Discovery BoxIsaiah 2:6 
Context2:6 Indeed, O Lord, 1 you have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
For diviners from the east are everywhere; 2
they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. 3
Plenty of foreigners are around. 4
Isaiah 3:7
Context3:7 At that time 5 the brother will shout, 6
‘I am no doctor, 7
I have no food or coat in my house;
don’t make me a leader of the people!’”
Isaiah 5:4
Context5:4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
Isaiah 5:12
Context5:12 They have stringed instruments, 8 tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about. 9
Isaiah 6:5
Context6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, 10 for my lips are contaminated by sin, 11 and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. 12 My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” 13
Isaiah 7:22
Context7:22 From the abundance of milk they produce, 14 he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey.
Isaiah 9:4
Context9:4 For their oppressive yoke
and the club that strikes their shoulders,
the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, 15
you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. 16
Isaiah 10:13
Context10:13 For he says:
“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,
by my strategy that I devised.
I invaded the territory of nations, 17
and looted their storehouses.
Like a mighty conqueror, 18 I brought down rulers. 19
Isaiah 14:1
Context14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; 20 he will again choose Israel as his special people 21 and restore 22 them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family 23 of Jacob.
Isaiah 14:21
Context14:21 Prepare to execute 24 his sons
for the sins their ancestors have committed. 25
They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,
or fill the surface of the world with cities.” 26
Isaiah 16:10
Context16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,
and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;
no one treads out juice in the wine vats 27 –
I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. 28
Isaiah 25:1-2
Context25:1 O Lord, you are my God! 29
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. 30
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. 31
25:2 Indeed, 32 you have made the city 33 into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners 34 is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
Isaiah 26:1
Context26:1 At that time 35 this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s 36 deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. 37
Isaiah 28:22
Context28:22 So now, do not mock,
or your chains will become heavier!
For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,
from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. 38
Isaiah 30:12
Context30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 39
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 40
and rely on that kind of behavior. 41
Isaiah 30:18
Context30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 42
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 43
Isaiah 33:16
Context33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 44
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 45
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
Isaiah 37:19
Context37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, 46 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 47
Isaiah 37:26
Context37:26 48 Certainly you must have heard! 49
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned 50 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 51
Isaiah 39:6
Context39:6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors 52 have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.
Isaiah 40:21
Context40:21 Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
Isaiah 40:28
Context40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth. 53
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom. 54
Isaiah 41:25
Context41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north 55 and he advances,
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. 56
He steps on 57 rulers as if they were clay,
like a potter treading the clay.
Isaiah 42:1
Context42:1 58 “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my spirit on him;
he will make just decrees 59 for the nations. 60
Isaiah 43:3
Context43:3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, 61 your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba 62 in place of you.
Isaiah 43:10
Context43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider 63 and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me. 64
Isaiah 44:2
Context44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says –
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, 65 whom I have chosen!
Isaiah 45:19
Context45:19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place. 66
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’ 67
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements. 68
Isaiah 46:4
Context46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, 69
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you. 70
Isaiah 48:6
Context48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence! 71
Will you not admit that what I say is true? 72
From this point on I am announcing to you new events
that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about. 73
Isaiah 48:16
Context48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens, 74 I am there.”
So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. 75
Isaiah 56:12
Context‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’ 77
Isaiah 57:11
Context57:11 Whom are you worried about?
Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully
and not remember me
or think about me? 78
Because I have been silent for so long, 79
you are not afraid of me. 80
Isaiah 59:13
Context59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up 81 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 82
Isaiah 60:10
Context60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;
their kings will serve you.
Even though I struck you down in my anger,
I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. 83
Isaiah 63:16
Context63:16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
you have been called our protector from ancient times. 84
Isaiah 66:2
Contextthat is how they came to be,” 86 says the Lord.
I show special favor 87 to the humble and contrite,
who respect what I have to say. 88
1 tn The words “O Lord” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Isaiah addresses the Lord in prayer.
