Yesaya 19:1--33:24
Konteks19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage. 1
19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, 2
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms. 3
19:3 The Egyptians will panic, 4
and I will confuse their strategy. 5
They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,
from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. 6
19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master, 7 the Lord who commands armies.
19:5 The water of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will dry up and be empty. 8
19:6 The canals 9 will stink; 10
the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;
the bulrushes and reeds will decay,
19:7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river. 11
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away. 12
19:8 The fishermen will mourn and lament,
all those who cast a fishhook into the river,
and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve. 13
19:9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;
those who weave will turn pale. 14
19:10 Those who make cloth 15 will be demoralized; 16
all the hired workers will be depressed. 17
19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; 18
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” 19
19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? 20
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.
19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis 21 are misled;
the rulers 22 of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; 23
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 24
19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots and stalk. 25
19:16 At that time 26 the Egyptians 27 will be like women. 28 They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 29 19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them. 30
19:18 At that time five cities 31 in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 32 19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar 33 dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It 34 will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of 35 the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender 36 who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they 37 will acknowledge the Lord’s authority 38 at that time. 39 They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 19:22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayers 40 and heal them.
19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 41 19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing 42 in the earth. 43 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, 44 “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, 45 Israel!”
20:1 The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. 46 20:2 At that time the Lord announced through 47 Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments 48 and barefoot. 20:3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. 49 20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. 50 20:6 At that time 51 those who live on this coast 52 will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?’”
21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: 53
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 54
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
21:2 I have received a distressing message: 55
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!” 56
21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; 57
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed 58 by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
I shake in fear; 60
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
21:5 Arrange the table,
lay out 61 the carpet,
eat and drink! 62
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields! 63
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master 64 has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
21:7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses, 65
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
21:8 Then the guard 66 cries out:
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, 67
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
21:9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.” 68
When questioned, he replies, 69
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, 70
what I have heard
from the Lord who commands armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.
21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: 71
Someone calls to me from Seir, 72
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?” 73
21:12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night. 74
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.” 75
21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
21:14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.
You who live in the land of Tema,
bring some food for the fugitives.
21:15 For they flee from the swords –
from the drawn sword
and from the battle-ready bow
and from the severity of the battle.
21:16 For this is what the sovereign master 76 has told me: “Within exactly one year 77 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” 78 Indeed, 79 the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: 80
What is the reason 81
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
22:2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry. 82
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle. 83
22:3 84 All your leaders ran away together –
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees 85 were captured together –
they were captured without a single arrow being shot. 86
22:4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me! 87
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try 88 to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” 89
22:5 For the sovereign master, 90 the Lord who commands armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. 91
In the Valley of Vision 92 people shout 93
and cry out to the hill. 94
22:6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen; 95
the men of Kir 96 prepared 97 the shield. 98
22:7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots; 99
horsemen confidently took their positions 100 at the gate.
22:8 They 101 removed the defenses 102 of Judah.
At that time 103 you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest. 104
22:9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the city of David; 105
you stored up water in the lower pool.
22:10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem, 106
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall. 107
22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool –
but you did not trust in 108 the one who made it; 109
you did not depend on 110 the one who formed it long ago!
22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth. 111
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! 112
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 113
22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 114 “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” 115 says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.
22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:
“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, 116 and tell him: 117
22:16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? 118
Why 119 do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?
He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,
he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
22:17 Look, the Lord will throw you far away, 120 you mere man! 121
He will wrap you up tightly. 122
22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land. 123
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots, 124
which bring disgrace to the house of your master. 125
22:19 I will remove you from 126 your office;
you will be thrown down 127 from your position.
22:20 “At that time 128 I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 22:21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. 129 He will become a protector of 130 the residents of Jerusalem and of the people 131 of Judah. 22:22 I will place the key 132 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. 22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; 133 he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. 134 22:24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, 135 including the offspring and the offshoots. 136 All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.’ 137
22:25 “At that time,” 138 says the Lord who commands armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.” 139 Indeed, 140 the Lord has spoken.
23:1 Here is a message about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships, 141
for the port is too devastated to enter! 142
From the land of Cyprus 143 this news is announced to them.
