Yesaya 28:1--39:8
Konteks28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, 1
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, 2
situated 3 at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine. 4
28:2 Look, the sovereign master 5 sends a strong, powerful one. 6
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, 7
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, 8
he will knock that crown 9 to the ground with his hand. 10
28:3 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
28:4 The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
will be like an early fig before harvest –
as soon as someone notices it,
he grabs it and swallows it. 11
28:5 At that time 12 the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown
and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.
28:6 He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions,
and strength to those who defend the city from attackers. 13
28:7 Even these men 14 stagger because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer –
priests and prophets stagger because of beer,
they are confused 15 because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer;
they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, 16
they totter while making legal decisions. 17
28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;
no place is untouched. 18
28:9 Who is the Lord 19 trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining a message? 20
Those just weaned from milk!
Those just taken from their mother’s breast! 21
28:10 Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there. 22
28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people. 23
28:12 In the past he said to them, 24
“This is where security can be found.
Provide security for the one who is exhausted!
This is where rest can be found.” 25
But they refused to listen.
28:13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like
meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there. 26
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, 27
and be injured, ensnared, and captured. 28
28:14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word,
you who mock,
you rulers of these people
who reside in Jerusalem! 29
28:15 For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol 30 we have made an agreement. 31
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by 32
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 33
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 34 a stone in Zion,
an approved 35 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 36
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 37
28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, 38
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; 39
your agreement 40 with Sheol will not last. 41
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, 42
you will be overrun by it. 43
28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, 44 every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.” 45
When this announcement is understood,
it will cause nothing but terror.
28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. 46
28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, 47
he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, 48
to accomplish his work,
his peculiar work,
to perform his task,
his strange task. 49
28:22 So now, do not mock,
or your chains will become heavier!
For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,
from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. 50
28:23 Pay attention and listen to my message! 51
Be attentive and listen to what I have to say! 52
28:24 Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? 53
Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?
28:25 Once he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant,
sow the seed of the cumin plant,
and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? 54
28:26 His God instructs him;
he teaches him the principles of agriculture. 55
28:27 Certainly 56 caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. 57
Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick,
and cumin seed with a flail.
28:28 Grain is crushed,
though one certainly does not thresh it forever.
The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it,
but his horses do not crush it.
28:29 This also comes from the Lord who commands armies,
who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom. 58
29:1 Ariel is as good as dead 59 –
Ariel, the town David besieged! 60
Keep observing your annual rituals,
celebrate your festivals on schedule. 61
29:2 I will threaten Ariel,
and she will mourn intensely
and become like an altar hearth 62 before me.
29:3 I will lay siege to you on all sides; 63
I will besiege you with troops; 64
I will raise siege works against you.
29:4 You will fall;
while lying on the ground 65 you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. 66
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; 67
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. 68
29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,
the horde of tyrants 69 like chaff that is blown away.
It will happen suddenly, in a flash.
29:6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, 70
accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,
by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.
29:7 It will be like a dream, a night vision.
There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,
those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.
29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. 71
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. 72
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
29:9 You will be shocked and amazed! 73
You are totally blind! 74
They are drunk, 75 but not because of wine;
they stagger, 76 but not because of beer.
29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you
a strong urge to sleep deeply. 77
He has shut your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation 78 is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read 79 and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” 29:12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read 80 and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” 81
29:13 The sovereign master 82 says,
“These people say they are loyal to me; 83
they say wonderful things about me, 84
but they are not really loyal to me. 85
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual. 86
29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –
an absolutely extraordinary deed. 87
Wise men will have nothing to say,
the sages will have no explanations.” 88
29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, 89
who do their work in secret and boast, 90
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” 91
29:16 Your thinking is perverse! 92
Should the potter be regarded as clay? 93
Should the thing made say 94 about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?
29:17 In just a very short time 95
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 96
29:18 At that time 97 the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,
and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. 98
29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight 99 in the Holy One of Israel. 100
29:20 For tyrants will disappear,
those who taunt will vanish,
and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated 101 –
29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, 102
who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate 103
and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. 104
29:22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: 105
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;
their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. 106
29:23 For when they see their children,
whom I will produce among them, 107
they will honor 108 my name.
They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; 109
they will respect 110 the God of Israel.
29:24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding; 111
those who complain will acquire insight. 112
30:1 “The rebellious 113 children are as good as dead,” 114 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 115
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 116
and thereby compound their sin. 117
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 118
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 119
30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,
and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.
30:4 Though his 120 officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 121
30:5 all will be put to shame 122
because of a nation that cannot help them,
who cannot give them aid or help,
but only shame and disgrace.”
30:6 This is a message 123 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 124
by snakes and darting adders, 125
they transport 126 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 127
30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. 128
For this reason I call her
‘Proud one 129 who is silenced.’” 130
30:8 Now go, write it 131 down on a tablet in their presence, 132
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness. 133
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 134
30:10 They 135 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 136
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 137
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 138
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 139
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 140
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 141
and rely on that kind of behavior. 142
30:13 So this sin will become your downfall.
You will be like a high wall
that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;
it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. 143
30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. 144
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough 145
to scoop a hot coal from a fire 146
or to skim off water from a cistern.” 147
30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:
“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; 148
if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, 149
but you are unwilling.
30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’
so you will indeed flee.
You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’
so your pursuers will be fast.
30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; 150
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, 151
until the remaining few are as isolated 152
as a flagpole on a mountaintop
or a signal flag on a hill.”
30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 153
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 154
30:19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem 155 you will weep no more. 156
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you. 157
30:20 The sovereign master 158 will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink; 159
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them. 160
30:21 You 161 will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct 162 way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols 163
and your gold-plated images. 164
You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,
saying to them, “Get out!”
30:23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,
and the ground will produce crops in abundance. 165
At that time 166 your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing 167
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. 168
30:25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of 169 great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.
