Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:2 
Context1:2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth! 1
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children, 2 I brought them up, 3
but 4 they have rebelled 5 against me!
Isaiah 2:8
Context2:8 Their land is full of worthless idols;
they worship 6 the product of their own hands,
what their own fingers have fashioned.
Isaiah 5:9
Context5:9 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 7
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them. 8
Isaiah 8:6
Context8:6 “These people 9 have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah 10 and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 11
Isaiah 9:3
Context9:3 You 12 have enlarged the nation;
you give them great joy. 13
They rejoice in your presence
as harvesters rejoice;
as warriors celebrate 14 when they divide up the plunder.
Isaiah 13:18
Context13:18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; 15
they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, 16
they will not 17 look with pity on children.
Isaiah 16:6
Context16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,
their great arrogance,
their boasting, pride, and excess. 18
But their boastful claims are empty! 19
Isaiah 21:2
Context21:2 I have received a distressing message: 20
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!” 21
Isaiah 33:12
Context33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 22
like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
Isaiah 36:5
Context36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 23 In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?
Isaiah 36:20
Context36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 24
Isaiah 39:8
Context39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 25 Then he thought, 26 “For 27 there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”
Isaiah 42:9
Context42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; 28
now I announce new events.
Before they begin to occur,
I reveal them to you.” 29
Isaiah 42:14
Context42:14 “I have been inactive 30 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 31
Isaiah 45:5-6
Context45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, 32
there is no God but me.
I arm you for battle, 33 even though you do not recognize 34 me.
45:6 I do this 35 so people 36 will recognize from east to west
that there is no God but me;
I am the Lord, I have no peer.
Isaiah 45:22
Context45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, 37
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
Isaiah 46:9
Context46:9 Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! 38
Truly I am God, I have no peer; 39
I am God, and there is none like me,
Isaiah 47:3
Context47:3 Let your private parts be exposed!
Your genitals will be on display! 40
I will get revenge;
I will not have pity on anyone,” 41
Isaiah 47:12
Context47:12 Persist 42 in trusting 43 your amulets
and your many incantations,
which you have faithfully recited 44 since your youth!
Maybe you will be successful 45 –
maybe you will scare away disaster. 46
Isaiah 47:15
Context47:15 They will disappoint you, 47
those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. 48
Each strays off in his own direction, 49
leaving no one to rescue you.”
Isaiah 53:5
Context53:5 He was wounded because of 50 our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well; 51
because of his wounds we have been healed. 52
Isaiah 54:8
Context54:8 In a burst 53 of anger I rejected you 54 momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your protector, 55 the Lord.
Isaiah 55:1
Context55:1 “Hey, 56 all who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost! 57
Isaiah 57:18
Context57:18 I have seen their behavior, 58
but I will heal them and give them rest,
and I will once again console those who mourn. 59
Isaiah 59:18
Context59:18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies. 60
He repays the coastlands. 61
Isaiah 61:4
Context61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins
and restore the places that were desolate; 62
they will reestablish the ruined cities,
the places that have been desolate since ancient times.
Isaiah 64:7
Context64:7 No one invokes 63 your name,
or makes an effort 64 to take hold of you.
For you have rejected us 65
and handed us over to our own sins. 66
Isaiah 64:11
Context64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, 67
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed. 68
Isaiah 65:6
ContextI will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve, 70
Isaiah 66:10
Context66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem
and rejoice with her, all you who love her!
Share in her great joy,
all you who have mourned over her!
1 sn The personified heavens and earth are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people. Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
2 tn Or “sons” (NAB, NASB).
sn “Father” and “son” occur as common terms in ancient Near Eastern treaties and covenants, delineating the suzerain and vassal as participants in the covenant relationship. The prophet uses these terms, the reference to heavens and earth as witnesses, and allusions to deuteronomic covenant curses (1:7-9, 19-20) to set his prophecy firmly against the backdrop of Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh.
3 sn The normal word pair for giving birth to and raising children is יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”) and גָּדַל (gadal, “to grow, raise”). The pair גָּדַל and רוּם (rum, “to raise up”) probably occur here to highlight the fact that Yahweh made something important of Israel (cf. R. Mosis, TDOT 2:403).
4 sn Against the backdrop of Yahweh’s care for his chosen people, Israel’s rebellion represents abhorrent treachery. The conjunction prefixed to a nonverbal element highlights the sad contrast between Yahweh’s compassionate care for His people and Israel’s thankless rebellion.
5 sn To rebel carries the idea of “covenant treachery.” Although an act of פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, “rebellion”) often signifies a breach of the law, the legal offense also represents a violation of an existing covenantal relationship (E. Carpenter and M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 3:707).
6 tn Or “bow down to” (NIV, NRSV).
7 tn Heb “in my ears, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
8 tn Heb “great and good [houses], without a resident.”
9 tn The Hebrew text begins with “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 6-7 are one long sentence, with v. 6 giving the reason for judgment and v. 7 formally announcing it.
10 sn The phrase “waters of Shiloah” probably refers to a stream that originated at the Gihon Spring and supplied the city of Jerusalem with water. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:225. In this context these waters stand in contrast to the flood waters of Assyria and symbolize God’s presence and blessings.
