Isaiah 65-66

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 65:1 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”
2. Isaiah 65:1 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek.”
3. Isaiah 65:1 tn Heb “call out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “call on.”
4. Isaiah 65:2 tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”
5. Isaiah 65:3 tn Heb “the people who provoke me to anger to my face continually.”
6. Isaiah 65:3 tn Or “gardens” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
7. Isaiah 65:3 tn Or perhaps, “on tiles.”
8. Isaiah 65:4 sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.
9. Isaiah 65:4 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (n^etsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).
10. Isaiah 65:4 tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”
11. Isaiah 65:4 tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, reads מְרַק (m^eraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (f^eraq, “fragment”).
12. Isaiah 65:6 tn Heb “Look, it is written before me.”
13. Isaiah 65:6 tn Heb “I will pay back into their lap.”
14. Isaiah 65:7 tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”
15. Isaiah 65:7 tn Or perhaps, “taunted”; KJV “blasphemed”; NAB “disgraced”; NASB “scorned”; NIV “defied”; NRSV “reviled.”
16. Isaiah 65:7 tn Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.
17. Isaiah 65:8 tn Heb “just as.” In the Hebrew text the statement is one long sentence, “Just as…, so I will do….”
18. Isaiah 65:8 tn Heb “for a blessing is in it.”
19. Isaiah 65:8 tn Heb “by not destroying everyone.”
20. Isaiah 65:9 tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to the land that contains the aforementioned mountains.
21. Isaiah 65:10 sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.
22. Isaiah 65:10 sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.
23. Isaiah 65:10 tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”
24. Isaiah 65:10 tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”
25. Isaiah 65:11 tn The Hebrew text has simply, “forget.” The words “about worshiping at” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
26. Isaiah 65:11 tn The Hebrew has לַגַּד (laggad, “for Gad”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 176 s.v. II גַּד 2.
27. Isaiah 65:11 tn The Hebrew has לַמְנִי (lamni, “for Meni”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 602 s.v. מְגִי.
28. Isaiah 65:12 tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, m^eni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.
29. Isaiah 65:12 tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”
30. Isaiah 65:12 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
31. Isaiah 65:14 tn Heb “from the good of the heart.”
32. Isaiah 65:14 tn Heb “from the pain of the heart.”
33. Isaiah 65:14 tn Heb “from the breaking of the spirit.”
34. Isaiah 65:15 tn Heb “you will leave your name for an oath to my chosen ones.”sn For an example of such a curse formula see Jer 29:22.
35. Isaiah 65:16 tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.
36. Isaiah 65:16 tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”
37. Isaiah 65:16 tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”
38. Isaiah 65:16 tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”
39. Isaiah 65:17 sn This hyperbolic statement likens the coming transformation of Jerusalem (see vv. 18-19) to a new creation of the cosmos.
40. Isaiah 65:17 tn Or perhaps, “the former things” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “The events of the past.”
41. Isaiah 65:17 tn Heb “and they will not come up on the mind.”
42. Isaiah 65:18 tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.
43. Isaiah 65:18 tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.
44. Isaiah 65:19 tn Heb “and I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be happy in my people.”
45. Isaiah 65:20 tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.
46. Isaiah 65:20 tn Heb “or an old [man] who does not fill out his days.”
47. Isaiah 65:20 tn Heb “for the child as a son of one hundred years will die.” The point seems to be that those who die at the age of a hundred will be considered children, for the average life span will be much longer than that. The category “child” will be redefined in light of the expanded life spans that will characterize this new era.
48. Isaiah 65:20 tn Heb “the one who misses.” חָטָא (khataʾ) is used here in its basic sense of “miss the mark.” See HALOT 305 s.v. חטא. Another option is to translate, “and the sinner who reaches the age of a hundred will be cursed.”
