Discovery BoxIsaiah 3:13 
Context3:13 The Lord takes his position to judge;
he stands up to pass sentence on his people. 1
Isaiah 3:26
Context3:26 Her gates will mourn and lament;
deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground. 2
Isaiah 5:3
Context5:3 So now, residents of Jerusalem, 3
people 4 of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
Isaiah 26:3
Context26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you. 5
Isaiah 28:11
Context28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people. 6
Isaiah 32:18
Context32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 7
Isaiah 43:21
Context43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.” 8
Isaiah 46:12
Context46:12 Listen to me, you stubborn people, 9
you who distance yourself from doing what is right. 10
1 tc The Hebrew text has “nations,” but the preceding and following contexts make it clear that the Lord is judging his covenant people. עָמִים (’amim) should be changed (with support from the LXX) to עמו. The final mem (ם) on the form in the Hebrew is either dittographic or enclitic. When the mem was added or read as a plural ending, the vav (ו) was then misread as a yod (י).
2 tn Heb “she will be empty, on the ground she will sit.” Jerusalem is personified as a destitute woman who sits mourning the empty city.
3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
4 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
5 tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.
6 sn This verse alludes to the coming Assyrian invasion, when the people will hear a foreign language that sounds like gibberish to them. The Lord is the subject of the verb “will speak,” as v. 12 makes clear. He once spoke in meaningful terms, but in the coming judgment he will speak to them, as it were, through the mouth of foreign oppressors. The apparent gibberish they hear will be an outward reminder that God has decreed their defeat.
7 tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”
8 tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”
9 tn Heb “strong of heart [or, mind]”; KJV “stouthearted”; NAB “fainthearted”; NIV “stubborn-hearted.”
10 tn Heb “who are far from righteousness [or perhaps, “deliverance”].”