30:26 The light of the full moon will be like the sun’s glare
and the sun’s glare will be seven times brighter,
like the light of seven days, 170
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones 171
and heals their severe wound. 172
30:27 Look, the name 173 of the Lord comes from a distant place
in raging anger and awesome splendor. 174
He speaks angrily
and his word is like destructive fire. 175
30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river 176
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; 177
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. 178
30:29 You will sing
as you do in the evening when you are celebrating a festival.
You will be happy like one who plays a flute
as he goes to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock who shelters Israel. 179
30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout 180
and intervene in power, 181
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, 182
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
30:31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; 183
he will beat them with a club.
30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, 184
with which the Lord will beat them, 185
will be accompanied by music from the 186 tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons. 187
30:33 For 188 the burial place is already prepared; 189
it has been made deep and wide for the king. 190
The firewood is piled high on it. 191
The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,
will ignite it.
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 192
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 193
and in their many, many horsemen. 194
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 195
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 196 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 197
He will attack the wicked nation, 198
and the nation that helps 199 those who commit sin. 200
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 201 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 202
31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey. 203
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 204
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 205
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 206
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 207
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 208 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 209 31:7 For at that time 210 everyone will get rid of 211 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 212
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 213
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 214
They will run away from this sword 215
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 216 because of fear; 217
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 218
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 219
32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 220
officials will promote justice. 221
32:2 Each of them 222 will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from a rainstorm;
like streams of water in a dry region
and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
32:3 Eyes 223 will no longer be blind 224
and ears 225 will be attentive.
32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment 226
and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; 227
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 228
He commits godless deeds 229
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 230
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 231
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 232
he dreams up evil plans 233
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 234
32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security. 235
32:9 You complacent 236 women,
get up and listen to me!
You carefree 237 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
you carefree ones will shake with fear,
for the grape 239 harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
32:11 Tremble, you complacent ones!
Shake with fear, you carefree ones!
Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves –
put sackcloth on your waist! 240
32:12 Mourn over the field, 241
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 242 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 243
in the city filled with revelry. 244
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 245 city is abandoned.
Hill 246 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 247
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 248
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 249
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 250
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 251
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 252
and result in lasting security. 253
32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 254
32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed 255
and the city is annihilated, 256
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 257
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 258
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 259
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 260
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 261 deceiving, others will deceive you!
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning! 262
Deliver us when distress comes. 263
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; 264
the nations scatter when you spring into action! 265
33:4 Your plunder 266 disappears as if locusts were eating it; 267
they swarm over it like locusts! 268
indeed, 270 he lives in heaven; 271
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; 272
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; 273
he gives all this to those who fear him. 274
33:7 Look, ambassadors 275 cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace 276 weep bitterly.
there are no travelers. 278
Treaties are broken, 279
witnesses are despised, 280
human life is treated with disrespect. 281
33:9 The land 282 dries up 283 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 284 and decays.
Sharon 285 is like the desert; 286
Bashan and Carmel 287 are parched. 288
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself. 289
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you. 291
33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 292
like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
33:13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done!
You who are close by, recognize my strength!”
33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
panic 293 grips the godless. 294
They say, 295 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 296 fire?’
33:15 The one who lives 297 uprightly 298
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 299
the one who does not plot violent crimes 300
and does not seek to harm others 301 –
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 302
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 303
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; 304
you will see a wide land. 305
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 306
and you will ask yourselves, 307 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 308
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant 309 people
whose language you do not comprehend, 310
whose derisive speech you do not understand. 311
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You 312 will see Jerusalem, 313
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 314
its stakes will never be pulled up;
none of its ropes will snap in two.
33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. 315
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; 316
no war galley will enter; 317
no large ships will sail through. 318
33:22 For the Lord, our ruler,
the Lord, our commander,
the Lord, our king –
he will deliver us.
33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, 319
the mast is not secured, 320
and the sail 321 is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; 322
even the lame will drag off plunder. 323
33:24 No resident of Zion 324 will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!
Pay attention, you people!
The earth and everything it contains must listen,
the world and everything that lives in it. 325
34:2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations
and furious with all their armies.
He will annihilate them and slaughter them.
34:3 Their slain will be left unburied, 326
their corpses will stink; 327
the hills will soak up their blood. 328
34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, 329
the sky will roll up like a scroll;
all its stars will wither,
like a leaf withers and falls from a vine
or a fig withers and falls from a tree. 330
34:5 He says, 331 “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. 332
Look, it now descends on Edom, 333
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 334 with fat;
it drips 335 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 336 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 337 in Bozrah, 338
a bloody 339 slaughter in the land of Edom.
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered 340 along with them,
as well as strong bulls. 341
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 342
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 343
34:9 Edom’s 344 streams will be turned into pitch
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
34:10 Night and day it will burn; 345
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland
and no one will ever pass through it again.
34:11 Owls and wild animals 346 will live there, 347
all kinds of wild birds 348 will settle in it.
The Lord 349 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 350 of destruction. 351
34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear. 352
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 353 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 354
34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; 355
wild goats will bleat to one another. 356
Yes, nocturnal animals 357 will rest there
and make for themselves a nest. 358
34:15 Owls 359 will make nests and lay eggs 360 there;
they will hatch them and protect them. 361
Yes, hawks 362 will gather there,
each with its mate.
34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! 363
Not one of these creatures will be missing, 364
none will lack a mate. 365
For the Lord has issued the decree, 366
and his own spirit gathers them. 367
34:17 He assigns them their allotment; 368
he measures out their assigned place. 369
They will live there 370 permanently;
they will settle in it through successive generations.
35:1 Let the desert and dry region be happy; 371
let the wilderness 372 rejoice and bloom like a lily!
let it rejoice and shout with delight! 374
It is given the grandeur 375 of Lebanon,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the grandeur of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,
steady the knees that shake! 376
35:4 Tell those who panic, 377
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge!
With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 378
35:5 Then blind eyes will open,
deaf ears will hear.
35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,
the mute tongue will shout for joy;
for water will flow 379 in the desert,
streams in the wilderness. 380
35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,
the parched ground springs of water.
Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,
grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.
35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –
it will be called the Way of Holiness. 381
The unclean will not travel on it;
it is reserved for those authorized to use it 382 –
fools 383 will not stray into it.
