Discovery BoxIsaiah 35:10 
Context35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. 1
They will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them, 2
happiness and joy will overwhelm 3 them;
grief and suffering will disappear. 4
Isaiah 37:7
Context37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 5 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 6 with a sword in his own land.”’”
Isaiah 51:11
Context51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them, 7
happiness and joy will overwhelm 8 them;
grief and suffering will disappear. 9
Isaiah 55:7
Context55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle 10
and sinful people their plans. 11
They should return 12 to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, 13
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 14
Isaiah 55:10-11
Context55:10 15 The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. 16
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.” 17
Isaiah 63:17
Context63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray 18 from your ways, 19
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? 20
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
1 tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”
2 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
3 tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”
4 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
5 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
6 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
7 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
8 tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”
9 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”
10 tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.
11 tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.
12 tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”
13 tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.
14 sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.
15 tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki ka’asher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.
16 tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).
17 tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”
sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized and his deeds accomplish something positive.
18 tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.
19 tn This probably refers to God’s commands.
20 tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
sn How direct this hardening is, one cannot be sure. The speaker may envision direct involvement on the Lord’s part. The Lord has brought the exile as judgment for the nation’s sin and now he continues to keep them at arm’s length by blinding them spiritually. The second half of 64:7 might support this, though the precise reading of the final verb is uncertain. On the other hand, the idiom of lament is sometimes ironic and hyperbolically deterministic. For example, Naomi lamented that Shaddai was directly opposing her and bringing her calamity (Ruth 1:20-21), while the author of Ps 88 directly attributes his horrible suffering and loneliness to God (see especially vv. 6-8, 16-18). Both individuals make little, if any, room for intermediate causes or the principle of sin and death which ravages the human race. In the same way, the speaker in Isa 63:17 (who evidences great spiritual sensitivity and is anything but “hardened”) may be referring to the hardships of exile, which discouraged and even embittered the people, causing many of them to retreat from their Yahwistic faith. In this case, the “hardening” in view is more indirect and can be lifted by the Lord’s intervention. Whether the hardening here is indirect or direct, it is important to recognize that the speaker sees it as one of the effects of rebellion against the Lord (note especially 64:5-6).
