Yesaya 21:3-5

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ¹ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ²  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

21:4 My heart palpitates, ³ 

I shake in fear; ⁴ 

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

21:5 Arrange the table,

lay out ⁵  the carpet,

eat and drink! ⁶ 

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields! ⁷ 

[21:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ² tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[21:4]  ³ tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”

[21:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”

[21:5]  ⁵ tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).

[21:5]  ⁶ tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.

[21:5]  ⁷ sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.