The One Year Bible TLB (287 page)

45:14
Lovely,
literally, “In embroidered work.”

1:1
Solomon,
implied; literally, “the words of the Preacher, the son [or descendant] of David, King of Jerusalem.”

1:3-7
but it makes no difference,
literally, “but the earth remains forever.”
getting nowhere,
implied.

1:16-18
So I worked hard to be wise instead of foolish,
or “So I sought to learn about composure and madness.”

2:12
and anyone else would come to the same conclusion I did,
literally, “for what can the man do who comes after the king?”

3:14
God’s purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God,
implied.

3:15
God brings to pass again what was in the distant past and disappeared,
literally, “God seeks what has been driven away.”

5:6-7
to make the vow,
implied.
he might,
implied.

5:8
And so the matter is lost in red tape and bureaucracy,
literally, “And there are yet higher ones over them.”

47:4
his Jewish people,
literally, “the pride of Jacob.”

47:9
praising . . . praising,
implied.

7:13
Don’t fight the facts of nature,
implied.

7:26
A prostitute,
literally, “The woman whose heart is snares and nets.”

9:5
But the dead know nothing; they don’t even have their memories.
These statements are Solomon’s discouraged opinion and do not reflect a knowledge of God’s truth on these points. Also v. 10.

7:11
punishing the man who sinned,
implied. Also in v. 12.

48:2
north of the city,
literally, “on the sides of the north.”

48:3
God himself is the defender of Jerusalem,
literally, “God has made himself known in her palaces for a high tower.”

48:10
You are praised everywhere for the salvation,
literally, “Your right hand is filled with righteousness.”

48:11
O Jerusalem,
literally, “Mount Zion.”

10:11
When the horse is stolen, it is too late to lock the barn,
literally, “If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.”

10:15
for the simplest matter,
literally, “for a trip to the city.”

11:2
Divide your gifts among many,
literally, “Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight.”

11:4
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done,
literally, “He that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.”

49:7
For God’s forgiveness does not come that way,
implied in text.

49:8-9
to keep it out of hell,
literally, “so that he should not see the Pit.”

49:14
For the power of their wealth is gone when they die,
literally, “Their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume.”

49:20
with all his pomp,
literally, “but without insight.” It is uncertain whether this phrase was part of the original text.

1:2
The Girl.
The headings identifying the speakers are conjectures and are not in the original text.

1:6
you city girls,
implied in v. 5.
sent me out into the sun,
implied.
but see what it has done to me,
literally, “but my own vineyards are neglected.”

1:9
What a lovely filly you are,
literally, “I compare you to my mare harnessed to Pharaoh’s chariot.”

1:10
with your hair,
literally, “with your ornaments.”

2:7
do not awaken my lover,
literally, “stir not up nor awaken love until it pleases.”

2:12
spring is here,
literally, “the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”

2:13
The leaves are coming out,
literally, “The fig tree puts forth its figs.”

3:7
chariot,
literally, “litter.”

4:3
matched loveliness,
literally, “like halves of a pomegranate.”
behind your locks,
literally, “behind your veil.”

4:4
Your neck is stately,
implied.

4:8
look down from the summit of the mountain, from the top of Mount Hermon,
literally, “depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon.”

4:13-14
You are like a lovely orchard bearing precious fruit,
literally, “Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates.”

50:2
from the beautiful Temple,
literally, “out of Zion, the perfection of beauty.”

50:3
comes with the noise of thunder,
literally, “comes and does not keep silence.”

50:5
who by their sacrifice upon my altar have promised to obey me,
literally, “who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

6:4
how you capture my heart,
literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”

6:7
matched loveliness,
literally, “like the halves of a pomegranate.”

6:10
so utterly captivating,
literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”

6:12
among my own people,
literally, “among the chariots of my princely people.” Another possible reading is, “beside my beloved in his chariot.”

6:13
you dance so beautifully,
literally, “you move as upon a dance before two armies.”

7:2
Your waist,
literally, “Your belly.”

7:3
lovely twins,
literally, “twins of a gazelle.”

7:4
Your nose is shapely,
implied.

8:2
my childhood home,
literally, “my mother’s house.”

