Yesaya 13:22

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. ¹ 

Her time is almost up, ² 

her days will not be prolonged. ³ 

Yesaya 21:8

21:8 Then the guard ⁴  cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, ⁵ 

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

Yesaya 23:13

23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,

these people who have lost their identity! ⁶ 

The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.

They erected their siege towers, ⁷ 

demolished ⁸  its fortresses,

and turned it into a heap of ruins. ⁹ 

Yesaya 46:1

The Lord Carries His People

46:1 Bel ¹⁰  kneels down,

Nebo ¹¹  bends low.

Their images weigh down animals and beasts. ¹² 

Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. ¹³ 

Yesaya 52:11

52:11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!

Don’t touch anything unclean!

Get out of it!

Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items! ¹⁴ 

[13:22]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).

[13:22]  ² tn Heb “near to come is her time.”

[13:22]  ³ sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689 b.c. when the Assyrians under Sennacherib sacked and desecrated the city (this event is alluded to in 23:13). This may have been an initial phase in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but the reference to the involvement of the Medes (v. 17) and the suggestion that Babylon’s demise will bring about the restoration of Israel (14:1-2) indicate that the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians in 538 b.c. is the primary focus of the prophecy. (After all, the Lord did reveal to Isaiah that the Chaldeans [not the Assyrians] would someday conquer Jerusalem and take the people into exile [see 39:5-7].) However, the vivid picture of destruction in vv. 15-22 raises a problem. The Medes and Persians did not destroy the city; in fact Cyrus’ takeover of Babylon, though preceded by a military campaign, was relatively peaceful and even welcomed by some Babylonian religious officials. How then does one explain the prophecy’s description of the city’s violent fall? As noted above, the events of 689 b.c. and 538 b.c. may have been merged in the prophecy. However, it is more likely that the language is stylized and exaggerated for rhetorical effect. See Isa 34:11-15; Jer 50:39-40 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); 51:36-37 (describing Babylon’s fall in 538 b.c.); Zeph 2:13-15; the extra-biblical Sefire treaty curses; and Ashurbanipal’s description of the destruction of Elam in his royal annals. In other words, the events of 538 b.c. essentially, though not necessarily literally, fulfill the prophecy.

[21:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.

[21:8]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).

[23:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”

[23:13]  ⁷ tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.

[23:13]  ⁸ tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.

[23:13]  ⁹ sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.

[46:1]  ¹⁰ sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.

[46:1]  ¹¹ sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.

[46:1]  ¹² tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”

[46:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”

[52:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the vessels of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).