35:9 No lions will be there,
no ferocious wild animals will be on it 384 –
they will not be found there.
Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,
35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. 385
They will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them, 386
happiness and joy will overwhelm 387 them;
grief and suffering will disappear. 388
36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, 389 King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser 390 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 391 along with a large army. The chief adviser 392 stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 393 36:3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.
36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 394 36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 395 In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 36:6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ 36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 396 36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” 397
36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 398 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 399 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 400 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” 401
36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 402 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 403 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 404 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? 405 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 406 from my power? 407 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 408 36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief 409 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, 410 he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 411 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 412 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 413 and humiliation, 414 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 415 37:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 416 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 417 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 418
37:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 419 37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 420 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 421 with a sword in his own land.”’”
37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 422 37:9 The king 423 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia 424 was marching out to fight him. 425 He again sent 426 messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 37:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 427 Do you really think you will be rescued? 428 37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors 429 destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 430 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, 431 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter 432 from the messengers and read it. 433 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! 434 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 435 and the earth. 37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 436 37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations 437 and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, 438 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 439 37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” 440
37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 441 37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: 442
“The virgin daughter Zion 443
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 444
37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly? 445
At the Holy One of Israel! 446
37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 447
‘With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions, 448
its thickest woods.
37:25 I dug wells
and drank water. 449
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
37:26 450 Certainly you must have heard! 451
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned 452 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 453
37:27 Their residents are powerless; 454
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation. 455
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 456
when it is scorched by the east wind. 457
37:28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me. 458
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears, 459
I will put my hook in your nose, 460
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:30 461 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 462 This year you will eat what grows wild, 463 and next year 464 what grows on its own. But the year after that 465 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 466 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 467
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 468 will accomplish this.
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 469
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 470
nor will he build siege works against it.
37:34 He will go back the way he came –
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 471
37:36 The Lord’s messenger 472 went out and killed 185,000 troops 473 in the Assyrian camp. When they 474 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 475 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 476 37:38 One day, 477 as he was worshiping 478 in the temple of his god Nisroch, 479 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 480 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 481 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 38:2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 38:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you 482 faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, 483 and how I have carried out your will.” 484 Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 485
38:4 The Lord told Isaiah, 486 38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor 487 David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life, 38:6 and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 38:7 Isaiah replied, 488 “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 38:8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.” 489 And then the shadow went back ten steps. 490
38:9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:
‘In the middle of my life 492 I must walk through the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived 493 of the rest of my years.’
38:11 “I thought,
‘I will no longer see the Lord 494 in the land of the living,
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world. 495
38:12 My dwelling place 496 is removed and taken away 497 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 498
from the loom he cuts me off. 499
You turn day into night and end my life. 500
38:13 I cry out 501 until morning;
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life. 502
38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo 503 like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. 504
O sovereign master, 505 I am oppressed;
help me! 506
38:15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted. 507
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. 508
38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me. 509
Restore my health 510 and preserve my life.’
38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. 511
You delivered me 512 from the pit of oblivion. 513
For you removed all my sins from your sight. 514
38:18 Indeed 515 Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not 516 praise you.
Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me, 517
and we will celebrate with music 518
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” 519
38:21 520 Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 38:22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 39:2 Hezekiah welcomed 521 them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. 522 39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 39:4 Isaiah 523 asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 39:5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies: 39:6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors 524 have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 525 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 526 Then he thought, 527 “For 528 there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”
[28:1] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] the crown [or “wreath”] of the splendor [or “pride”] of the drunkards of Ephraim.” The “crown” is Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom (Ephraim). Priests and prophets are included among these drunkards in v. 7.
[28:1] 2 tn Heb “the beauty of his splendor.” In the translation the masculine pronoun (“his”) has been replaced by “its” because the referent (the “crown”) is the city of Samaria.
[28:1] 4 tn Heb “ones overcome with wine.” The words “the crown of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The syntactical relationship of the final phrase to what precedes is uncertain. הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן (halume yayin, “ones overcome with wine”) seems to correspond to שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם (shikkore ’efrayim, “drunkards of Ephraim”) in line 1. The translation assumes that the phrase “the splendid crown” is to be understood in the final line as well.
[28:2] 5 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[28:2] 6 tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”
[28:2] 7 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”
[28:2] 8 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”
[28:2] 9 tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.
[28:2] 10 tn Or “by [his] power.”
[28:4] 11 tn Heb “which the one seeing sees, while still it is in his hand he swallows it.”
[28:5] 12 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[28:6] 13 tn Heb “and [he will become] a spirit of justice for the one who sits [i.e., presides] over judgment, // and strength [for] the ones who turn back battle at the city gate.” The Lord will provide internal stability and national security.
[28:7] 14 tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.
[28:7] 15 tn According to HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע, the verb form is derived from בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”), not the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”). See earlier notes at 3:12 and 9:16.
[28:7] 16 tn Heb “in the seeing.”
[28:7] 17 tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”
[28:8] 18 tn Heb “vomit, without a place.” For the meaning of the phrase בְּלִי מָקוֹם (bÿli maqom, “without a place”), see HALOT 133 s.v. בְּלִי.
[28:9] 19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:9] 20 tn Heb “Who is he teaching knowledge? For whom is he explaining a message?” The translation assumes that the Lord is the subject of the verbs “teaching” and “explaining,” and that the prophet is asking the questions. See v. 12. According to some vv. 9-10 record the people’s sarcastic response to the Lord’s message through Isaiah.
[28:9] 21 tn Heb “from the breasts.” The words “their mother’s” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation assumes that this is the prophet’s answer to the questions asked in the first half of the verse. The Lord is trying to instruct people who are “infants” morally and ethically.