23:2 Lament, 144 you residents of the coast,
you merchants of Sidon 145 who travel over the sea,
whose agents sail over 23:3 the deep waters! 146
Grain from the Shihor region, 147
crops grown near the Nile 148 she receives; 149
she is the trade center 150 of the nations.
23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea 151 says this, O fortress of the sea:
“I have not gone into labor
or given birth;
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.” 152
23:5 When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre. 153
23:6 Travel to Tarshish!
Wail, you residents of the coast!
23:7 Is this really your boisterous city 154
whose origins are in the distant past, 155
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
23:8 Who planned this for royal Tyre, 156
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the dignitaries 157 of the earth?
23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –
to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, 158
to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.
23:10 Daughter Tarshish, travel back to your land, as one crosses the Nile;
there is no longer any marketplace in Tyre. 159
23:11 The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea, 160
he shook kingdoms;
he 161 gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses. 162
23:12 He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed 163 virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.” 164
23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
these people who have lost their identity! 165
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers, 166
demolished 167 its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins. 168
23:14 Wail, you large ships, 169
for your fortress is destroyed!
23:15 At that time 170 Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, 171 the typical life span of a king. 172 At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: 173
23:16 “Take the harp,
go through the city,
forgotten prostitute!
Play it well,
play lots of songs,
so you’ll be noticed!” 174
23:17 At the end of seventy years 175 the Lord will revive 176 Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms. 177 23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. 178
24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, 179
the master as well as the servant, 180
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 181
the seller as well as the buyer, 182
the borrower as well as the lender, 183
the creditor as well as the debtor. 184
24:3 The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment. 185
24:4 The earth 186 dries up 187 and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth 188 fade away.
24:5 The earth is defiled by 189 its inhabitants, 190
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation, 191
and broken the permanent treaty. 192
24:6 So a treaty curse 193 devours the earth;
its inhabitants pay for their guilt. 194
This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, 195
and are reduced to just a handful of people. 196
24:7 The new wine dries up,
the vines shrivel up,
all those who like to celebrate 197 groan.
24:8 The happy sound 198 of the tambourines stops,
the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,
the happy sound of the harp ceases.
24:9 They no longer sing and drink wine; 199
the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
24:10 The ruined town 200 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 201
24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 202
all joy turns to sorrow; 203
celebrations disappear from the earth. 204
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 205
the gate is reduced to rubble. 206
24:13 This is what will happen throughout 207 the earth,
among the nations.
It will be like when they beat an olive tree,
and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. 208
24:14 They 209 lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise 210 the majesty of the Lord in the west.
24:15 So in the east 211 extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol 212 the fame 213 of the Lord God of Israel.
24:16 From the ends of the earth we 214 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 215
But I 216 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 217
24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 218
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 219
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 220 are opened up 221
and the foundations of the earth shake.
24:19 The earth is broken in pieces,
the earth is ripped to shreds,
the earth shakes violently. 222
24:20 The earth will stagger around 223 like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. 224
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.
24:21 At that time 225 the Lord will punish 226
the heavenly forces in the heavens 227
and the earthly kings on the earth.
24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, 228
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time, 229 they will be punished. 230
24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 231
the bright sun 232 will be darkened; 233
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 234
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 235
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 236
25:1 O Lord, you are my God! 237
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. 238
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. 239
25:2 Indeed, 240 you have made the city 241 into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners 242 is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
25:3 So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of 243 powerful nations will fear you.
25:4 For you are a protector for the poor,
a protector for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm,
a shade from the heat.
Though the breath of tyrants 244 is like a winter rainstorm, 245
25:5 like heat 246 in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners. 247
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, 248
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease. 249
25:6 The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. 250
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine –
tender meat and choicest wine. 251
25:7 On this mountain he will swallow up
the shroud that is over all the peoples, 252
the woven covering that is over all the nations; 253
25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. 254
The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,
and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
Indeed, the Lord has announced it! 255
25:9 At that time they will say, 256
“Look, here 257 is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here 258 is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
25:10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. 259
Moab will be trampled down where it stands, 260
as a heap of straw is trampled down in 261 a manure pile.
