Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:18 
Context1:18 1 Come, let’s consider your options,” 2 says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become 3 white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become 4 white like wool. 5
Isaiah 7:1
Context7:1 During 6 the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem 7 to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. 8
Isaiah 7:3
Context7:3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub 9 and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 10
Isaiah 8:19
Context8:19 11 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. 12 Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 13
Isaiah 10:24
Context10:24 So 14 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 15
Isaiah 17:13
Context17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 16
when he shouts at 17 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 18 before a strong gale.
Isaiah 23:18
Context23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. 19
Isaiah 27:13
Context27:13 At that time 20 a large 21 trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost 22 in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in 23 the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. 24
Isaiah 30:6
Context30:6 This is a message 25 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 26
by snakes and darting adders, 27
they transport 28 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 29
Isaiah 31:1
Context31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 30
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 31
and in their many, many horsemen. 32
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 33
and do not seek help from the Lord.
Isaiah 36:2
Context36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser 34 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 35 along with a large army. The chief adviser 36 stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 37
Isaiah 36:12
Context36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 38 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” 39
Isaiah 42:16
Context42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; 40
I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. 41
I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,
and level out the rough ground. 42
This is what I will do for them.
I will not abandon them.
Isaiah 44:19
Context44:19 No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire –
yes, I baked bread over the coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 43
Isaiah 44:26
Context44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants 44
and brings to pass the announcements 45 of his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, 46 ‘She will be inhabited,’
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
Isaiah 49:26
Context49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. 47
Then all humankind 48 will recognize that
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector, 49 the powerful ruler of Jacob.” 50
Isaiah 61:3
Context61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy, 51 instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise, 52 instead of discouragement. 53
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 54
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 55
Isaiah 66:5
Context66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who respect what he has to say! 56
Your countrymen, 57 who hate you
and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,
say, “May the Lord be glorified,
then we will witness your joy.” 58
But they will be put to shame.
Isaiah 66:19
Context66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them 59 and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, 60 Lud 61 (known for its archers 62 ), Tubal, Javan, 63 and to the distant coastlands 64 that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.
1 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
2 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
3 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
4 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
5 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
6 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
7 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
8 tn Or perhaps, “but they were unable to attack it.” This statement sounds like a summary of the whole campaign. The following context explains why they were unable to defeat the southern kingdom. The parallel passage (2 Kgs 16:5; cf. Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9 for a similar construction) affirms that Syria and Israel besieged Ahaz. Consequently, the statement that “they were not able to battle against them” must refer to the inability to conquer Ahaz.
9 tn The name means “a remnant will return.” Perhaps in this context, where the Lord is trying to encourage Ahaz, the name suggests that only a few of the enemy invaders will return home; the rest will be defeated.
10 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “the Washerman’s Field.”
11 tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.
12 tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.
13 tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.
14 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
15 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
16 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
17 tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.
18 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
19 tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”
sn The point of this verse, which in its blatant nationalism comes precariously close to comparing the Lord to one who controls or manages a prostitute, is that Tyre will become a subject of Israel and her God. Tyre’s commercial profits will be used to enrich the Lord’s people.
20 tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
21 tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”
22 tn Or “the ones perishing.”
23 tn Or “the ones driven into.”
24 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
25 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
26 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
27 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
28 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
29 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
30 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
31 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
32 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
33 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
34 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
35 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
38 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
39 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
40 tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”
41 tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”
42 tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”
43 tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.
44 tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.
45 tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.
46 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
47 sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.
48 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).
49 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
50 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.
51 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
52 tn Heb “garment of praise.”
53 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
54 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”
55 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”
56 tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”
57 tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”
58 tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.
59 tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).
60 tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).
61 sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).
62 tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).
63 sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).
64 tn Or “islands” (NIV).