[28:10] 22 tn The meaning of this verse has been debated. The text has literally “indeed [or “for”] a little there, a little there” ( כִּי צַו לָצָו צַו לָצָו קַו לָקָו קַו, ki tsav latsav, tsav latsav, qav laqav, qav laqav). The present translation assumes that the repetitive syllables are gibberish that resembles baby talk (cf v. 9b) and mimics what the people will hear when foreign invaders conquer the land (v. 11). In this case זְעֵיר (zÿ’er, “a little”) refers to the short syllabic structure of the babbling (cf. CEV). Some take צַו (tsav) as a derivative of צָוָה (tsavah, “command”) and translate the first part of the statement as “command after command, command after command.” Proponents of this position (followed by many English versions) also take קַו (qav) as a noun meaning “measuring line” (see v. 17), understood here in the abstract sense of “standard” or “rule.”
[28:11] 23 sn This verse alludes to the coming Assyrian invasion, when the people will hear a foreign language that sounds like gibberish to them. The Lord is the subject of the verb “will speak,” as v. 12 makes clear. He once spoke in meaningful terms, but in the coming judgment he will speak to them, as it were, through the mouth of foreign oppressors. The apparent gibberish they hear will be an outward reminder that God has decreed their defeat.
[28:12] 24 tn Heb “who said to them.”
[28:12] 25 sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.
[28:13] 26 tn Heb “And the word of the Lord will be to them, ‘tsahv latsahv,’ etc.” See the note at v. 10. In this case the “Lord’s word” is not the foreigner’s strange sounding words (as in v. 10), but the Lord’s repeated appeals to them (like the one quoted in v. 12). As time goes on, the Lord’s appeals through the prophets will have no impact on the people; they will regard prophetic preaching as gibberish.
[28:13] 27 tn Heb “as a result they will go and stumble backward.” Perhaps an infant falling as it attempts to learn to walk is the background image here (cf. v. 9b). The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) could be taken as indicating purpose (“in order that”), rather than simple result. In this case the people’s insensitivity to the message is caused by the Lord as a means of expediting their downfall.
[28:13] 28 sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.
[28:14] 29 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[28:15] 30 sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.
[28:15] 31 tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.
[28:15] 32 tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).
[28:15] 33 sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.
[28:16] 34 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
[28:16] 35 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
[28:16] 36 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
[28:16] 37 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
[28:17] 38 tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.
[28:18] 39 tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.
[28:18] 40 tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.
[28:18] 41 tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).
[28:18] 42 tn See the note at v. 15.
[28:18] 43 tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”
[28:19] 44 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[28:19] 45 tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.
[28:20] 46 sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.
[28:21] 47 sn This probably alludes to David’s victory over the Philistines at Baal Perazim. See 2 Sam 5:20.
[28:21] 48 sn This probably alludes to the Lord’s victory over the Canaanites at Gibeon, during the days of Joshua. See Josh 10:10-11.
[28:21] 49 sn God’s judgment of his own people is called “his peculiar work” and “his strange task,” because he must deal with them the way he treated their enemies in the past.
[28:22] 50 tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).
[28:23] 51 tn Heb “to my voice.”
[28:23] 52 tn Heb “to my word”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “hear my speech.”
[28:24] 53 tn Heb “All the day does the plowman plow in order to plant?” The phrase “all the day” here has the sense of “continually, always.” See BDB 400 s.v. יוֹם.
[28:25] 54 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “place wheat [?], and barley [?], and grain in its territory.” The term שׂוֹרָה (shorah) is sometimes translated “[in] its place,” but the word is unattested elsewhere. It is probably due to dittography of the immediately following שְׂעֹרָה (sÿo’rah, “barley”). The meaning of נִסְמָן (nisman) is also uncertain. It may be due to dittography of the immediately following כֻסֶּמֶת (kussemet, “grain”).
[28:26] 55 tn Heb “he teaches him the proper way, his God instructs him.”
[28:27] 56 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB).
[28:27] 57 sn Both of these seeds are too small to use the ordinary threshing techniques.
[28:29] 58 sn Verses 23-29 emphasize that God possesses great wisdom and has established a natural order. Evidence of this can be seen in the way farmers utilize divinely imparted wisdom to grow and harvest crops. God’s dealings with his people will exhibit this same kind of wisdom and order. Judgment will be accomplished according to a divinely ordered timetable and, while severe enough, will not be excessive. Judgment must come, just as planting inevitably follows plowing. God will, as it were, thresh his people, but he will not crush them to the point where they will be of no use to him.
[29:1] 59 tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8).
[29:1] 60 tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
[29:1] 61 tn Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.
[29:2] 62 tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.
[29:3] 63 tc The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khadur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (kÿdavid, “like David”), which is supported by the LXX (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the LXX could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
[29:3] 64 tn The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
[29:4] 65 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
[29:4] 66 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
[29:4] 67 tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
[29:4] 68 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.
[29:5] 69 tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”
[29:6] 70 tn Heb “from the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] there will be visitation.” The third feminine singular passive verb form תִּפָּקֵד (tippaqed, “she/it will be visited”) is used here in an impersonal sense. See GKC 459 §144.b.
[29:8] 71 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
[29:8] 72 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
[29:9] 73 tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahmÿhu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittammÿhu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.
[29:9] 74 tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.
[29:9] 75 tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.
[29:9] 76 tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.
[29:10] 77 tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.
[29:11] 78 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[29:11] 79 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
[29:12] 80 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
[29:12] 81 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
[29:13] 82 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[29:13] 83 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
[29:13] 84 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
[29:13] 85 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
[29:13] 86 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
[29:14] 87 tn Heb “Therefore I will again do something amazing with these people, an amazing deed, an amazing thing.” This probably refers to the amazing transformation predicted in vv. 17-24, which will follow the purifying judgment implied in vv. 15-16.
[29:14] 88 tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”
[29:15] 89 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.
[29:15] 90 tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”
[29:15] 91 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
[29:16] 92 tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.
[29:16] 93 tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.
[29:16] 94 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
[29:17] 95 tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
[29:17] 96 sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful, see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.
[29:18] 97 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[29:18] 98 tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”
[29:18] sn Perhaps this depicts the spiritual transformation of the once spiritually insensitive nation (see vv. 10-12, cf. also 6:9-10).
[29:19] 99 tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).
