Ayub 12:23

12:23 He makes nations great, ¹  and destroys them;

he extends the boundaries of nations

and disperses ²  them. ³ 

Yesaya 14:2

14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. ⁴  They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.

Yesaya 60:4-11

60:4 Look all around you! ⁵ 

They all gather and come to you –

your sons come from far away

and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

60:5 Then you will look and smile, ⁶ 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ⁷ 

For the riches of distant lands ⁸  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

60:6 Camel caravans will cover your roads, ⁹ 

young camels from Midian and Ephah.

All the merchants of Sheba ¹⁰  will come,

bringing gold and incense

and singing praises to the Lord. ¹¹ 

60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;

the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. ¹² 

They will go up on my altar acceptably, ¹³ 

and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.

60:8 Who are these who float along ¹⁴  like a cloud,

who fly like doves to their shelters? ¹⁵ 

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ¹⁶  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ¹⁷  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ¹⁸ 

the Holy One of Israel, ¹⁹  for he has bestowed honor on you.

60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. ²⁰ 

60:11 Your gates will remain open at all times;

they will not be shut during the day or at night,

so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,

with their kings leading the way. ²¹ 

[12:23]  ¹ tn The word מַשְׂגִּיא (masgi’, “makes great”) is a common Aramaic word, but only occurs in Hebrew here and in Job 8:11 and 36:24. Some mss have a change, reading the form from שָׁגָה (shagah, “leading astray”). The LXX omits the line entirely.

[12:23]  ² tn The difficulty with the verb נָחָה (nakhah) is that it means “to lead; to guide,” but not “to lead away” or “to disperse,” unless this passage provides the context for such a meaning. Moreover, it never has a negative connotation. Some vocalize it וַיַּנִּיחֶם (vayyannikhem), from נוּחַ (nuakh), the causative meaning of “rest,” or “abandon” (Driver, Gray, Gordis). But even there it would mean “leave in peace.” Blommerde suggests the second part is antithetical parallelism, and so should be positive. So Ball proposed וַיִּמְחֶם (vayyimkhem) from מָחָה (makhah): “and he cuts them off.”

[12:23]  ³ sn The rise and fall of nations, which does not seem to be governed by any moral principle, is for Job another example of God’s arbitrary power.

[14:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”

[60:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see!”

[60:5]  ⁶ tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

[60:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.

[60:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “an abundance of camels will cover you.”

[60:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all of them, from Sheba.”

[60:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they will announce the praises of the Lord.”

[60:7]  ¹² tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.

[60:7]  ¹³ tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (’al) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [ya’alu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (lÿratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleted the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (’al) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111) and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).

[60:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “fly” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “fly along.”

[60:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to their windows,” i.e., to the openings in their coops. See HALOT 83 s.v. אֲרֻבָּה.

[60:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[60:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”

[60:11]  ²¹ tn Or “led in procession.” The participle is passive.