Discovery BoxIsaiah 5:24-25 
Context5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 1 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 2
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 3 of the Holy One of Israel. 4
5:25 So the Lord is furious 5 with his people;
he lifts 6 his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure 7 in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 8
Isaiah 10:15
Context10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,
or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? 9
As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,
or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
Isaiah 14:2
Context14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. 10 They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.
Isaiah 27:9
Context27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, 11
and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: 12
They will make all the stones of the altars 13
like crushed limestone,
and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. 14
Isaiah 38:12
Context38:12 My dwelling place 15 is removed and taken away 16 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 17
from the loom he cuts me off. 18
You turn day into night and end my life. 19
Isaiah 47:11
Context47:11 Disaster will overtake you;
you will not know how to charm it away. 20
Destruction will fall on you;
you will not be able to appease it.
Calamity will strike you suddenly,
before you recognize it. 21
Isaiah 49:8
Context49:8 This is what the Lord says:
“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;
in the day of deliverance I will help you;
I will protect you 22 and make you a covenant mediator for people, 23
and to reassign the desolate property.
Isaiah 49:23
Context49:23 Kings will be your children’s 26 guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children. 27
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on 28 your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
Isaiah 50:1
Context50:1 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
by which I divorced her?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? 29
Look, you were sold because of your sins; 30
because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. 31
Isaiah 51:13
Context51:13 Why do you forget 32 the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky 33
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long 34
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor? 35
Isaiah 54:1
Context54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 57:15
Context57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 36 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 37
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 38
Isaiah 58:5
Context58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? 39
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, 40
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out 41 on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
Isaiah 62:8
Context62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm: 42
“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 64:6
Context64:6 We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. 43
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
1 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
2 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
3 tn Heb “the word.”
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”
6 tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”
7 tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”
8 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
9 tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”
10 tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”
11 tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”
12 tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a corruption of לְכַפֵּר (lekhaper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).
13 tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.
14 sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.
15 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
16 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
17 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
18 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
19 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
20 tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.
21 tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”
22 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).
23 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.
24 tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”
25 tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.
26 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
27 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
28 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”
29 sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.
30 sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.
31 sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.
32 tn Heb “and that you forget.”
33 tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
34 tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”
35 tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.
36 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
37 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
38 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”
39 tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”
40 tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
41 tn Or “making [their] bed.”
42 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.
43 tn Heb “and like a garment of menstruation [are] all our righteous acts”; KJV, NIV “filthy rags”; ASV “a polluted garment.”
