This is Volume 20 of The Anchor Bible, a new translation in fifty-six volumes, each with an introduction and notes. John L. McKenzie, S.J., Professor of Old Testament Theology at DePaul University, Chicago, has prepared The Anchor Bible translation of Second Isaiah, including Chapters 34-35, and 40-66 of the Book of Isaiah.

With its focus on the events surrounding the fall of Babylon to the forces of Cyrus of Persia, Second Isaiah is a prophetic book of immense and exultant belief in the renascence of Israel, as the prophet foresees a new age after the long exile. Father McKenzie does justice to the literary sophistication of this book in his translation and he discusses the questions of authorship, dating, purpose, and the audience of Second Isaiah in an extensive introduction. In accordance with the aims of The Anchor Bible, Father McKenzie's translation applies new material from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and reflects as closely as possible the mood, sense and style of the Hebrew poetry.

THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE COMMENTARY SERIES is a project of international and interfaith scope in which Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from many countries contribute individual volumes. The project is not sponsored by any ecclesiastical organization and is not intended to reflect any particular theological doctrine.

The Anchor Yale Bible is committed to producing commentaries in the tradition established half a century ago by the founders of the series, William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman. It aims to present the best contemporary scholarship in a way that is accessible not only to scholars but also to the educated nonspecialist. Its approach is grounded in exact translation of the ancient languages and an appreciation of the historical and cultural context in which the biblical books were written supplemented by insights from modern methods, such as sociological and literary criticism.