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Dead Sea Scrolls Reading Center
English · Español · Türkçe. Read 13 selected Great Isaiah Scroll excerpts with word-by-word English below. Enable JavaScript for the interactive reader and other tools.
Read Hebrew from right to left. Printed signs are teaching references; manuscript handwriting varies. Historical letter-name associations are not secret translations.
Isaiah 1:1
1QIsaᵃ · Column 1 · Line 1
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| חזון | ḥāzôn | vision of |
| יש⟨ע⟩יהו | yəšaʿyāhû | Isaiah |
| בן | ben | son of |
| אמוץ | ʾāmôṣ | Amoz |
| אשר | ʾăšer | who / which |
| חזה | ḥāzâ | saw (in a vision) |
| על | ʿal | concerning / about |
| יהודה | yəhûdâ | Judah |
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah …
Opening excerpt only; the sentence continues with Jerusalem and the kings. “Vision of” and “son of” express Hebrew relationships that English supplies with “of.” ⟨ ⟩ marks an ancient scribal insertion in this reader, not missing parchment.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 1:2
1QIsaᵃ · Column 1 · Line 2
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| שמעו | šimʿû | hear! (plural) |
| שמים | šāmayim | heavens / sky |
| והאזיני | wəhāʾăzînî | and listen! |
| הארץ | hāʾāreṣ | the earth |
Hear, heavens, and listen, earth …
The first command addresses a plural hearer; the second is grammatically feminine singular, matching “earth.” The prefixed ו joins the clauses, and ה on הארץ marks “the.” This excerpt stops before the explanation in line 3.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 6:3
1QIsaᵃ · Column 5 · Line 24
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| קדוש | qādôš | holy |
| קדוש | qādôš | holy |
| יהוה | YHWH; read traditionally as Adonai | the LORD (divine name) |
| צבאות | ṣəḇāʾôt | of hosts / armies |
Holy, holy is the LORD of hosts …
This scroll transcription has two occurrences of קדוש here, while the familiar Masoretic wording has three. Do not add a third to the scroll reading. English supplies “is.” The excerpt continues into a statement about the whole earth and glory.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 12:3
1QIsaᵃ · Column 11 · Line 8
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ושאבתמה | ûšəʾaḇtemâ | and you will draw (plural) |
| מים | mayim | water |
| בששון | bəśāśôn | with joy |
And you will draw water with joy …
The ב prefix on ששון gives “with.” The Hebrew word order places the drawing action first; smooth English can rearrange it. This excerpt stops before “from the springs of salvation,” which spans the next words and line.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 40:8 (closing clause)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 33 · Line 7
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ⟨ודבר⟩ | ûḏəḇar | but / and the word of |
| ⟨אלוהינו⟩ | ʾĕlōhênû | our God |
| יקום | yāqûm | will stand / endure |
| לעולם | ləʿôlām | forever |
But the word of our God will endure forever.
Closing clause only. The printed study reading includes an ancient above-line correction and omits the deleted duplicate. See the edition for the full correction context. The letters show consonants; the Latin reading supplies a later teaching vocalization.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 1:3 (opening)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 1 · Line 3
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ידע | yādaʿ | knows |
| שור | šôr | an ox |
An ox knows …
A short complete verb-and-subject unit. The sentence continues with the owner. Hebrew puts the verb before the noun here; the English sentence uses the more familiar subject-first order.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 1:18 (snow clause)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 1 · Line 21
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| אמ | ʾim | if / though |
| יהיו | yihyû | they are / will be |
| חטאיכם | ḥăṭāʾêḵem | your sins (plural you) |
| כשני | kaššānî | like scarlet |
| כשלג | kaššeleḡ | like snow |
| ילבינו | yalbînû | they will become white |
Though your sins are like scarlet, they will become white like snow …
The scroll spells the conditional אמ with ordinary mem rather than the final shape; the familiar printed spelling is אם. Both כ prefixes mean “like/as.” The clause illustrates translation in context, not a prediction produced from letter values.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 2:3 (instruction clause)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 2 · Line 11
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| כיא | kî | for / because |
| מציון | miṣṣiyyôn | from Zion |
| תצא | tēṣēʾ | will go forth |
| תורה | tôrâ | instruction / teaching |
| ודבר | ûḏəḇar | and the word of |
| יהוה | YHWH; Adonai in traditional reading | the LORD |
| מירושלים | mîrûšālayim | from Jerusalem |
For instruction will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
מ attached to a place name means “from.” תורה can mean instruction; do not force every occurrence to mean the same English title. כיא preserves the fuller scroll spelling of “for/because.”
