes a rhetorical stance in the future. See the note at 9:1.
6 tn Or “and dominion was on his shoulders and he called his name.” The prefixed verbs with vav (ו) consecutive are used with the same rhetorical sense as the perfects in v. 6a. See the preceding note. There is great debate over the syntactical structure of the verse. No subject is indicated for the verb “he called.” If all the titles that follow are ones given to the king, then the subject of the verb must be indefinite, “one calls.” However, some have suggested that one to three of the titles that follow refer to God, not the king. For example, the traditional punctuation of the Hebrew text suggests the translation, “and the Extraordinary Strategist, the Mighty God calls his name, ‘Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’”
7 tn Some have seen two titles here (“Wonderful” and “Counselor,” cf. KJV, ASV). However, the pattern of the following three titles (each contains two elements) and the use of the roots פָּלַא (pala’) and יָעַץ (ya’ats) together in Isa 25:1 (cf. כִּי עָשִׂיתָ פֶּלֶא עֵצוֹת מֵרָחוֹק אֱמוּנָה אֹמֶן) and 28:29 (cf. הִפְלִיא עֵצָה) suggest otherwise. The term יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets) could be taken as appositional (genitive or otherwise) of species (“a wonder, i.e., a wonder as a counselor,” cf. NAB “Wonder-Counselor”) or as a substantival participle for which פָּלַא provides the direct object (“one who counsels wonders”). יוֹעֵץ is used as a royal title elsewhere (cf. Mic 4:9). Here it probably refers to the king’s ability to devise military strategy, as suggested by the context (cf. vv. 3-4 and the following title אֵל גִּבּוֹר, ’el gibor). In Isa 11:2 (also a description of this king) עֵצָה (’etsah) is linked with גְּבוּרָה (gÿvurah, the latter being typically used of military might, cf. BDB 150 s.v.). Note also עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה לַמִּלְחָמָה in Isa 36:5. פֶּלֶא (pele’) is typically used of God (cf. however Lam 1:9). Does this suggest the deity of the messianic ruler? The NT certainly teaches he is God, but did Isaiah necessarily have this in mind over 700 years before his birth? Since Isa 11:2 points out that this king will receive the spirit of the Lord, which will enable him to counsel, it is possible to argue that the king’s counsel is “extraordinary” because it finds its source in the divine spirit. Thus this title does not necessarily suggest that the ruler is deity.
8 tn גִּבּוֹר (gibbor) is probably an attributive adjective (“mighty God”), though one might translate “God is a warrior” or “God is mighty.” Scholars have interpreted this title is two ways. A number of them have argued that the title portrays the king as God’s representative on the battlefield, whom God empowers in a supernatural way (see J. H. Hayes and S. A. Irvine, Isaiah, 181-82). They contend that this sense seems more likely in the original context of the prophecy. They would suggest that having read the NT, we might in retrospect interpret this title as indicating the coming king’s deity, but it is unlikely that Isaiah or his audience would have understood the title in such a bold way. Ps 45:6 addresses the Davidic king as “God” because he ruled and fought as God’s representative on earth. Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (See Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). According to proponents of this view, Isa 9:6 probably envisions a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself. The other option is to regard this title as a reference to God, confronting Isaiah’s readers with the divinity of this promised “child.” The use of this same title that clearly refers to God in a later passage (Isa 10:21) supports this interpretation. Other passages depict Yahweh as the great God and great warrior (Deut 10:17; Jer. 32:18). Although this connection of a child who is born with deity is unparalleled in any earlier biblical texts, Isaiah’s use of this title to make this connection represents Isaiah’s attempt (at God’s behest) to advance Israel in their understanding of the ideal Davidic king for whom they long.
9 tn This title must not be taken in an anachronistic Trinitarian sense. (To do so would be theologically problematic, for the “Son” is the messianic king and is distinct in his person from God the “Father.”) Rather, in its original context the title pictures the king as the protector of his people. For a similar use of “father” see Isa 22:21 and Job 29:16. This figurative, idiomatic use of “father” is not limited to the Bible. In a Phoenician inscription (ca. 850-800
10 tn This title pictures the king as one who establishes a safe socio-economic environment for his people. It hardly depicts him as a meek individual, for he establishes peace through military strength (as the preceding context and the first two royal titles indicate). His people experience safety and prosperity because their invincible king destroys their enemies. See Pss 72 and 144 for parallels to these themes.
11 tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
12 tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”
13 tn Heb “a vine, a strange one.” The substantival adjective זָר (zar) functions here as an appositional genitive. It could refer to a cultic plant of some type, associated with a pagan rite. But it is more likely that it refers to an exotic, or imported, type of vine, one that is foreign (i.e., “strange”) to Israel.
14 tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
15 sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
16 tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
17 tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.
18 tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
19 tn Heb “this [one].”
20 tn Heb “this [one].”
21 tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
22 tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”
23 sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.
24 tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”
25 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
26 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
27 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
28 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
29 tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).
30 tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).
31 tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.
32 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
33 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
34 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
35 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
36 tn Heb “father” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).
37 tn The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.
38 tn Heb “my way is hidden from the Lord” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
39 tn Heb “and from my God my justice passes away”; NRSV “my right is disregarded by my God.”
40 tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.
41 sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).
42 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).
43 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
44 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
45 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
46 sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.
47 tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
48 tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”
49 tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
50 tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
51 tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
52 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
53 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
54 tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”
55 tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.
56 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
57 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
58 tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
59 tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.
60 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
61 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
62 tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”
63 tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”
64 tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”
65 tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.
66 tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.
67 sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.
68 tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.
69 tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.
70 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
71 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
72 tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”
73 tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs in the next line indicate (note that both “know” and “run” are third plural forms).
74 tn Heb “a nation,” but the singular is collective here, as the plural verbs that follow indicate.
75 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
76 tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.
77 tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.
78 tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”
79 tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.
80 sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.
81 tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
82 tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
83 tn Heb “and your God for your splendor.”
84 tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”
85 tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”
86 tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).
87 tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).
88 sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”