25:11 Moab 262 will spread out its hands in the middle of it, 263
just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim;
the Lord 264 will bring down Moab’s 265 pride as it spreads its hands. 266
25:12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your 267 walls) 268 he will knock down,
he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground. 269
26:1 At that time 270 this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s 271 deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. 272
26:2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter –
one that remains trustworthy.
26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you. 273
26:4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward, 274
even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector! 275
26:5 Indeed, 276 the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,
he brings down an elevated town;
he brings it down to the ground, 277
he throws it down to the dust.
26:6 It is trampled underfoot
by the feet of the oppressed,
by the soles of the poor.”
26:7 278 The way of the righteous is level,
the path of the righteous that you make is straight. 279
26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, 280
O Lord, we wait for you.
We desire your fame and reputation to grow. 281
26:9 I 282 look for 283 you during the night,
my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,
for when your judgments come upon the earth,
those who live in the world learn about justice. 284
26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice. 285
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; 286
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, 287
but they don’t even notice.
They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, 288
yes, fire will consume your enemies. 289
26:12 O Lord, you make us secure, 290
for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us. 291
26:13 O Lord, our God,
masters other than you have ruled us,
but we praise your name alone.
26:14 The dead do not come back to life,
the spirits of the dead do not rise. 292
That is because 293 you came in judgment 294 and destroyed them,
you wiped out all memory of them.
26:15 You have made the nation larger, 295 O Lord,
you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor, 296
you have extended all the borders of the land.
26:16 O Lord, in distress they looked for you;
they uttered incantations because of your discipline. 297
26:17 As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver
and strains and cries out because of her labor pains,
so were we because of you, O Lord.
26:18 We were pregnant, we strained,
we gave birth, as it were, to wind. 298
We cannot produce deliverance on the earth;
people to populate the world are not born. 299
26:19 300 Your dead will come back to life;
your corpses will rise up.
Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! 301
For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, 302
and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. 303
26:20 Go, my people! Enter your inner rooms!
Close your doors behind you!
Hide for a little while,
until his angry judgment is over! 304
26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, 305
to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.
The earth will display the blood shed on it;
it will no longer cover up its slain. 306
27:1 At that time 307 the Lord will punish
with his destructive, 308 great, and powerful sword
Leviathan the fast-moving 309 serpent,
Leviathan the squirming serpent;
he will kill the sea monster. 310
27:2 When that time comes, 311
sing about a delightful vineyard! 312
27:3 I, the Lord, protect it; 313
I water it regularly. 314
I guard it night and day,
so no one can harm it. 315
27:4 I am not angry.
I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!
Then I would march against them 316 for battle;
I would set them 317 all on fire,
27:5 unless they became my subjects 318
and made peace with me;
let them make peace with me. 319
27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; 320
Israel will blossom and grow branches.
The produce 321 will fill the surface of the world. 322
27:7 Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors? 323
Has Israel been killed like their enemies? 324
27:8 When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; 325
he drives her away 326 with his strong wind in the day of the east wind. 327
27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, 328
and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: 329
They will make all the stones of the altars 330
like crushed limestone,
and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. 331
27:10 For the fortified city 332 is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves 333 graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare. 334
27:11 When its branches get brittle, 335 they break;
women come and use them for kindling. 336
For these people lack understanding, 337
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
27:12 At that time 338 the Lord will shake the tree, 339 from the Euphrates River 340 to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. 341 27:13 At that time 342 a large 343 trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost 344 in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in 345 the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. 346
28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, 347
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, 348
situated 349 at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine. 350
28:2 Look, the sovereign master 351 sends a strong, powerful one. 352
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, 353
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, 354
he will knock that crown 355 to the ground with his hand. 356
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. 357
28:5 At that time 358 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. 359
28:7 Even these men 360 stagger because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer –
priests and prophets stagger because of beer,
they are confused 361 because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer;
they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, 362
they totter while making legal decisions. 363
28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;
no place is untouched. 364
28:9 Who is the Lord 365 trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining a message? 366
Those just weaned from milk!
