Table of contents
| Passage (in order of chapter and verse) | Discussed in which theme section of this article (Click link to jump there) |
| Is. 1:11-17 God desires no sacrifices from people who practice oppression and injustice. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 2:11 God will humble those who trust in themselves rather than in him. | Theme 2 – Arrogance in work leads to destruction |
| Is. 2:22 Don’t trust human power apart from God. | Theme 2 – Arrogance in work leads to destruction |
| Is. 2:7 Wealth is no source of security. | Theme 2 – Arrogance in work leads to destruction |
| Is. 3:3-15 God judges leaders for gaining wealth by grinding down the poor. | Theme 3 – God despises wealth gained by exploitation |
| Is. 5:8 The nation is judged for allowing the rich to accumulate all the resources needed for production. | Theme 3 – God despises wealth gained by exploitation |
| Is. 7:14 God is with his people wherever we are. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 7:9 Faith is the pre-requisite of action pleasing to God. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 8:13-14 Worshiping God is the source of strength for work. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 9:3 The people of God rejoice at harvest time. | Theme 4 – God wills our peace and prosperity in trusting him |
| Is. 24:5-6 Corrupt practices degrade the earth, for which the people pay a price. | Theme 3 – God despises wealth gained by exploitation |
| Is. 28:26 God gives understanding to people who work the land. | Theme 5 – God is the source of life, knowledge and wisdom |
| Is. 29:13 The people honor God with their lips, but not their lives. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 32:15-20 By the power of God’s spirit, people will dwell in peace, security and enjoyment of their work. | Theme 4 – God wills our peace and prosperity in trusting him |
| Is. 37:30 God promises to restore the people’s productivity as they return to trust in him. | Theme 4 – God wills our peace and prosperity in trusting him |
| Is. 37:36-37a God’s people can rely on God’s power to bring forth what God desires in the world. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 39:1-8 Boasting in wealth and power brings destruction. | Theme 2 – Arrogance in work leads to destruction |
| Is. 40:12-18 God is the source of all knowledge and power. | Theme 5 – God is the source of life, knowledge and wisdom |
| Is. 40:27 God’s people cry out for justice from God’s hand. | Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work |
| Is. 40:27-40 God gives strength to the weak and powerless. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 42:1-4 God’s servant establishes justice. | Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work |
| Is. 43:13 God is the source of power and compassion. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 44:10-20 Nothing humans make can bring true security. | Theme 2 – Arrogance in work leads to destruction |
| Is. 44:6-7 Only God has lasting power. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 46:3-4 God teaches and leads his people. | Theme 5 – God is the source of life, knowledge and wisdom |
| Is. 48:12-14 The created order comes from God alone. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 51:4-8 God’s people are called to pursue justice and righteousness. | Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work |
| Is. 56:1 Justice, doing right, and salvation go hand in hand. | Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work |
| Is. 58:1-8 God expects his people to look after workers’ interests and provide for people in economic need. | Theme 1 – Integration of worship and work |
| Is. 58:6-9 God wants his people to worship him by loosing the chains of injustice, setting the oppressed free, sharing food, shelter and clothing, and providing for their families. | Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work |
| Is. 59:14-16 God’s servant uses whatever power he has to bring justice to the oppressed and truth to God’s people. | Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work |
| Is. 60:1-18 God will bring his people together under his own leadership, establish justice, and vanquish oppression. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 60:5 The New Creation includes products of work from every nation. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 61:8 God will recompense those who have suffered hardship. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 62:8-9 God promises a time when his people can enjoy the fruits of their labor in peace. | Theme 4 – God wills our peace and prosperity in trusting him |
| Is. 64:5-65:10 God will redeem the rebellious who repent, and give them a share in the blessings of the New Creation. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 65:13 There will be plenty to eat and drink. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 65:20 Everyone will enjoy health and long life. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 65:21 There will be plenty of housing for everyone. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 65:21-22 God promises a time when his people will build houses and live in peace. | Theme 4 – God wills our peace and prosperity in trusting him |
| Is. 65:23 The labor of God’s people is not in vain. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 66:13 Prosperity and wealth will be enjoyed by all. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
| Is. 66:16 God will bring to an end everything that would mar the New Creation. | Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation |
[1] In Isaiah, “Judah” refers to the southern kingdom of the divided nation of Israel, while “Israel” can refer either to the northern kingdom or — more frequently — to the Jewish people as a whole.
[2] A prophet’s job description includes both telling the truth and telling the future. Isaiah continually called the people back to just living by God’s righteous Law (telling the truth), but he also saw far into the future and predicted events to come (telling the future). Most of the prophets were primarily preachers of righteousness, and their foretelling (predictive) work was less extensive into the future than was Isaiah’s, Daniel’s or Micah’s. While they warned sinful people of the impending disaster God would visit on them because of their sin, only a few prophets extended the range of their prophecies beyond the next punishment God would bring upon a sinful people.
[3] More precisely, this prophecy has a near-term fulfillment in the birth of a baby at the time of Ahaz, and an ultimate fulfillment in the virginal conception and birth of Jesus.
[4] H. G. M Williamson, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 1-27: Volume 1 (London: T&T Clark, 2006), 271.
[5] Cf. Is. 1:23, 3:9, 5:23, 10:1-2; 29:21. See also John Barton, “Ethics in the Book of Isaiah,” in Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah: Studies of an Interpretive Tradition, ed. Craig C. Broyles and Craig A. Evans (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 89-70.
[6] In the Old Testament, farming was the major occupation of the majority of the people. Thus many examples in the Bible are drawn from agrarian life and expectations.
[7] For a fuller treatment of this issue as it relates to the final form of the book as a whole, see John N. Oswalt, “Righteousness in Isaiah: A Study of the Function of Chapters 56-66 in the Present Structure of the Book,” in Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah: Studies in an Interpretive Tradition, ed. C.C. Broyles and C. A. Evans (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 177-91.
[8] On the development of the servant in the literary presentation of Isaiah 40-55, see Christopher R. Seitz, “‘You Are My Servant, You Are the Israel in Whom I Will Be Glorified’: The Servant Songs and the Effect of Literary Context in Isaiah,” Calvin Theological Journal 39 (2004): 117-34.
[9] It was Gerhard von Rad who highlighted Isaiah 40-55’s synonymous association of righteousness [insert Hebrew] and salvation [insert Hebrew]. Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Volume 1, trans. D.M.G. Stalker (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1962), 372.
[10] Commenting on “righteousness” in Is. 56-66, Oswalt states, “In short, there is a whole new motivation for doing righteousness. It is not now so much the fear of impending doom which compels righteousness, as it is the recognition that God is going to mercifully and righteously keep his covenant promises. We should be righteous, the writer says, because of the righteousness of God.” Oswalt, “Righteousnessness in Isaiah,” 188.
[11] Even if such a list has to do initially with the particular problems associated with the release from exilic bondage, the figural extension of these problems into other spheres of human conduct is not only legitimate, but necessary. See Christopher R. Seitz, “The Book of Isaiah 40-66: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible VI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), 499.
[12] Richard Bauckham, God Crucified (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 50.
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