Yesaya 1:7

1:7 Your land is devastated,

your cities burned with fire.

Right before your eyes your crops

are being destroyed by foreign invaders. ¹ 

They leave behind devastation and destruction. ² 

Yesaya 7:18

7:18 At that time ³  the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. ⁴ 

Yesaya 9:13

9:13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,

they did not seek reconciliation ⁵  with the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 10:17-18

10:17 The light of Israel ⁶  will become a fire,

their Holy One ⁷  will become a flame;

it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s ⁸  briers

and his thorns in one day.

10:18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard

will be completely destroyed, ⁹ 

as when a sick man’s life ebbs away. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ¹¹  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ¹²  Destruction has been decreed; ¹³  just punishment ¹⁴  is about to engulf you. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 10:33

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ¹⁶ 

The tallest trees ¹⁷  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Yesaya 11:9

11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain. ¹⁸ 

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 11:14

11:14 They will swoop down ²⁰  on the Philistine hills to the west; ²¹ 

together they will loot the people of the east.

They will take over Edom and Moab, ²² 

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

Yesaya 13:2

13:2 ²³ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Yesaya 14:20

14:20 You will not be buried with them, ²⁴ 

because you destroyed your land

and killed your people.

The offspring of the wicked

will never be mentioned again.

Yesaya 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ²⁵ 

by morning they vanish. ²⁶ 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ²⁷ 

Yesaya 23:9

23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –

to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, ²⁸ 

to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

Yesaya 26:5

26:5 Indeed, ²⁹  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ³⁰ 

he throws it down to the dust.

Yesaya 30:22

30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols ³¹ 

and your gold-plated images. ³² 

You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag,

saying to them, “Get out!”

Yesaya 30:25

30:25 On every high mountain

and every high hill

there will be streams flowing with water,

at the time of ³³  great slaughter when the fortified towers collapse.

Yesaya 31:2

31:2 Yet he too is wise ³⁴  and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree. ³⁵ 

He will attack the wicked nation, ³⁶ 

and the nation that helps ³⁷  those who commit sin. ³⁸ 

Yesaya 37:12

37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors ³⁹  destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? ⁴⁰ 

Yesaya 41:15

41:15 “Look, I am making you like ⁴¹  a sharp threshing sledge,

new and double-edged. ⁴² 

You will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like straw. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 60:10

60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. ⁴⁴ 

Yesaya 63:6

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ⁴⁵  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ⁴⁶ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x. Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the mss or ancient versions. Such an emendation finds support from the following context (vv. 9-10) and usage of the preceding noun מַהְפֵּכָה (mahpekhah, “overthrow”). In its five other uses, this noun is associated with the destruction of Sodom. If one accepts the emendation, then one might translate, “the devastation resembles the destruction of Sodom.”

[7:18]  ³ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:18]  ⁴ sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.

[9:13]  ⁵ tn This verse describes the people’s response to the judgment described in vv. 11-12. The perfects are understood as indicating simple past.

[10:17]  ⁶ tn In this context the “Light of Israel” is a divine title (note the parallel title “his holy one”). The title points to God’s royal splendor, which overshadows and, when transformed into fire, destroys the “majestic glory” of the king of Assyria (v. 16b).

[10:17]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[10:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “his.” In vv. 17-19 the Assyrian king and his empire is compared to a great forest and orchard that are destroyed by fire (symbolic of the Lord).

[10:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “from breath to flesh it will destroy.” The expression “from breath to flesh” refers to the two basic components of a person, the immaterial (life’s breath) and the material (flesh). Here the phrase is used idiomatically to indicate totality.

[10:18]  ¹⁰ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. מָסַס (masas), which is used elsewhere of substances dissolving or melting, may here mean “waste away” or “despair.” נָסַס (nasas), which appears only here, may mean “be sick” or “stagger, despair.” See BDB 651 s.v. I נָסַס and HALOT 703 s.v. I נסס. One might translate the line literally, “like the wasting away of one who is sick” (cf. NRSV “as when an invalid wastes away”).

[10:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ¹² sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).

[10:22]  ¹³ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ¹⁴ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ¹⁵ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[10:33]  ¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  sn As in vv. 12 (see the note there) and 18, the Assyrians are compared to a tree/forest in vv. 33-34.

[10:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[11:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).

[11:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.

[11:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.

[11:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.

[11:14]  ²² tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).

[13:2]  ²³ sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).

[14:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).

[17:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[23:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”

[26:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ³⁰ tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.

[30:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”

[30:22]  ³² tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”

[30:25]  ³³ tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).

[31:2]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”

[31:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”

[31:2]  ³⁷ sn That is, Egypt.

[31:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”

[37:12]  ³⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”

[37:12]  ⁴⁰ 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?”

[41:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”

[41:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.

[41:15]  ⁴³ sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.

[60:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”

[63:6]  ⁴⁵ sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).