Those just taken from their mother’s breast! 367
28:10 Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there. 368
28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people. 369
28:12 In the past he said to them, 370
“This is where security can be found.
Provide security for the one who is exhausted!
This is where rest can be found.” 371
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. 372
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, 373
and be injured, ensnared, and captured. 374
28:14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word,
you who mock,
you rulers of these people
who reside in Jerusalem! 375
28:15 For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol 376 we have made an agreement. 377
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by 378
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 379
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 380 a stone in Zion,
an approved 381 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 382
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 383
28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, 384
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; 385
your agreement 386 with Sheol will not last. 387
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, 388
you will be overrun by it. 389
28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, 390 every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.” 391
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. 392
28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, 393
he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, 394
to accomplish his work,
his peculiar work,
to perform his task,
his strange task. 395
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. 396
28:23 Pay attention and listen to my message! 397
Be attentive and listen to what I have to say! 398
28:24 Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? 399
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? 400
28:26 His God instructs him;
he teaches him the principles of agriculture. 401
28:27 Certainly 402 caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. 403
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. 404
29:1 Ariel is as good as dead 405 –
Ariel, the town David besieged! 406
Keep observing your annual rituals,
celebrate your festivals on schedule. 407
29:2 I will threaten Ariel,
and she will mourn intensely
and become like an altar hearth 408 before me.
29:3 I will lay siege to you on all sides; 409
I will besiege you with troops; 410
I will raise siege works against you.
29:4 You will fall;
while lying on the ground 411 you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. 412
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; 413
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. 414
29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,
the horde of tyrants 415 like chaff that is blown away.
It will happen suddenly, in a flash.
29:6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, 416
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. 417
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. 418
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
29:9 You will be shocked and amazed! 419
You are totally blind! 420
They are drunk, 421 but not because of wine;
they stagger, 422 but not because of beer.
29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you
a strong urge to sleep deeply. 423
He has shut your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation 424 is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read 425 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 426 and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” 427
29:13 The sovereign master 428 says,
“These people say they are loyal to me; 429
they say wonderful things about me, 430
but they are not really loyal to me. 431
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual. 432
29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –
an absolutely extraordinary deed. 433
Wise men will have nothing to say,
the sages will have no explanations.” 434
29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, 435
who do their work in secret and boast, 436
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” 437
29:16 Your thinking is perverse! 438
Should the potter be regarded as clay? 439
Should the thing made say 440 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 441
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 442
29:18 At that time 443 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. 444
29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight 445 in the Holy One of Israel. 446
29:20 For tyrants will disappear,
those who taunt will vanish,
and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated 447 –
29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, 448
who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate 449
and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. 450
29:22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: 451
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;
their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. 452
29:23 For when they see their children,
whom I will produce among them, 453
they will honor 454 my name.
They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; 455
they will respect 456 the God of Israel.
29:24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding; 457
those who complain will acquire insight. 458
30:1 “The rebellious 459 children are as good as dead,” 460 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 461
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 462
and thereby compound their sin. 463
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 464
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 465
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 466 officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 467
30:5 all will be put to shame 468
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 469 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 470
by snakes and darting adders, 471
they transport 472 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 473
30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. 474
For this reason I call her
‘Proud one 475 who is silenced.’” 476
30:8 Now go, write it 477 down on a tablet in their presence, 478
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness. 479
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 480
30:10 They 481 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 482
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 483
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 484
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 485
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 486
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 487
and rely on that kind of behavior. 488
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. 489
30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. 490
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough 491
to scoop a hot coal from a fire 492
or to skim off water from a cistern.” 493
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; 494
if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, 495
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; 496
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, 497
until the remaining few are as isolated 498
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. 499
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 500
30:19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem 501 you will weep no more. 502
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you. 503
30:20 The sovereign master 504 will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink; 505
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them. 506
30:21 You 507 will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct 508 way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols 509
and your gold-plated images. 510
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. 511
At that time 512 your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing 513
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. 514
30:25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of 515 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, 516
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones 517
and heals their severe wound. 518
30:27 Look, the name 519 of the Lord comes from a distant place
in raging anger and awesome splendor. 520
He speaks angrily
and his word is like destructive fire. 521
30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river 522
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; 523
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. 524
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. 525
30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout 526
and intervene in power, 527
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, 528
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
30:31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; 529
he will beat them with a club.