[29:19] 100 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[29:20] 101 tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”
[29:21] 102 tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”
[29:21] 103 sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
[29:21] 104 tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
[29:22] 105 tn Heb “So this is what the Lord says to the house of Jacob, the one who ransomed Abraham.” The relative pronoun must refer back to “the Lord,” not to the immediately preceding “Jacob.” It is uncertain to what event in Abraham’s experience this refers. Perhaps the name “Abraham” stands here by metonymy for his descendants through Jacob. If so, the Exodus is in view.
[29:22] 106 tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
[29:23] 107 tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
[29:23] 108 tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”
[29:23] 109 sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.
[29:23] 110 tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”
[29:24] 111 tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”
[29:24] 112 tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”
[30:1] 113 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
[30:1] 114 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
[30:1] 115 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
[30:1] 116 tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.
[30:1] 117 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
[30:2] 118 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
[30:2] 119 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
[30:4] 120 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
[30:4] 121 sn Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta in the north; Hanes was located somewhere in southern region of lower Egypt, south of Memphis; the exact location is debated.
[30:5] 122 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
[30:6] 123 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
[30:6] 124 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
[30:6] 125 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
[30:6] 126 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:6] 127 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
[30:7] 128 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
[30:7] 129 tn Heb “Rahab” (רַהַב, rahav), which also appears as a name for Egypt in Ps 87:4. The epithet is also used in the OT for a mythical sea monster symbolic of chaos. See the note at 51:9. A number of English versions use the name “Rahab” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) while others attempt some sort of translation (cf. CEV “a helpless monster”; TEV, NLT “the Harmless Dragon”).
[30:7] 130 tn The MT reads “Rahab, they, sitting.” The translation above assumes an emendation of הֵם שָׁבֶת (hem shavet) to הַמָּשְׁבָּת (hammashbat), a Hophal participle with prefixed definite article, meaning “the one who is made to cease,” i.e., “destroyed,” or “silenced.” See HALOT 444-45 s.v. ישׁב.
[30:8] 131 tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.
[30:8] 132 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
[30:8] 133 sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.
[30:9] 134 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
[30:10] 135 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:10] 136 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
[30:10] 137 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
[30:11] 138 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
[30:11] 139 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[30:12] 140 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[30:12] 141 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
[30:12] 142 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
[30:13] 143 tn The verse reads literally, “So this sin will become for you like a breach ready to fall, bulging on a high wall, the breaking of which comes suddenly, in a flash.” Their sin produces guilt and will result in judgment. Like a wall that collapses their fall will be swift and sudden.
[30:14] 144 tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”
[30:14] 145 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:14] 146 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
[30:14] 147 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
[30:15] 148 tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[30:15] 149 tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).
[30:17] 150 tn Heb “One thousand from before [or “because of”] one battle cry.” גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) is often defined as “threat,” but in war contexts it likely refers to a shout or battle cry. See Ps 76:6.
[30:17] 151 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
[30:17] 152 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[30:18] 153 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
[30:18] 154 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
[30:19] 155 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[30:19] 156 tn Heb “For people in Zion will live, in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”
[30:19] 157 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
[30:20] 158 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[30:20] 159 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”
[30:20] 160 tn Heb “but your teachers will no longer be hidden, your eyes will be seeing your teachers.” The translation assumes that the form מוֹרֶיךָ (morekha) is a plural participle, referring to spiritual leaders such as prophets and priests. Another possibility is that the form is actually singular (see GKC 273-74 §93.ss) or a plural of respect, referring to God as the master teacher. See HALOT 560-61 s.v. III מוֹרֶה. For discussion of the views, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:560.
[30:21] 161 tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:21] 162 tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:22] 163 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
[30:22] 164 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
[30:23] 165 tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed which you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”
[30:23] 166 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[30:24] 167 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
[30:24] 168 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
[30:25] 169 tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).
[30:26] 170 sn Light here symbolizes restoration of divine blessing and prosperity. The number “seven” is used symbolically to indicate intensity. The exact meaning of the phrase “the light of seven days” is uncertain; it probably means “seven times brighter” (see the parallel line).
[30:26] 171 tn Heb “the fracture of his people” (so NASB).
[30:26] sn The Lord is here compared to a physician setting a broken bone in a bandage or cast.
[30:26] 172 tn Heb “the injury of his wound.” The joining of synonyms emphasizes the severity of the wound. Another option is to translate, “the wound of his blow.” In this case the pronominal suffix might refer to the Lord, not the people, yielding the translation, “the wound which he inflicted.”
[30:27] 173 sn The “name” of the Lord sometimes stands by metonymy for the Lord himself, see Exod 23:21; Lev 24:11; Pss 54:1 (54:3 HT); 124:8. In Isa 30:27 the point is that he reveals that aspect of his character which his name suggests – he comes as Yahweh (“he is present”), the ever present helper of his people who annihilates their enemies and delivers them. The name “Yahweh” originated in a context where God assured a fearful Moses that he would be with him as he confronted Pharaoh and delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. See Exod 3.
[30:27] 174 tn Heb “his anger burns, and heaviness of elevation.” The meaning of the phrase “heaviness of elevation” is unclear, for מַשָּׂאָה (masa’ah, “elevation”) occurs only here. Some understand the term as referring to a cloud (elevated above the earth’s surface), in which case one might translate, “and in heavy clouds” (cf. NAB “with lowering clouds”). Others relate the noun to מָשָׂא (masa’, “burden”) and interpret it as a reference to judgment. In this case one might translate, “and with severe judgment.” The present translation assumes that the noun refers to his glory and that “heaviness” emphasizes its degree.
[30:27] 175 tn Heb “his lips are full of anger, and his tongue is like consuming fire.” The Lord’s lips and tongue are used metonymically for his word (or perhaps his battle cry; see v. 31).
[30:28] 176 tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.
[30:28] 177 tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.
[30:28] 178 tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.
[30:29] 179 tn Heb “[you will have] joy of heart, like the one going with a flute to enter the mountain of the Lord to the Rock of Israel.” The image here is not a foundational rock, but a rocky cliff where people could hide for protection (for example, the fortress of Masada).
