Discovery BoxIsaiah 2:2 
Contextthe mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure 2
as the most important of mountains,
and will be the most prominent of hills. 3
All the nations will stream to it,
Isaiah 15:2
Context15:2 They went up to the temple, 4
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 5
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 6 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 7
Isaiah 37:38
Context37:38 One day, 8 as he was worshiping 9 in the temple of his god Nisroch, 10 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 11 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
Isaiah 44:28
Context44:28 who commissions 12 Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd 13
to carry out all my wishes 14
and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” 15
Isaiah 56:5
Context56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument 16
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument 17 for them that will remain.
Isaiah 60:7
Context60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. 18
They will go up on my altar acceptably, 19
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
1 tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.
2 tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.
4 tn Heb “house.”
5 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
6 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
7 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
8 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
9 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
10 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
11 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.
12 tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.
13 tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.
14 tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”
15 tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).
16 tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.
17 tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
18 tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.
19 tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (’al) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [ya’alu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (lÿratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleted the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (’al) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111) and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).
