Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:11 
Context1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 1
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 2 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 3
Isaiah 3:7
Context3:7 At that time 4 the brother will shout, 5
‘I am no doctor, 6
I have no food or coat in my house;
don’t make me a leader of the people!’”
Isaiah 6:5
Context6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, 7 for my lips are contaminated by sin, 8 and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. 9 My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” 10
Isaiah 8:18
Context8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me 11 are reminders and object lessons 12 in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
Isaiah 18:4
Context18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will wait 13 and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, 14
like a cloud of mist 15 in the heat 16 of harvest.” 17
Isaiah 21:3
Context21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; 18
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed 19 by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
Isaiah 22:14
Context22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 20 “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” 21 says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.
Isaiah 26:9
Context26:9 I 22 look for 23 you during the night,
my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,
for when your judgments come upon the earth,
those who live in the world learn about justice. 24
Isaiah 29:16
Context29:16 Your thinking is perverse! 25
Should the potter be regarded as clay? 26
Should the thing made say 27 about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?
Isaiah 30:1
Context30:1 “The rebellious 28 children are as good as dead,” 29 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 30
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 31
and thereby compound their sin. 32
Isaiah 36:7
Context36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’
Isaiah 36:10
Context36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” 33
Isaiah 37:6
Context37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 34
Isaiah 37:29
Context37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears, 35
I will put my hook in your nose, 36
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
Isaiah 38:14
Context38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo 37 like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. 38
O sovereign master, 39 I am oppressed;
help me! 40
Isaiah 40:27
Context40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me, 41
My God is not concerned with my vindication”? 42
Isaiah 43:20
Context43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
Isaiah 44:6
Context44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their protector, 43 the Lord who commands armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
Isaiah 44:8
Context44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! 44
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; 45 I know of none.
Isaiah 44:17
Context44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it, saying,
‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’
Isaiah 44:22
Context44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,
the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. 46
Come back to me, for I protect 47 you.”
Isaiah 45:4
Context45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize 48 me.
Isaiah 45:12
Context45:12 I made the earth,
I created the people who live 49 on it.
It was me – my hands 50 stretched out the sky, 51
I give orders to all the heavenly lights. 52
Isaiah 45:19
Context45:19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place. 53
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’ 54
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements. 55
Isaiah 46:3
Context46:3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, 56
all you who are left from the family of Israel, 57
you who have been carried from birth, 58
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb. 59
Isaiah 49:21
Context49:21 Then you will think to yourself, 60
‘Who bore these children for me?
I was bereaved and barren,
dismissed and divorced. 61
Who raised these children?
Look, I was left all alone;
where did these children come from?’”
Isaiah 51:5
Context51:5 I am ready to vindicate, 62
I am ready to deliver, 63
I will establish justice among the nations. 64
The coastlands 65 wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. 66
Isaiah 51:7
Context51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law! 67
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
Isaiah 55:2-3
Context55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? 68
Why spend 69 your hard-earned money 70 on something that will not satisfy?
Listen carefully 71 to me and eat what is nourishing! 72
Enjoy fine food! 73
55:3 Pay attention and come to me!
Listen, so you can live! 74
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to 75 you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. 76
Isaiah 55:11
Context55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. 77
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.” 78
Isaiah 56:3
Context56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of 79 the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly 80 exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
Isaiah 57:8
Context57:8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. 81
Indeed, 82 you depart from me 83 and go up
and invite them into bed with you. 84
You purchase favors from them, 85
you love their bed,
and gaze longingly 86 on their genitals. 87
Isaiah 63:5
Context63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 88
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 89
Isaiah 65:5
Context65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
Isaiah 65:7
Context65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” 90 says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended 91 me on the hills,
I will punish them in full measure.” 92
Isaiah 66:1
Context66:1 This is what the Lord says:
“The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
Where then is the house you will build for me?
Where is the place where I will rest?
Isaiah 66:22
Context66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain.
Isaiah 66:24
Context66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, 93 and the fire that consumes them will not die out. 94 All people will find the sight abhorrent.” 95
1 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.
2 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
3 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
4 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
5 tn Heb “he will lift up [his voice].”
6 tn Heb “wrapper [of wounds]”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “healer.”
7 tn Isaiah uses the suffixed (perfect) form of the verb for rhetorical purposes. In this way his destruction is described as occurring or as already completed. Rather than understanding the verb as derived from דָּמַה (damah, “be destroyed”), some take it from a proposed homonymic root דמה, which would mean “be silent.” In this case, one might translate, “I must be silent.”
8 tn Heb “a man unclean of lips am I.” Isaiah is not qualified to praise the king. His lips (the instruments of praise) are “unclean” because he has been contaminated by sin.
9 tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”
10 tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.
11 sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).