30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, 530
with which the Lord will beat them, 531
will be accompanied by music from the 532 tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons. 533
30:33 For 534 the burial place is already prepared; 535
it has been made deep and wide for the king. 536
The firewood is piled high on it. 537
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, 538
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 539
and in their many, many horsemen. 540
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 541
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 542 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 543
He will attack the wicked nation, 544
and the nation that helps 545 those who commit sin. 546
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 547 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 548
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. 549
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 550
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 551
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 552
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 553
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 554 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 555 31:7 For at that time 556 everyone will get rid of 557 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 558
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 559
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 560
They will run away from this sword 561
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 562 because of fear; 563
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 564
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 565
32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 566
officials will promote justice. 567
32:2 Each of them 568 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 569 will no longer be blind 570
and ears 571 will be attentive.
32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment 572
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; 573
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 574
He commits godless deeds 575
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 576
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 577
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 578
he dreams up evil plans 579
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 580
32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security. 581
32:9 You complacent 582 women,
get up and listen to me!
You carefree 583 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
you carefree ones will shake with fear,
for the grape 585 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! 586
32:12 Mourn over the field, 587
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 588 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 589
in the city filled with revelry. 590
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 591 city is abandoned.
Hill 592 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 593
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 594
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 595
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 596
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 597
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 598
and result in lasting security. 599
32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 600
32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed 601
and the city is annihilated, 602
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 603
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 604
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 605
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 606
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 607 deceiving, others will deceive you!
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning! 608
Deliver us when distress comes. 609
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; 610
the nations scatter when you spring into action! 611
33:4 Your plunder 612 disappears as if locusts were eating it; 613
they swarm over it like locusts! 614
indeed, 616 he lives in heaven; 617
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; 618
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; 619
he gives all this to those who fear him. 620
33:7 Look, ambassadors 621 cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace 622 weep bitterly.
there are no travelers. 624
Treaties are broken, 625
witnesses are despised, 626
human life is treated with disrespect. 627
33:9 The land 628 dries up 629 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 630 and decays.
Sharon 631 is like the desert; 632
Bashan and Carmel 633 are parched. 634
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself. 635
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you. 637
33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 638
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 639 grips the godless. 640
They say, 641 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 642 fire?’
33:15 The one who lives 643 uprightly 644
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 645
the one who does not plot violent crimes 646
and does not seek to harm others 647 –
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 648
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 649
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; 650
you will see a wide land. 651
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 652
and you will ask yourselves, 653 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 654
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant 655 people
whose language you do not comprehend, 656
whose derisive speech you do not understand. 657
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You 658 will see Jerusalem, 659
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 660
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. 661
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; 662
no war galley will enter; 663
no large ships will sail through. 664
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, 665
the mast is not secured, 666
and the sail 667 is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; 668
even the lame will drag off plunder. 669
33:24 No resident of Zion 670 will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
[19:1] 1 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
[19:2] 2 tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).
[19:2] 3 tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.
[19:3] 4 tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”
[19:3] 5 tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.
[19:3] 6 tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” 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.
[19:4] 7 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:5] 8 tn Heb “will dry up and be dry.” Two synonyms are joined for emphasis.
[19:6] 9 tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”
[19:6] 10 tn The verb form appears as a Hiphil in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa; the form in MT may be a so-called “mixed form,” reflecting the Hebrew Hiphil stem and the functionally corresponding Aramaic Aphel stem. See HALOT 276 s.v. I זנח.
[19:7] 11 tn Heb “the plants by the river, by the mouth of the river.”
[19:7] 12 tn Heb “will dry up, [being] scattered, and it will vanish.”
[19:8] 13 tn Or perhaps, “will disappear”; cf. TEV “will be useless.”
