Yesaya 1:31

1:31 The powerful will be like ¹  a thread of yarn,

their deeds like a spark;

both will burn together,

and no one will put out the fire.

Yesaya 10:27

10:27 At that time ² 

the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders, ³ 

and their yoke from your neck;

the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large. ⁴ 

Yesaya 13:2

13:2 ⁵ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Yesaya 14:9

14:9 Sheol ⁶  below is stirred up about you,

ready to meet you when you arrive.

It rouses ⁷  the spirits of the dead for you,

all the former leaders of the earth; ⁸ 

it makes all the former kings of the nations

rise from their thrones. ⁹ 

Yesaya 22:22

22:22 I will place the key ¹⁰  to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it.

Yesaya 37:19

37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹¹  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. ¹² 

[1:31]  ¹ tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).

[10:27]  ² tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[10:27]  ³ tn Heb “he [i.e., the Lord] will remove his [i.e, Assyria’s] burden from upon your shoulder.”

[10:27]  ⁴ tc The meaning of this line is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads literally, “and the yoke will be destroyed (or perhaps, “pulled down”) because of fatness.” Perhaps this is a bizarre picture of an ox growing so fat that it breaks the yoke around its neck or can no longer fit into its yoke. Fatness would symbolize the Lord’s restored blessings; the removal of the yoke would symbolize the cessation of Assyrian oppression. Because of the difficulty of the metaphor, many prefer to emend the text at this point. Some emend וְחֻבַּל (vÿkhubbal, “and it will be destroyed,” a perfect with prefixed vav), to יִחְבֹּל (yikhbol, “[it] will be destroyed,” an imperfect), and take the verb with what precedes, “and their yoke will be destroyed from your neck.” Proponents of this view (cf. NAB, NRSV) then emend עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) to עָלָה (’alah, “he came up”) and understand this verb as introducing the following description of the Assyrian invasion (vv. 28-32). מִפְּנֵי־שָׁמֶן (mippÿney-shamen, “because of fatness”) is then emended to read “from before Rimmon” (NAB, NRSV), “from before Samaria,” or “from before Jeshimon.” Although this line may present difficulties, it appears best to regard the line as a graphic depiction of God’s abundant blessings on his servant nation.

[13:2]  ⁵ sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).

[14:9]  ⁶ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.

[14:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.

[14:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.

[22:22]  ¹⁰ sn This may refer to a literal insignia worn by the chief administrator. Even so, it would still symbolize the administrator’s authority to grant or exclude access to the king. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:422.

[37:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[37:19]  ¹² tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).