9:14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
both the shoots and stalk 1 in one day.
12:6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel 2 acts mightily 3 among you!”
17:7 At that time 4 men will trust in their creator; 5
they will depend on 6 the Holy One of Israel. 7
18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, 8
the one beyond the rivers of Cush,
23:10 Daughter Tarshish, travel back to your land, as one crosses the Nile;
there is no longer any marketplace in Tyre. 9
30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. 10
For this reason I call her
‘Proud one 11 who is silenced.’” 12
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 13
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 14
40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;
the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. 15
43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;
your sins I do not remember.
51:14 The one who suffers 16 will soon be released;
he will not die in prison, 17
he will not go hungry. 18
56:8 The sovereign Lord says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.” 19
1 sn The metaphor in this line is that of a reed being cut down.
2 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
3 tn Or “is great” (TEV). However, the context emphasizes his mighty acts of deliverance (cf. NCV), not some general or vague character quality.
4 tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB, NIV); KJV “At that day.”
5 tn Heb “man will gaze toward his maker.”
6 tn Heb “his eyes will look toward.”
7 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
8 tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
sn The significance of the qualifying phrase “buzzing wings” is uncertain. Some suggest that the designation points to Cush as a land with many insects. Another possibility is that it refers to the swiftness with which this land’s messengers travel (v. 2a); they move over the sea as swiftly as an insect flies through the air. For a discussion of the options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:359-60.
9 tc This meaning of this verse is unclear. The Hebrew text reads literally, “Cross over your land, like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish, there is no more waistband.” The translation assumes an emendation of מֵזַח (mezakh, “waistband”) to מָחֹז (makhoz, “harbor, marketplace”; see Ps 107:30). The term עָבַר (’avar, “cross over”) is probably used here of traveling over the water (as in v. 6). The command is addressed to personified Tarshish, who here represents her merchants. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has עבדי (“work, cultivate”) instead of עִבְרִי (’ivri, “cross over”). In this case one might translate “Cultivate your land, like they do the Nile region” (cf. NIV, CEV). The point would be that the people of Tarshish should turn to agriculture because they will no longer be able to get what they need through the marketplace in Tyre.
10 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
11 tn Heb “Rahab” (רַהַב, rahav), which also appears as a name for Egypt in Ps 87:4. The epithet is also used in the OT for a mythical sea monster symbolic of chaos. See the note at 51:9. A number of English versions use the name “Rahab” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) while others attempt some sort of translation (cf. CEV “a helpless monster”; TEV, NLT “the Harmless Dragon”).
12 tn The MT reads “Rahab, they, sitting.” The translation above assumes an emendation of הֵם שָׁבֶת (hem shavet) to הַמָּשְׁבָּת (hammashbat), a Hophal participle with prefixed definite article, meaning “the one who is made to cease,” i.e., “destroyed,” or “silenced.” See HALOT 444-45 s.v. ישׁב.
13 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
15 tn Heb “an object of disgust [is he who] chooses you.”
16 tn Heb “who is stooped over” (under a burden).
17 tn Heb “the pit” (so KJV); ASV, NAB “die and go down into the pit”; NASB, NIV “dungeon”; NCV “prison.”
18 tn Heb “he will not lack his bread.”
19 tn The meaning of the statement is unclear. The text reads literally, “Still I will gather upon him to his gathered ones.” Perhaps the preposition -לְ (lamed) before “gathered ones” introduces the object of the verb, as in Jer 49:5. The third masculine singular suffix on both עָלָיו (’alayv) and נִקְבָּצָיו (niqbatsayv) probably refers to “Israel.” In this case one can translate literally, “Still I will gather to him his gathered ones.”