11 tn The precise meaning of v. 6 has been debated. The translation above assumes that “these people” are the residents of Judah and that מָשׂוֹשׂ (masos) is alternate form of מָסוֹס (masos, “despair, melt”; see HALOT 606 s.v. מסס). In this case vv. 7-8 in their entirety announce God’s disciplinary judgment on Judah. However, “these people” could refer to the Israelites and perhaps also the Syrians (cf v. 4). In this case מָשׂוֹשׂ probably means “joy.” One could translate, “and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah.” In this case v. 7a announces the judgment of Israel, with vv. 7b-8 then shifting the focus to the judgment of Judah.
12 sn The Lord is addressed directly in vv. 3-4.
13 tc The Hebrew consonantal text reads “You multiply the nation, you do not make great the joy.” The particle לֹא (lo’, “not”) is obviously incorrect; the marginal reading has לוֹ (lo, “to him”). In this case, one should translate, “You multiply the nation, you increase his (i.e., their) joy.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one emends הַגּוֹי לוֹ (hagoy lo, “the nation, to him”) to הַגִּילָה (haggilah, “the joy,” a noun attested in Isa 65:18), which corresponds to הַשִּׂמְחָה (hasimkhah, “the joy”) later in the verse (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:386). As attractive as this reading is, it has not textual evidence supporting it. The MT reading (accepting the marginal reading “to him” for the negative particle “not”) affirms that Yahweh caused the nation to grow in population and increased their joy.
14 tn Heb “as they are happy.” The word “warriors” is supplied in the translation to clarify the word picture. This last simile comes close to reality, for vv. 4-5 indicate that the people have won a great military victory over their oppressors.
15 tn Heb “and bows cut to bits young men.” “Bows” stands by metonymy for arrows.
16 tn Heb “the fruit of the womb.”
17 tn Heb “their eye does not.” Here “eye” is a metonymy for the whole person.
18 tn עֶבְרָה (’evrah) often means “anger, fury,” but here it appears to refer to boastful outbursts or excessive claims. See HALOT 782 s.v. עֶבְרָה.
19 tn Heb “not so his boasting.”
20 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
21 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
22 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
23 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
24 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
25 tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”
26 tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (’amar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
27 tn Or “surely”; cf. CEV “At least.”
28 tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”
29 tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).
30 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
31 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
32 tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.
33 tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).
34 tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”
35 tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
36 tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”
37 tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”
38 tn Heb “remember the former things, from antiquity”; KJV, ASV “the former things of old.”
39 tn Heb “and there is no other” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
40 tn Heb “Your shame will be seen.” In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to the genitals.
41 tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (pagah) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).
42 tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”
43 tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.
44 tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”
45 tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”
46 tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.
47 tn Heb “So they will be to you”; NIV “That is all they can do for you.”
48 tn Heb “that for which you toiled, your traders from your youth.” The omen readers and star gazers are likened to merchants with whom Babylon has had an ongoing economic relationship.
49 tn Heb “each to his own side, they err.”
50 tn The preposition מִן (min) has a causal sense (translated “because of”) here and in the following clause.
51 tn Heb “the punishment of our peace [was] on him.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is here a genitive of result, i.e., “punishment that resulted in our peace.”
52 sn Continuing to utilize the imagery of physical illness, the group acknowledges that the servant’s willingness to carry their illnesses (v. 4) resulted in their being healed. Healing is a metaphor for forgiveness here.
53 tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”
54 tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”
55 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
56 tn The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments and is often prefixed to judgment oracles for rhetorical effect. But here it appears to be a simple interjection, designed to grab the audience’s attention. Perhaps there is a note of sorrow or pity. See BDB 223 s.v.
57 sn The statement is an oxymoron. Its ironic quality adds to its rhetorical impact. The statement reminds one of the norm (one must normally buy commodities) as it expresses the astounding offer. One might paraphrase the statement: “Come and take freely what you normally have to pay for.”
58 tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”
59 tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”
60 tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”
61 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).
62 tn Heb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”
63 tn Or “calls out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “calls on.”
64 tn Or “rouses himself”; NASB “arouses himself.”
65 tn Heb “for you have hidden your face from us.”
66 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and you caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.” The verb וַתְּמוּגֵנוּ (vattÿmugenu) is a Qal preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the root מוּג (mug, “melt”). However, elsewhere the Qal of this verb is intransitive. If the verbal root מוּג (mug) is retained here, the form should be emended to a Polel pattern (וַתְּמֹגְגֵנוּ, vattÿmogÿgenu). The translation assumes an emendation to וַתְּמַגְּנֵנוּ (vattÿmaggÿnenu, “and you handed us over”). This form is a Piel preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the verbal root מִגֵּן (miggen, “hand over, surrender”; see HALOT 545 s.v. מגן and BDB 171 s.v. מָגָן). The point is that God has abandoned them to their sinful ways and no longer seeks reconciliation.
67 tn Heb “our source of pride.”
68 tn Or “all that we valued has become a ruin.”
69 tn Heb “Look, it is written before me.”
70 tn Heb “I will pay back into their lap.”