12 tn Or “signs and portents” (NAB, NRSV). The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the Lord delivers”) was a reminder that the Lord was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria (see the note at 8:4). The word מוֹפֶת (mofet, “portent”) can often refer to some miraculous event, but in 20:3 it is used, along with its synonym אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) of Isaiah’s walking around half-naked as an object lesson of what would soon happen to the Egyptians.
13 tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”
14 tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
15 tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
16 tc Some medieval Hebrew
17 sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.
18 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
19 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
20 tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
21 tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.
22 tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).
23 tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).
24 tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).
25 tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.
26 tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.
27 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
28 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
29 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
30 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
31 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
32 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
33 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
34 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
35 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).
36 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
37 tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”
38 tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”
39 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
40 tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.
41 tn Heb “my way is hidden from the Lord” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
42 tn Heb “and from my God my justice passes away”; NRSV “my right is disregarded by my God.”
43 tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
44 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.
45 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.”
46 tn Heb “I blot out like a cloud your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud your sins.” “Rebellious deeds” and “sins” stand by metonymy for the guilt they produce. Both עָב (’av) and עָנָן (’anan) refer to the clouds in the sky. It is tempting for stylistic purposes to translate the second with “fog” or “mist” (cf. NAB, NRSV “cloud…mist”; NIV “cloud…morning mist”; NLT “morning mists…clouds”), but this distinction between the synonyms is unwarranted here. The point of the simile seems to be this: The Lord forgives their sins, causing them to vanish just as clouds disappear from the sky (see Job 7:9; 30:15).
47 tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.
48 tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”
49 tn The words “who live” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
50 tn Heb “I, even my hands”; NASB “I stretched out…with My hands”; NRSV “it was my hands that stretched out.” The same construction occurs at the beginning of v. 13.
51 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
52 tn Heb “and to all their host I commanded.” See the notes at 40:26.
53 tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
54 tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
55 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.”
56 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV “descendants of Jacob.”
57 tn Heb “and all the remnant of the house of Israel.”
58 tn Heb “from the womb” (so NRSV); KJV “from the belly”; NAB “from your infancy.”
59 tn Heb “who have been lifted up from the womb.”
60 tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”
61 tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”
62 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
63 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
64 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
65 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
66 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
67 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
68 tn Heb “for what is not food.”
69 tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
70 tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.
71 tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.
72 tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
73 tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”
sn Nourishing, fine food here represents the blessings God freely offers. These include forgiveness, a new covenantal relationship with God, and national prominence (see vv. 3-6).
74 tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.
sn To live here refers to covenantal blessing, primarily material prosperity and national security (see vv. 4-5, 13, and Deut 30:6, 15, 19-20).
75 tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”
76 tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”
77 tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).
78 tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”
sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized and his deeds accomplish something positive.
79 tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”
80 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
81 tn The precise referent of זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron) in this context is uncertain. Elsewhere the word refers to a memorial or commemorative sign. Here it likely refers to some type of idolatrous symbol.
82 tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).
83 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “from me you uncover.” The translation assumes an emendation of the Piel form גִּלִּית (gillit, “you uncover”), which has no object expressed here, to the Qal גָּלִית (galit, “you depart”).
84 tn Heb “you make wide your bed” (NASB similar).
85 tc Heb “and you [second masculine singular, unless the form be taken as third feminine singular] cut for yourself [feminine singular] from them.” Most English translations retain the MT reading in spite of at least three problems. This section makes significant use of feminine verbs and noun suffixes because of the sexual imagery. The verb in question is likely a 2nd person masculine singular verb. Nevertheless, this kind of fluctuation in gender appears elsewhere (GKC 127-28 §47.k and 462 §144.p; cf. Jer 3:5; Ezek 22:4; 23:32; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:473, n. 13). Secondly, when this verbal root signifies establishing a covenant, it is normally accompanied by the noun for “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit). Finally, this juxtaposition of the verb “to cut” and “covenant” normally is followed by the preposition “with,” while here it is “from.” The translation above assumes an emendation of וַתִּכְרָת (vatikhrah, “and you cut”) to וְכָרִית (vÿkharit, “and you purchase”) from the root כָּרָה (kharah); see HALOT 497 s.v. II כרה.
86 tn The Hebrew text has simply חָזָה (khazah, “gaze”). The adverb “longingly” is interpretive (see the context, where sexual lust is depicted).
87 tn Heb “[at] a hand you gaze.” The term יָד (yad, “hand”) probably has the sense of “power, manhood” here, where it is used, as in Ugaritic, as a euphemism for the genitals. See HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד.
88 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
89 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
90 tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”
91 tn Or perhaps, “taunted”; KJV “blasphemed”; NAB “disgraced”; NASB “scorned”; NIV “defied”; NRSV “reviled.”
92 tn Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.
93 tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”
94 tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”
95 tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
sn This verse depicts a huge mass burial site where the seemingly endless pile of maggot-infested corpses are being burned.