2 tc Heb “they are full from the east.” Various scholars retain the BHS reading and suggest that the prophet makes a general statement concerning Israel’s reliance on foreign customs (J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:32; J. de Waard, Isaiah, 12-13). Nevertheless, it appears that a word is missing. Based on the parallelism (note “omen readers” in 5:6c), many suggest that קֹסְמִים (qosÿmim, “diviners”) or מִקְסָם (miqsam, “divination”) has been accidentally omitted. Homoioteleuton could account for the omission of an original קֹסְמִים (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם [miqqedem, “from the east”] both end in mem); an original מִקְסָם could have fallen out by homoioarcton (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם both begin with mem).
3 tn Heb “and omen readers like the Philistines.” Through this line and the preceding, the prophet contends that Israel has heavily borrowed the pagan practices of the east and west (in violation of Lev 19:26; Deut 18:9-14).
4 tn Heb “and with the children of foreigners they [?].” The precise meaning of the final word is uncertain. Some take this verb (I שָׂפַק, safaq) to mean “slap,” supply the object “hands,” and translate, “they slap [hands] with foreigners”; HALOT 1349 s.v. I שׂפק. This could be a reference to foreign alliances. This translation has two disadvantages: It requires the conjectural insertion of “hands” and the use of this verb with its object prefixed with a בְּ (bet) preposition with this meaning does not occur elsewhere. The other uses of this verb refer to clapping at someone, an indication of hostility. The translation above assumes the verb is derived from II שׂפק (“to suffice,” attested in the Qal in 1 Kgs 20:10; HALOT 1349 s.v. II שׂפק). In this case the point is that a sufficient number of foreigners (in this case, too many!) live in the land. The disadvantage of this option is that the preposition prefixed to “the children of foreigners” does not occur with this verb elsewhere. The chosen translation is preferred since it continues the idea of abundant foreign influence and does not require a conjectural insertion or emendation.
5 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
6 tn Heb “he will lift up [his voice].”
7 tn Heb “wrapper [of wounds]”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “healer.”
8 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
9 tn Heb “the work of the Lord they do not look at, and the work of his hands they do not see.” God’s “work” can sometimes be his creative deeds, but in this context it is the judgment that he is planning to bring upon his people (cf. vv. 19, 26; 10:12; 28:21).
10 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.”
11 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.
12 tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”
13 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.
14 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated, see note on 2:2.
15 tn Heb “for the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the scepter of the oppressor against him.” The singular pronouns are collective, referring to the people. The oppressed nation is compared to an ox weighed down by a heavy yoke and an animal that is prodded and beaten.
16 sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.
17 tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”
18 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).
19 tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.
20 tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.
21 tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
22 tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
23 tn Heb “house.”
24 tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”
25 tn Heb “for the sin of their fathers.”
26 sn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:320, n. 10) suggests that the garrison cities of the mighty empire are in view here.
27 tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”
28 sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.
29 sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
30 tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
31 tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.
32 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
33 tn The Hebrew text has “you have made from the city.” The prefixed mem (מ) on עִיר (’ir, “city”) was probably originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:456, n. 3.
34 tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”).
35 tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).
36 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”
38 tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).
39 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
40 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
41 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
42 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
43 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
44 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
45 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
46 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
47 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
48 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
49 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
50 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
51 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
52 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
53 tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.
54 sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).
55 sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.
56 tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”
57 tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).
58 sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.
59 tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).
60 sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
61 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
62 sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.
63 tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
64 tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”
65 sn Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel; it occurs here and in Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.
66 tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
67 tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
68 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.”
69 tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”
70 sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.
71 tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”
72 tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”
73 tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”
74 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
75 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
76 tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
77 tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.
78 tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”
79 tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”
80 sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.
81 tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
82 tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
83 tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”
84 tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”
85 tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.
86 tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”
87 tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).
88 tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”