[19:9] 14 tn BDB 301 s.v. חוֹרִי suggests the meaning “white stuff” for חוֹרִי (khori); the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חָוֵרוּ (khaveru), probably a Qal perfect, third plural form of חוּר, (khur, “be white, pale”). See HALOT 299 s.v. I חור. The latter reading is assumed in the translation above.
[19:10] 15 tn Some interpret שָׁתֹתֶיהָ (shatoteha) as “her foundations,” i.e., leaders, nobles. See BDB 1011 s.v. שָׁת. Others, on the basis of alleged cognates in Akkadian and Coptic, repoint the form שְׁתִיתֶיהָ (shÿtiteha) and translate “her weavers.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:370.
[19:10] 16 tn Heb “crushed.” Emotional distress is the focus of the context (see vv. 8-9, 10b).
[19:10] 17 tn Heb “sad of soul”; cf. NIV, NLT “sick at heart.”
[19:11] 18 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
[19:11] 19 tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.
[19:12] 20 tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.
[19:13] 21 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
[19:13] 22 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
[19:14] 23 tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”
[19:14] 24 tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”
[19:15] 25 tn Heb “And there will not be for Egypt a deed, which head and tail, shoot and stalk can do.” In 9:14-15 the phrase “head or tail” refers to leaders and prophets, respectively. This interpretation makes good sense in this context, where both leaders and advisers (probably including prophets and diviners) are mentioned (vv. 11-14). Here, as in 9:14, “shoots and stalk” picture a reed, which symbolizes the leadership of the nation in its entirety.
[19:16] 26 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
[19:16] 27 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
[19:16] 28 sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.
[19:16] 29 tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.
[19:17] 30 tn Heb “and the land of Judah will become [a source of] shame to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it [i.e., the land of Judah] will fear because of the plan of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] which he is planning against him.”
[19:18] 31 sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.
[19:18] 32 tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and some medieval Hebrew
[19:19] 33 tn This word is sometimes used of a sacred pillar associated with pagan worship, but here it is associated with the worship of the Lord.
[19:20] 34 tn The masculine noun מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbbeakh, “altar”) in v. 19 is probably the subject of the masculine singular verb הָיָה (hayah) rather than the feminine noun מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”), also in v. 19.
[19:20] 35 tn Heb “a sign and a witness to the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] in the land of Egypt.”
[19:20] 36 tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”
[19:21] 37 tn Heb “Egypt.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the present translation uses the pronoun (“they”) here.
[19:21] 38 tn Heb “will know the Lord.”
[19:21] 39 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 23 and 24.
[19:22] 40 tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”
[19:23] 41 tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.
[19:24] 42 tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).
[19:24] 43 tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).
[19:25] 44 tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.
[19:25] 45 tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
[20:1] 46 tn Heb “In the year the commanding general came to Ashdod, when Sargon king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and captured it.”
[20:1] sn This probably refers to the Assyrian campaign against Philistia in 712 or 711
[20:2] 47 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
[20:2] 48 tn The word used here (עָרוֹם, ’arom) sometimes means “naked,” but here it appears to mean simply “lightly dressed,” i.e., stripped to one’s undergarments. See HALOT 883 s.v. עָרוֹם. The term also occurs in vv. 3, 4.
[20:4] 49 tn Heb “lightly dressed and barefoot, and bare with respect to the buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt.”
[20:5] 50 tn Heb “and they will be afraid and embarrassed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their beauty.”
[20:6] 51 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[20:6] 52 sn This probably refers to the coastal region of Philistia (cf. TEV).
[21:1] 53 sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.
[21:1] 54 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
[21:2] 55 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
[21:2] 56 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
[21:3] 57 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
[21:3] 58 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
[21:4] 59 tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”
[21:4] 60 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
[21:5] 61 tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).
[21:5] 62 tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.
[21:5] 63 sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.
[21:6] 64 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:7] 65 tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”
[21:8] 66 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] 67 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).
[21:9] 68 tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
[21:9] 69 tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).
[21:10] 70 tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
[21:11] 71 tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.
[21:11] 72 sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.
[21:11] 73 sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.
[21:12] 74 sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.
[21:12] 75 sn The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”
[21:16] 76 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:16] 77 tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.
