Yesaya 44:14

44:14 He cuts down cedars

and acquires a cypress ¹  or an oak.

He gets ²  trees from the forest;

he plants a cedar ³  and the rain makes it grow.

Yesaya 14:8

14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, ⁴ 

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, ⁵ 

‘Since you fell asleep, ⁶ 

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ ⁷ 

[44:14]  ¹ tn It is not certain what type of tree this otherwise unattested noun refers to. Cf. ASV “a holm-tree” (NRSV similar).

[44:14]  ² tn Heb “strengthens for himself,” i.e., “secures for himself” (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמֵץ Pi.2).

[44:14]  ³ tn Some prefer to emend אֹרֶן (’oren) to אֶרֶז (’erez, “cedar”), but the otherwise unattested noun appears to have an Akkadian cognate, meaning “cedar.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 44-45. HALOT 90 s.v. I אֹרֶן offers the meaning “laurel.”

[14:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “concerning you.”

[14:8]  ⁵ tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.

[14:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

[14:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”