Yesaya 10:15

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ¹ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

Yesaya 8:4

8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria ²  will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” ³ 

Yesaya 14:5-6

14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,

the scepter of rulers.

14:6 It ⁴  furiously struck down nations

with unceasing blows. ⁵ 

It angrily ruled over nations,

oppressing them without restraint. ⁶ 

[10:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[8:4]  ² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[8:4]  ³ sn The child’s name foreshadows what will happen to Judah’s enemies; when their defeat takes place, the child will be a reminder that God predicted the event and brought it to pass. As such the child will be a reminder of God’s protective presence with his people.

[14:6]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.

[14:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.

[14:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.