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 2:4 (swords clause)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 2 · Line 12
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וכתתו | wəḵittətû | and they will beat / hammer |
| את | ʾet | direct-object marker |
| חרבותם | ḥarḇôtām | their swords |
| לאתים | ləʾittîm | into plowshares |
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares …
את is a grammatical marker, often with no separate English word. The ending ם gives “their” here. This clause continues into a parallel statement about spears; the reader does not silently fill that continuation.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 11:9 (knowledge clause)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 10 · Line 27
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| כי | kî | for / because |
| תמלאה | timmālēʾâ | will be filled |
| הארץ | hāʾāreṣ | the earth |
| דעה | dēʿâ | knowledge of |
| את | ʾet | object marker |
| יהוה | YHWH; Adonai in traditional reading | the LORD |
| כמים | kammayim | as waters |
| לים | layyām | the sea (covered target) |
| מכסים | məḵassîm | covering |
For the earth will be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as waters cover the sea.
Word order and grammatical links do not align one-to-one with English. The scroll has the extended form תמלאה. כמים contains the כ comparison prefix plus מים, water; לים belongs to the cover-the-sea construction.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 40:3
1QIsaᵃ · Column 33 · Line 2–3
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| קול | qôl | a voice |
| קורא | qôrēʾ | calling |
| במדבר | bammidbār | in the wilderness |
| פנו | pannû | prepare! / clear! |
| דרך | dereḵ | a way for |
| יהוה | YHWH; Adonai in traditional reading | the LORD |
| וישרו | wəyashšərû | and make straight! |
| בערבה | bāʿărāḇâ | in the desert plain |
| מסלה | məsillâ | a highway |
| לאלוהינו | lēʾlōhênû | for our God |
A voice calls: “In the wilderness prepare a way for the LORD; make straight in the desert plain a highway for our God.”
Punctuation is supplied for teaching. The wording can be grouped differently in translations; the unpointed scroll does not supply modern quotation marks or a colon. The end of the verse crosses into line 3.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 40:31 (eagles clause)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 34 · Line 2–3
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| וקוי | wəqôwê | but those waiting for |
| יהוה | YHWH; Adonai in traditional reading | the LORD |
| יחליפו | yaḥălîfû | will renew / exchange |
| כוח | kôaḥ | strength |
| ויעלו | wəyaʿălû | and they will rise |
| אבר | ʾēḇer | wing / pinion |
| כנשרים | kannəšārîm | like eagles |
But those waiting for the LORD will renew their strength and rise on wings like eagles …
“Their” and “on” help express the sentence in English; they are not separate written Hebrew words here. The scroll writes ויעלו. This excerpt spans two lines and stops before the running and walking clauses.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionIsaiah 55:1 (water invitation)
1QIsaᵃ · Column 45 · Line 19
| Hebrew word | Teaching pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| כול | kôl | everyone / all |
| צמא | ṣāmēʾ | thirsty |
| לכו | ləḵû | come! / go! (plural) |
| למים | lammayim | to the water |
Everyone who is thirsty, come to the water …
למים joins ל, “to,” with מים, “water.” כול preserves the fuller scroll spelling. This excerpt is an invitation; the sentence continues with people who have no money and further actions.
Open original manuscript · Transcription editionTranscription excerpts adapted from Qumran-Digital: Text und Lexikon, DFG project 465277421, 2026-05-21 edition; based on Qumran-Wörterbuch and an earlier Martin Abegg text. Excerpt selection, teaching display of insertions, original English/Spanish/Turkish glosses, translations and notes added for CalculatorWiser. This passage dataset is distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0. CC BY-SA 4.0
Alphabet reference
| Sign | Name | Sound | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| א | Aleph | ʾ | |
| ב | Bet | b / v | |
| ג | Gimel | g | |
| ד | Dalet | d | |
| ה | He | h | |
| ו | Waw / Vav | w / v | |
| ז | Zayin | z | |
| ח | Het | ḥ | |
| ט | Tet | ṭ | |
| י | Yod | y | |
| כ | Kaf | k / kh | ך |
| ל | Lamed | l | |
| מ | Mem | m | ם |
| נ | Nun | n | ן |
| ס | Samekh | s | |
| ע | Ayin | ʿ | |
| פ | Pe | p / f | ף |
| צ | Tsade | ṣ | ץ |
| ק | Qof | q | |
| ר | Resh | r | |
| ש | Shin / Sin | š / ś | |
| ת | Tav | t |
Sources:
Israel Museum: digital scrolls
Library of Congress: Qumran Library
University of Texas: Hebrew consonants
University of Texas: Hebrew vowels
Metropolitan Museum: alphabet origins
Greek alphabet: Zondervan Academic
Gesenius: letter forms and names (historical grammar)
Langlois: DSS palaeography research
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