Yesaya 21:8

21:8 Then the guard ¹  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ² 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

Yesaya 23:13

23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,

these people who have lost their identity! ³ 

The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.

They erected their siege towers, ⁴ 

demolished ⁵  its fortresses,

and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁶ 

Yesaya 32:14

32:14 For the fortress is neglected;

the once-crowded ⁷  city is abandoned.

Hill ⁸  and watchtower

are permanently uninhabited. ⁹ 

Wild donkeys love to go there,

and flocks graze there. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 33:18

33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹¹ 

and you will ask yourselves, ¹²  “Where is the scribe?

Where is the one who weighs the money?

Where is the one who counts the towers?” ¹³ 

[21:8]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.

[21:8]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).

[23:13]  ³ tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”

[23:13]  ⁴ tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.

[23:13]  ⁵ tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.

[23:13]  ⁶ sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.

[32:14]  ⁷ tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).

[32:14]  ⁸ tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.

[32:14]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.

[32:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”

[33:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”

[33:18]  ¹² tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[33:18]  ¹³ sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.