[21:17] 78 tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”
[21:17] 79 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[22:1] 80 sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).
[22:1] 81 tn Heb “What to you, then?”
[22:2] 82 tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.
[22:2] 83 sn Apparently they died from starvation during the siege that preceded the final conquest of the city. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:409.
[22:3] 84 tn Verse 3 reads literally, “All your leaders ran away, apart from a bow they were captured, all your found ones were captured together, to a distant place they fled.” J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:403, n. 3) suggests that the lines of the verse are arranged chiastically; lines 1 and 4 go together, while lines 2 and 3 are parallel. To translate the lines in the order they appear in the Hebrew text is misleading to the English reader, who is likely unfamiliar with, or at least insensitive to, chiastic parallelism. Consequently, the translation above arranges the lines as follows: line 1 (Hebrew) = line 1 (in translation); line 2 (Hebrew) = line 4 (in translation); line 3 (Hebrew) = line 3 (in translation); line 4 (Hebrew) = line 2 (in translation).
[22:3] 85 tn Heb “all your found ones.” To achieve tighter parallelism (see “your leaders”) some prefer to emend the form to אַמִּיצַיִךְ (’ammitsayikh, “your strong ones”) or to נֶאֱמָצַיִךְ (ne’ematsayikh, “your strengthened ones”).
[22:3] 86 tn Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”
[22:4] 87 tn Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
[22:4] 88 tn Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).
[22:4] 89 tn Heb “the daughter of my people.” “Daughter” is here used metaphorically to express the speaker’s emotional attachment to his people, as well as their vulnerability and weakness.
[22:5] 90 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[22:5] 91 tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[22:5] 92 tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.
[22:5] 93 tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.
[22:5] 94 sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.
[22:6] 95 tn Heb “[with] the chariots of men, horsemen.”
[22:6] 96 sn A distant region in the direction of Mesopotamia; see Amos 1:5; 9:7.
[22:6] 97 tn Heb “Kir uncovers” (so NAB, NIV).
[22:6] 98 sn The Elamites and men of Kir may here symbolize a fierce army from a distant land. If this oracle anticipates a Babylonian conquest of the city (see 39:5-7), then the Elamites and men of Kir are perhaps viewed here as mercenaries in the Babylonian army. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:410.
[22:7] 99 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[22:7] 100 tn Heb “taking a stand, take their stand.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. The translation attempts to bring out this emphasis with the adverb “confidently.”
[22:8] 101 tn Heb “he,” i.e., the enemy invader. NASB, by its capitalization of the pronoun, takes this to refer to the Lord.
[22:8] 103 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of v. 12.
[22:8] 104 sn Perhaps this refers to a royal armory, or to Solomon’s “House of the Forest of Lebanon,” where weapons may have been kept (see 1 Kgs 10:16-17).
[22:9] 105 tn Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”
[22:10] 106 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:10] 107 tn Heb “you demolished the houses to fortify the wall.”
[22:11] 108 tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”
[22:11] 109 tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.
[22:11] 110 tn Heb “did not see.”
[22:12] 111 tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.
[22:13] 112 tn Heb “happiness and joy.”
[22:13] 113 tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.
[22:14] 114 tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[22:14] 115 tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.
[22:15] 116 tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”
[22:15] 117 tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[22:16] 118 tn Heb “What to you here? And who to you here?” The point of the second question is not entirely clear. The interpretation reflected in the translation is based on the following context, which suggests that Shebna has no right to think of himself so highly and arrange such an extravagant burial place for himself.
[22:16] 119 tn Heb “that you chisel out.”
[22:17] 120 tn Heb “will throw you with a throwing.”
[22:17] 121 tn Heb “O man” (so NASB); NAB “mortal man”; NRSV “my fellow.”
[22:17] 122 tn Heb “and the one who wraps you [will] wrap.”
[22:18] 123 tn Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”
[22:18] 124 tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”
[22:18] 125 sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.
[22:19] 126 tn Heb “I will push you away from.”
[22:19] 127 tn Heb “he will throw you down.” The shift from the first to third person is peculiar and abrupt, but certainly not unprecedented in Hebrew poetry. See GKC 462 §144.p. The third person may be indefinite (“one will throw you down”), in which case the passive translation is justified.
