Footnotes

1. Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”
2. Isaiah 48:1 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a variation from an original מִמְּעֵי (mimm^eʿe, “from the inner parts of”). The translation above as well as several other translations treat the text this way or understand that this is what the Hebrew phrase figuratively means (cf. HCSB, NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV). Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading and render it literally as “waters.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.
3. Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”
4. Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”
5. Isaiah 48:2 tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qaraʾ) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.
6. Isaiah 48:2 tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”
7. Isaiah 48:3 tn Heb “the former things beforehand I declared.”
8. Isaiah 48:3 tn Heb “and from my mouth they came forth, and I caused them to be heard.”
9. Isaiah 48:4 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
10. Isaiah 48:4 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
11. Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”
12. Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”
13. Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”
14. Isaiah 48:7 tn Heb “are created” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “They are brand new.”
15. Isaiah 48:7 tn Heb “look”; KJV, NASB “Behold.”
16. Isaiah 48:8 tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”
17. Isaiah 48:8 tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
18. Isaiah 48:8 tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
19. Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “for the sake of my name” (so NAB, NASB); NLT “for my own sake.”
20. Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “and my praise.” לְמַעַן (l^emaʿan, “for the sake of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
21. Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “I restrain [myself] concerning you not to cut you off.”
22. Isaiah 48:10 tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (b^ekhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.
23. Isaiah 48:11 tn The Hebrew text repeats לְמַעֲנִי (l^emaʿani, “for my sake”) for emphasis.
24. Isaiah 48:11 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “for how can it be defiled?” The subject of the verb is probably “name” (v. 9).
25. Isaiah 48:11 sn See 42:8.
26. Isaiah 48:12 tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”
27. Isaiah 48:14 sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).
28. Isaiah 48:14 tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.” sn The Lord’s ally is a reference to Cyrus.
29. Isaiah 48:14 tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”
30. Isaiah 48:15 tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”
31. Isaiah 48:16 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
32. Isaiah 48:16 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
33. Isaiah 48:17 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
34. Isaiah 48:17 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
35. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
36. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
37. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (ts^edaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
38. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “like sand”; NCV “as many as the grains of sand.”
39. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and the issue from your inner parts.”
40. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and his name would not be cut off and would not be destroyed from before me.”
41. Isaiah 48:20 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
42. Isaiah 48:20 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
43. Isaiah 48:21 sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).