Discovery BoxIsaiah 29:4 
Context29:4 You will fall;
while lying on the ground 1 you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. 2
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; 3
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. 4
Isaiah 41:26
Context41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it 5 ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it!
Indeed, none of them announced it!
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
Isaiah 52:15
Context52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human 6 –
so now 7 he will startle 8 many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, 9
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
Isaiah 66:8
Context66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen this?
Can a country 10 be brought forth in one day?
Can a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!
Isaiah 66:19
Context66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them 11 and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, 12 Lud 13 (known for its archers 14 ), Tubal, Javan, 15 and to the distant coastlands 16 that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.
1 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
2 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
3 tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
4 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.
5 tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
6 tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”
7 tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.
8 tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.
9 tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.
10 tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).
11 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).
12 tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).
13 sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).
14 tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).
15 sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).
16 tn Or “islands” (NIV).