8:9
If she has no breasts,
literally, “If she be a wall.”
build upon her a battlement of silver . . . enclose her with cedar boards,
the meaning is obscure.

8:10
I am slim, tall,
literally, “I am as a wall.”
full-breasted,
literally, “my breasts are as towers.”

51:7
Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood,
literally, “Purge me with hyssop”; see Exodus 12:22; Hebrews 9:18-22.

51:14-15
forgiveness,
literally, “righteousness.”

51:16
penance,
literally, “a sacrifice.”

51:18
and protect Jerusalem,
literally, “do good in your good pleasure unto Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.”

51:19
And when my heart is right,
implied.
then you will rejoice in the good that I do,
literally, “then you will delight in the sacrifice of righteousness.”

1:10
An apt comparison,
implied.

2:2
will become the world’s greatest attraction,
literally, “shall be established as the highest of the mountains.”

2:4
will convert their weapons of war into implements of peace,
literally, “will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”

2:5
and be obedient to his laws,
implied.

52:7
become ever more bold in their wickedness,
literally, “strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

52:9
for your punishment,
literally, “because you have done it.”

4:2-4
God's holy people,
literally, “the branch of the Lord.” The phrase “branch of the Lord” refers to God’s people, or it may be a prophecy of the coming Messiah.

5:7
crop of justice, but found bloodshed instead . . . expected righteousness, but the cries of deep oppression met his ears.
Here is an example of serious punning often used by the prophets: the Hebrew words for “justice” and “bloodshed” sound very much alike, as do those for “righteousness” and “cry.”

5:18
like a bullock on a rope,
or “with cords of falsehood.”

5:19
and dare the Lord to punish them,
implied.

11:8-9
And when that was gone,
implied.

53:1
And why does he say it?
implied.

22:28
That is stealing,
implied, see 23:10-11.

6:10
Apparently God’s patience with their chronic rebellion was finally exhausted.

7:8
Ephraim, too, will be crushed and broken.
Samaria, the capital of “Ephraim,” fell to the Assyrian armies in 722 
B.C.
, thirteen years after this oracle—ending the Northern Kingdom.

7:11
Ask anything you like, in heaven or on earth,
literally, “Let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

7:14
a child shall be born to a virgin.
The controversial Hebrew word used here sometimes means “virgin” and sometimes “young woman.” Its immediate use here refers to Isaiah’s young wife and her newborn son (8:1-4). This, of course, was not a virgin birth. God’s sign was that before this child was old enough to talk (v. 4), the two invading kings would be destroyed. However, the Gospel of Matthew (1:23) tells us that there was a further fulfillment of this prophecy, in that a virgin (Mary) conceived and bore a son, Immanuel, the Christ. We have therefore properly used this higher meaning, “virgin,” in v. 14, as otherwise the Matthew account loses its significance.

7:15-16
By the time this child is weaned,
literally, “For before this child shall know [is old enough] to refuse evil and to choose the good . . . and [is old enough to] eat curds and honey.”
the kings of Israel and Syria,
implied.
will both be dead,
or “the lands will be deserted [of their kings].”

7:17
But later on,
implied.

7:18
the army of Upper Egypt,
literally, “the sources of the streams of Egypt” refers to Upper Egypt where the powerful 25th Ethiopian Dynasty would soon arise.

7:20
hired to save you,
see 2 Kings 16:7-8.
your land, your crops, your people,
literally, “head hair, beard, body hair.”

11:33
What popularity!
implied.

54:1
with great power,
literally, “by your name.”

54:4
He is a friend of mine,
literally, “The Lord is of them that uphold my soul.”

23:1-3
a rich man,
literally, “a ruler.”

8:1
Your enemies will soon be destroyed,
literally, “Plundering and despoiling [will] come quickly.”

8:2
before the child was even on the way,
implied.

8:6
are planning to refuse my gentle care,
literally, “have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly.”

8:9-10
O Syria and Israel,
literally, “O peoples.”
our enemies,
implied.
For God is with us,
or “Immanuel.”

9:11-12
your enemies,
or “Rezin’s enemies” in some ancient versions.

12:2-3
I,
literally, “a man in Christ.”
heaven,
literally, “the third heaven.”

55:9
destroy them with their own violence and strife,
literally, “for I have seen violence and strife in the city.”