Discovery BoxIsaiah 3:6 
Context3:6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother
right in his father’s house 1 and say, 2
‘You own a coat –
you be our leader!
This heap of ruins will be under your control.’ 3
Isaiah 7:16
Context7:16 Here is why this will be so: 4 Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land 5 whose two kings you fear will be desolate. 6
Isaiah 11:4
Context11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, 7
and make right decisions 8 for the downtrodden of the earth. 9
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 10
and order the wicked to be executed. 11
Isaiah 26:10
Context26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice. 12
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; 13
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
Isaiah 30:10
Context30:10 They 14 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 15
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 16
Isaiah 41:10
Context41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! 17
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! 18
Isaiah 41:13
Context41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
Isaiah 43:9
Context43:9 All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us? 19
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’
Isaiah 44:20
Contexthis deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 21
Isaiah 45:1
Context45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 22 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 23
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 24
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
Isaiah 51:7
Context51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law! 25
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
Isaiah 60:22
Context60:22 The least of you will multiply into 26 a thousand;
the smallest of you will become a large nation.
When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!” 27
Isaiah 62:8
Context62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm: 28
“I will never again give your grain
to your enemies as food,
and foreigners will not drink your wine,
which you worked hard to produce.
Isaiah 63:5
Context63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 29
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 30
Isaiah 64:5
Context64:5 You assist 31 those who delight in doing what is right, 32
who observe your commandments. 33
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved? 34
1 tn Heb “[in] the house of his father” (so ASV); NIV “at his father’s home.”
2 tn The words “and say” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “your hand”; NASB “under your charge.”
sn The man’s motives are selfish. He tells his brother to assume leadership because he thinks he has some wealth to give away.
4 tn Heb “for, because.” The particle introduces the entire following context (vv. 16-25), which explains why Immanuel will be an appropriate name for the child, why he will eat sour milk and honey, and why experiencing such a diet will contribute to his moral development.
5 sn Since “two kings” are referred to later in the verse, the “land” must here refer to Syria-Israel.
6 tn Heb “the land will be abandoned, which you fear because of its two kings.” After the verb קוּץ (quts, “loathe, dread”) the phrase מִפְּנֵי (mipney, “from before”) introduces the cause of loathing/dread (see Gen 27:46; Exod 1:12; Num 22:3).
7 tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
8 tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”
9 tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).
10 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).
11 tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.
12 tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”
13 tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”
14 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
16 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
17 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).
18 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
19 tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”
20 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
21 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
22 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
23 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
24 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
25 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
26 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).
27 tn Heb “I, the Lord, in its time, I will quickly do it.”
28 tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.
29 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
30 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
31 tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”
32 tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”
33 tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”
34 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).