[30:30] 180 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
[30:30] 181 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
[30:30] 182 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
[30:31] 183 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
[30:32] 184 tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew
[30:32] 185 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
[30:32] 186 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
[30:32] 187 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvÿmilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.
[30:33] 189 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).
[30:33] 190 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”
[30:33] 191 tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”
[30:33] sn Apparently this alludes to some type of funeral rite.
[31:1] 192 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
[31:1] 193 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
[31:1] 194 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
[31:1] 195 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[31:2] 196 sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.
[31:2] 197 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
[31:2] 198 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
[31:2] 200 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
[31:3] 201 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
[31:3] 202 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
[31:4] 203 tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.
[31:4] 204 tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”
[31:4] 205 tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.
[31:5] 206 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:5] 207 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:5] 208 tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.
[31:6] 209 tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.
[31:7] 210 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[31:7] 211 tn Heb “reject” (so NIV); NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT “throw away.”
[31:7] 212 tn Heb “the idols of their idols of silver and their idols of gold which your hands made for yourselves [in] sin.” חָטָא (khata’, “sin”) is understood as an adverbial accusative of manner. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:573, n. 4.
[31:8] 213 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 214 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 215 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[31:9] 216 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
[31:9] 217 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
[31:9] 218 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
[31:9] 219 sn The “fire” and “firepot” here symbolize divine judgment, which is heating up like a fire in Jerusalem, waiting to be used against the Assyrians when they attack the city.
[32:1] 220 tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”
[32:1] 221 tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”
[32:2] 222 tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.
[32:3] 223 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
[32:3] 224 tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.
[32:3] 225 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
[32:4] 226 tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”
[32:6] 227 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
[32:6] 228 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
[32:6] 229 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
[32:6] 230 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
[32:6] 231 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
[32:7] 232 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
[32:7] 233 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
[32:7] 234 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
[32:8] 235 tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”
[32:9] 236 tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”
[32:9] 237 tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”
[32:10] 238 tn Heb “days upon a year.”
[32:10] 239 tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.
[32:11] 240 tn The imperatival forms in v. 11 are problematic. The first (חִרְדוּ, khirdu, “tremble”) is masculine plural in form, though spoken to a feminine plural addressee (שַׁאֲנַנּוֹת, sha’anannot, “complacent ones”). The four imperatival forms that follow (רְגָזָה, rÿgazah, “shake with fear”; פְּשֹׁטָה, pÿshotah, “strip off your clothes”; עֹרָה, ’orah, “expose yourselves”; and חֲגוֹרָה, khagorah, “put on”) all appear to be lengthened (so-called “emphatic”) masculine singular forms, even though they too appear to be spoken to a feminine plural addressee. GKC 131-32 §48.i suggests emending חִרְדוּ (khirdu) to חֲרָדָה (kharadah) and understanding all five imperatives as feminine plural “aramaized” forms.
[32:12] 241 tc The Hebrew text has “over mourning breasts.” The reference to “breasts” would make sense in light of v. 11, which refers to the practice of women baring their breasts as a sign of sorrow (see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:585). However, one expects the preposition עַל (’al) to introduce the source or reason for mourning (see vv. 12b-13a) and the participle סֹפְדִים (sofedim, “mourning”) seems odd modifying “breasts.” The translation above assumes a twofold emendation: (1) שָׁדַיִם (shadayim, “breasts”) is emended to [ם]שָׂדַי (saday[m], “field,” a term that also appears in Isa 56:9). The final mem (ם) would be enclitic in this case, not a plural indicator. (The Hebrew noun שָׂדֶה (sadeh, “field”) forms its plural with an וֹת- [-ot] ending). (2) The plural participle סֹפְדִים is emended to סְפֹדָה (sÿfodah), a lengthened imperatival form, meaning “mourn.” For an overview of various suggestions that have been made for this difficult line, see Oswalt, 586, n. 12).
[32:13] 242 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 243 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
[32:13] 244 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 245 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 246 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] 247 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] 248 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[32:15] 249 tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.
[32:15] 250 sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.
[32:16] 251 sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.
[32:17] 252 tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”
[32:17] 253 tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”
[32:18] 254 tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”
[32:19] 255 tn Heb “and [?] when the forest descends.” The form וּבָרַד (uvarad) is often understood as an otherwise unattested denominative verb meaning “to hail” (HALOT 154 s.v. I ברד). In this case one might translate, “and it hails when the forest is destroyed” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV). Perhaps the text alludes to a powerful wind and hail storm that knocks down limbs and trees. Some prefer to emend the form to וְיָרַד (vÿyarad), “and it descends,” which provides better, though not perfect, symmetry with the parallel line (cf. NAB). Perhaps וּבָרַד should be dismissed as dittographic. In this case the statement (“when the forest descends”) lacks a finite verb and seems incomplete, but perhaps it is subordinate to v. 20.
[32:19] 256 tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”
[32:20] 257 tn Heb “by all the waters.”
[32:20] 258 tn Heb “who set free the foot of the ox and donkey”; NIV “letting your cattle and donkeys range free.”
[32:20] sn This verse seems to anticipate a time when fertile land is available to cultivate and crops are so abundant that the farm animals can be allowed to graze freely.
[33:1] 259 tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”
[33:1] sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.
[33:1] 260 tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.
[33:1] 261 tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”
[33:2] 262 tn Heb “Be their arm each morning.” “Arm” is a symbol for strength. The mem suffixed to the noun has been traditionally understood as a third person suffix, but this is contrary to the context, where the people speak of themselves in the first person. The mem (מ) is probably enclitic with ellipsis of the pronoun, which can be supplied from the context. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:589, n. 1.
[33:2] 263 tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
[33:3] 264 tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
[33:3] 265 tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
[33:4] 266 tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.
[33:4] 267 tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
[33:4] 268 tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
[33:5] 269 tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
[33:5] 270 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).
