Discovery BoxIsaiah 2:3 
Context2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so 1 he can teach us his requirements, 2
and 3 we can follow his standards.” 4
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 5
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 6
Isaiah 8:19
Context8:19 7 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. 8 Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 9
Isaiah 28:15
Context28:15 For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol 10 we have made an agreement. 11
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by 12
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 13
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?’ 14
Isaiah 45:9
Context45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, 15
one who is like a mere 16 shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter, 17
“What in the world 18 are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!” 19
1 tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).
2 tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.
3 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.
4 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
5 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”
6 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.
11 tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.
12 tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).
13 sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.
14 tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.
15 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”
16 tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.
17 tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”
18 tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.
19 tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”