49. Isaiah 65:22 tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”
50. Isaiah 65:22 tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”
51. Isaiah 65:22 tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”
52. Isaiah 65:22 tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”
53. Isaiah 65:23 tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”
54. Isaiah 65:23 tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”
55. Isaiah 65:24 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
56. Isaiah 65:25 sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.
57. Isaiah 65:25 sn These words also appear in 11:7.
58. Isaiah 65:25 sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)
59. Isaiah 65:25 tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.sn As in 11:1-9 the prophet anticipates a time when the categories predator-prey no longer exist. See the note at the end of 11:8.
60. Isaiah 66:2 tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.
61. Isaiah 66:2 tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (v^eli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”
62. Isaiah 66:2 tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).
63. Isaiah 66:2 tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”
64. Isaiah 66:3 tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggest they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices, but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.
65. Isaiah 66:3 tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.sn The significance of breaking a dog’s neck is uncertain, though the structure of the statement when compared to the preceding and following lines suggests the action is viewed in a negative light. According to Exod 13:13 and 34:20, one was to “redeem” a firstborn donkey by offering a lamb; if one did not “redeem” the firstborn donkey in this way, then its neck must be broken. According to Deut 21:1-9 a heifer’s neck was to be broken as part of the atonement ritual to purify the land from the guilt of bloodshed. It is not certain if these passages relate in any way to the action described in Isa 66:3.
66. Isaiah 66:3 tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.
67. Isaiah 66:3 tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (ʾaven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.
68. Isaiah 66:3 tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”
69. Isaiah 66:3 tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”
70. Isaiah 66:4 tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (ʿalal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”
71. Isaiah 66:4 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
72. Isaiah 66:5 tn Heb “tremble.”
73. Isaiah 66:5 tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”
74. Isaiah 66:5 tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.
75. Isaiah 66:8 tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (ʾerets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).
76. Isaiah 66:9 sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”
77. Isaiah 66:11 tn Or “in order that”; ASV, NRSV “that.”
78. Isaiah 66:11 tn Heb “you will suck and be satisfied from her comforting breast.”
79. Isaiah 66:11 tn Heb “you will slurp and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”sn Zion’s residents will benefit from and enjoy her great material prosperity. See v. 12.
80. Isaiah 66:12 tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”
81. Isaiah 66:12 tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).
82. Isaiah 66:13 tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”
83. Isaiah 66:14 tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”
84. Isaiah 66:14 tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”
85. Isaiah 66:14 tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”
86. Isaiah 66:15 sn Chariots are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way that they kick up dust.
87. Isaiah 66:15 tn Heb “to cause to return with the rage of his anger, and his battle cry [or “rebuke”] with flames of fire.”
88. Isaiah 66:16 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “upon all men”; TEV “all the people of the world.”
89. Isaiah 66:16 tn Heb “many are the slain of the Lord.”
90. Isaiah 66:17 tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.
91. Isaiah 66:17 tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”
92. Isaiah 66:17 tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”
93. Isaiah 66:18 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may need emendation. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, baʾah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ʿet) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (baʾ) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
94. Isaiah 66:18 tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”
95. Isaiah 66:19 tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).
96. Isaiah 66:19 tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).
97. Isaiah 66:19 sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).
98. Isaiah 66:19 tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).
99. Isaiah 66:19 sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).
100. Isaiah 66:19 tn Or “islands” (NIV).
101. Isaiah 66:20 tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”
102. Isaiah 66:20 tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
103. Isaiah 66:20 tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.
104. Isaiah 66:23 tn Heb “new moon.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
105. Isaiah 66:23 tn Heb “all flesh” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NAB, NASB, NIV “all mankind”; NLT “All humanity.”
106. Isaiah 66:23 tn Or “bow down before” (NASB).
107. Isaiah 66:24 tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”
108. Isaiah 66:24 tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”
109. Isaiah 66:24 tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”sn This verse depicts a huge mass burial site where the seemingly endless pile of maggot-infested corpses are being burned.