[33:5] 271 tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
[33:6] 272 tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
[33:6] 273 tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
[33:6] 274 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
[33:7] 275 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. Proposals include “heroes” (cf. KJV, ASV “valiant ones”; NASB, NIV “brave men”); “priests,” “residents [of Jerusalem].” The present translation assumes that the term is synonymous with “messengers of peace,” with which it corresponds in the parallel structure of the verse.
[33:7] 276 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
[33:8] 277 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
[33:8] 278 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
[33:8] 279 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
[33:8] 280 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “he despises cities.” The term עָרִים (’arim, “cities”) is probably a corruption of an original עֵדִים (’edim, “[legal] witnesses”), a reading that is preserved in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa. Confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר) is a well-attested scribal error.
[33:8] 281 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
[33:9] 282 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
[33:9] 283 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.
[33:9] 284 tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.
[33:9] 285 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
[33:9] 286 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
[33:9] 287 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
[33:9] 288 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
[33:10] 289 tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
[33:11] 290 tn The second person verb and pronominal forms in this verse are plural. The hostile nations are the addressed, as the next verse makes clear.
[33:11] 291 sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
[33:12] 292 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
[33:14] 293 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
[33:14] 294 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
[33:14] 295 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[33:14] 296 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:15] 297 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
[33:15] 298 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
[33:15] 299 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
[33:15] 300 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
[33:15] 301 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
[33:16] 302 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
[33:16] 303 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
[33:17] 304 tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
[33:17] 305 tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
[33:18] 306 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
[33:18] 307 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[33:18] 308 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.
[33:19] 309 tn The Hebrew form נוֹעָז (no’az) is a Niphal participle derived from יָעַז (ya’az, an otherwise unattested verb) or from עָזָז (’azaz, “be strong,” unattested elsewhere in the Niphal). Some prefer to emend the form to לוֹעֵז (lo’ez) which occurs in Ps 114:1 with the meaning “speak a foreign language.” See HALOT 809 s.v. עזז, 533 s.v. לעז. In this case, one might translate “people who speak a foreign language.”
[33:19] 310 tn Heb “a people too deep of lip to hear.” The phrase “deep of lip” must be an idiom meaning “lips that speak words that are unfathomable [i.e., incomprehensible].”
[33:19] 311 tn Heb “derision of tongue there is no understanding.” The Niphal of לָעַג (la’ag) occurs only here. In the Qal and Hiphil the verb means “to deride, mock.” A related noun is used in 28:11.
[33:20] 312 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:20] 313 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:20] 314 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
[33:21] 315 tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
[33:21] 316 tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
[33:21] 317 tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
[33:21] 318 tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
[33:23] 319 tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.
[33:23] 320 tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.
[33:23] 321 tn Or perhaps, “flag.”
[33:23] 322 tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
[33:23] 323 sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.
[33:24] 324 tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[34:1] 325 tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”
[34:3] 326 tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”
[34:3] 327 tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”
[34:3] 328 tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”
[34:4] 329 tc Heb “and all the host of heaven will rot.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa inserts “and the valleys will be split open,” but this reading may be influenced by Mic 1:4. On the other hand, the statement, if original, could have been omitted by homoioarcton, a scribe’s eye jumping from the conjunction prefixed to “the valleys” to the conjunction prefixed to the verb “rot.”
[34:4] 330 tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”
[34:5] 331 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
[34:5] 332 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”
[34:5] sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.
[34:5] 333 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
[34:6] 334 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
[34:6] 335 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 336 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 337 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
[34:6] 338 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
[34:6] 339 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[34:7] 340 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
[34:7] 341 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
[34:8] 342 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
[34:8] 343 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
[34:9] 344 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:10] 345 tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
[34:11] 346 tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
[34:11] 347 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
[34:11] 348 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
[34:11] 349 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:11] 350 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
[34:11] 351 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
[34:12] 352 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
[34:13] 353 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:13] 354 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
[34:14] 355 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
[34:14] 356 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
[34:14] 357 tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”
[34:14] 358 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
[34:15] 359 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
[34:15] 360 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
[34:15] 361 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
[34:15] 362 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
[34:16] 363 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”
[34:16] sn It is uncertain what particular scroll is referred to here. Perhaps the phrase simply refers to this prophecy and is an admonition to pay close attention to the details of the message.
[34:16] 364 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:16] 365 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
[34:16] 366 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and a few medieval
[34:16] 367 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 368 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 369 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
[34:17] 370 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
[35:1] 371 tn The final mem (ם) on the verb יְשֻׂשׂוּם (yÿsusum) is dittographic (note the initial mem on the following noun מִדְבָּר [midbar]). The ambiguous verbal form is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel). The jussive is used rhetorically here, not as a literal command or prayer.
[35:1] 372 tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); NAB, NIV, TEV “desert.”
[35:2] 373 tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).
[35:2] 374 tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).
[35:2] 375 tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.
[35:3] 376 tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”
[35:4] 377 tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.
[35:4] 378 tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.
[35:6] 379 tn Heb “burst forth” (so NAB); KJV “break out.”
[35:6] 380 tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT “desert.”
[35:8] 381 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.
[35:8] 382 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.
[35:8] 383 tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.
[35:9] 384 tn Heb “will go up on it”; TEV “will pass that way.”
[35:10] 385 tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”
[35:10] 386 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
[35:10] 387 tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”
[35:10] 388 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
[36:1] 389 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[36:2] 390 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[36:2] 391 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:2] 392 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[36:2] 393 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[36:4] 394 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[36:5] 395 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[36:9] 396 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[36:10] 397 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[36:11] 398 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
[36:11] 399 tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”
[36:12] 400 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[36:12] 401 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[36:12] sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
[36:13] 402 tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
[36:16] 403 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[36:18] 404 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[36:19] 405 tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[36:19] 406 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[36:19] 407 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
[36:20] 408 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
[36:22] 409 tn Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning.
[37:1] 410 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[37:2] 411 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
[37:3] 412 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
[37:3] 413 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
[37:3] 414 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
[37:3] 415 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[37:4] 416 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:4] 417 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
[37:4] 418 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[37:6] 419 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[37:7] 420 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
[37:7] 421 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
[37:8] 422 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
[37:9] 423 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:9] 424 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
[37:9] 425 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
[37:9] 426 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
[37:11] 427 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[37:11] 428 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[37:12] 429 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
[37:12] 430 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[37:13] 431 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[37:14] 432 tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).
[37:14] 433 tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).
[37:16] 434 sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
[37:16] 435 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[37:17] 436 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:18] 437 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
[37:19] 438 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[37:19] 439 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
[37:20] 440 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
[37:21] 441 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”
[37:22] 442 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
[37:22] 443 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[37:22] 444 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[37:23] 445 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”
[37:23] 446 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[37:24] 447 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[37:24] 448 tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”
[37:25] 449 tc The Hebrew text has simply, “I dug and drank water.” But the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:24 has “foreign waters.” זָרִים (zarim, “foreign”) may have accidentally dropped out of the Isaianic text by homoioteleuton (cf. NCV, NIV, NLT). Note that the preceding word, מַיִם (mayim, “water) also ends in mem (ם). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has “foreign waters” for this line. However, in several other passages the 1QIsaa scroll harmonizes with 2 Kgs 19 against the MT (Isa 36:5; 37:9, 20). Since the addition of “foreign” to this text in Isaiah by a later scribe would be more likely than its deletion, the MT reading should be accepted.
[37:26] 450 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[37:26] 451 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
[37:26] 452 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
[37:26] 453 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
[37:27] 454 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
[37:27] 455 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[37:27] 456 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[37:27] 457 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.
[37:28] 458 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.
[37:29] 459 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).
[37:29] 460 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[37:30] 461 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
[37:30] 462 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[37:30] 463 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[37:30] 464 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
[37:30] 465 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
[37:30] 466 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
[37:31] 467 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[37:32] 468 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.
[37:33] 469 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
[37:33] 470 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[37:35] 471 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[37:36] 472 tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[37:36] 473 tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
[37:36] 474 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[37:36] 475 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”
[37:37] 476 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[37:38] 477 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
[37:38] 478 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[37:38] 479 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
[37:38] 480 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
[38:1] 481 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying”; NRSV “became sick and was at the point of death.”
[38:3] 482 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
[38:3] 483 tn Heb “and with a complete heart”; KJV, ASV “with a perfect heart.”
[38:3] 484 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
[38:3] 485 tn Heb “wept with great weeping”; NCV “cried loudly”; TEV “began to cry bitterly.”
[38:4] 486 tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying.”
[38:5] 487 tn Heb “father” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).
[38:7] 488 tn The words “Isaiah replied” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the present form of the Hebrew text v. 7 is joined directly to v. 6, but vv. 21-22, if original to Isaiah 38, must be inserted here. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
[38:8] 489 tn Heb “the shadow on the steps which [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, with the sun, back ten steps.”
[38:8] sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
[38:8] 490 tn Heb “and the sun returned ten steps on the steps which it had gone down.”
[38:10] 491 tn Or “I said” (KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[38:10] 492 tn The precise meaning of the phrase בִּדְמִי יָמַי (bidmi yamay, “in the [?] of my days”) is uncertain. According to HALOT 226 s.v. דְּמִי this word is a hapax legomenon meaning “half.” Others derive the form from דַּמִי (dami, “quiet, rest, peacefulness”).
[38:10] 493 tn The precise meaning of the verb is uncertain. The Pual of of פָּקַד (paqad) occurs only here and in Exod 38:21, where it appears to mean “passed in review” or “mustered.” Perhaps the idea is, “I have been called away for the remainder of my years.” To bring out the sense more clearly, one can translate, “I am deprived of the rest of my years.”
[38:11] 494 tn The Hebrew text has יָהּ יָהּ (yah yah, the abbreviated form of יְהוָה [yÿhvah] repeated), but this is probably a corruption of יְהוָה.
[38:11] 495 tc The Hebrew text has חָדֶל (khadel), which appears to be derived from a verbal root meaning “to cease, refrain.” But the form has probably suffered an error of transmission; the original form (attested in a few medieval Hebrew
[38:12] 496 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
[38:12] 497 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
[38:12] 498 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
[38:12] 499 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
[38:12] 500 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
[38:13] 501 tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Piel from שָׁוַה (shavah). There are two homonyms שָׁוַה, one meaning in the Piel “level, smooth out,” the other “set, place.” Neither fits in v. 13. It is likely that the original reading was שִׁוַּעְתִּי (shivva’ti, “I cry out”) from the verbal root שָׁוַע (shava’), which occurs exclusively in the Piel.
[38:13] 502 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
[38:14] 503 tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”
[38:14] 504 tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”
[38:14] 505 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[38:14] 506 tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.
[38:15] 507 tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”
[38:15] 508 tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”
[38:16] 509 tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”
[38:16] 510 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.
[38:17] 511 tn Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”
[38:17] 512 tc The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).
[38:17] 513 tn בְּלִי (bÿli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”
[38:17] 514 tn Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”
[38:18] 515 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[38:18] 516 tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.
[38:20] 517 tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate that an action is imminent. See GKC 348-49 §114.i, and IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.
[38:20] 518 tn Heb “and music [or perhaps, “stringed instruments”] we will play.”
[38:20] 519 tn Heb “all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.”
[38:20] sn Note that vv. 21-22 have been placed between vv. 6-7, where they logically belong. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
[38:21] 520 tc If original to Isaiah 38, vv. 21-22 have obviously been misplaced in the course of the text’s transmission, and would most naturally be placed here, between Isa 38:6 and 38:7. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8, where these verses are placed at this point in the narrative, not at the end. Another possibility is that these verses were not in the original account, and a scribe, familiar with the 2 Kgs version of the story, appended vv. 21-22 to the end of the account in Isaiah 38.
[39:2] 521 tn Heb “was happy with”; NAB, NASB “was pleased”; NIV “received the envoys gladly.”
[39:2] 522 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
[39:4] 523 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:6] 524 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
[39:7] 525 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
[39:8] 526 tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”
[39:8] 527 tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (’amar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