[22:20] 128 tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[22:21] 129 tn Heb “and your dominion I will place in his hand.”
[22:21] 130 tn Heb “a father to.” The Hebrew term אָב (’av, “father”) is here used metaphorically of one who protects and supports those under his care and authority, like a father does his family. For another example of this metaphorical use of the word, see Job 29:16.
[22:22] 132 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.
[22:23] 133 sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.
[22:23] 134 tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”
[22:24] 135 tn Heb “and all the glory of the house of his father they will hang on him.” The Lord returns to the peg metaphor of v. 23a. Eliakim’s secure position of honor will bring benefits and jobs to many others in the family.
[22:24] 136 tn The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”
[22:24] 137 tn Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.
[22:25] 138 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[22:25] 139 sn Eliakim’s authority, though seemingly secure, will eventually be removed, and with it his family’s prominence.
[22:25] 140 tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[23:1] 141 tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
[23:1] 142 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for it is destroyed, from a house, from entering.” The translation assumes that the mem (מ) on בַּיִת (bayit) was originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. This assumption allows one to take בַּיִת as the subject of the preceding verb. It is used in a metaphorical sense for the port city of Tyre. The preposition min (מִן) prefixed to בּוֹא (bo’) indicates negative consequence: “so that no one can enter.” See BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b.
[23:1] 143 tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.
[23:2] 144 tn Or “keep quiet”; NAB “Silence!”
[23:2] 145 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[23:3] 146 tc The Hebrew text (23:2b-3a) reads literally, “merchant of Sidon, the one who crosses the sea, they filled you, and on the deep waters.” Instead of מִלְאוּךְ (mil’ukh, “they filled you”) the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads מלאכיך (“your messengers”). The translation assumes an emendation of מִלְאוּךְ to מַלְאָכָו (mal’akhav, “his messengers”), taking the vav (ו) on וּבְמַיִם (uvÿmayim) as improperly placed; instead it should be the final letter of the preceding word.
[23:3] 147 tn Heb “seed of Shihor.” “Shihor” probably refers to the east branch of the Nile. See Jer 2:18 and BDB 1009 s.v. שִׁיחוֹר.
[23:3] 148 tn Heb “the harvest of the Nile.”
[23:3] 149 tn Heb “[is] her revenue.”
[23:3] 150 tn Heb “merchandise”; KJV, ASV “a mart of nations”; NLT “the merchandise mart of the world.”
[23:4] 151 tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.
[23:4] 152 tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).
[23:4] sn The sea is personified here as a lamenting childless woman. The foreboding language anticipates the following announcement of Tyre’s demise, viewed here as a child of the sea, as it were.
[23:5] 153 tn Heb “they will be in pain at the report of Tyre.”
[23:7] 154 tn Heb “Is this to you, boisterous one?” The pronoun “you” is masculine plural, like the imperatives in v. 6, so it is likely addressed to the Egyptians and residents of the coast. “Boisterous one” is a feminine singular form, probably referring to the personified city of Tyre.
[23:7] 155 tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”
[23:8] 156 tn The precise meaning of הַמַּעֲטִירָה (hamma’atirah) is uncertain. The form is a Hiphil participle from עָטַר (’atar), a denominative verb derived from עֲטָרָה (’atarah, “crown, wreath”). The participle may mean “one who wears a crown” or “one who distributes crowns.” In either case, Tyre’s prominence in the international political arena is in view.
[23:8] 157 tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”
[23:9] 158 tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”
[23:10] 159 tc This meaning of this verse is unclear. The Hebrew text reads literally, “Cross over your land, like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish, there is no more waistband.” The translation assumes an emendation of מֵזַח (mezakh, “waistband”) to מָחֹז (makhoz, “harbor, marketplace”; see Ps 107:30). The term עָבַר (’avar, “cross over”) is probably used here of traveling over the water (as in v. 6). The command is addressed to personified Tarshish, who here represents her merchants. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has עבדי (“work, cultivate”) instead of עִבְרִי (’ivri, “cross over”). In this case one might translate “Cultivate your land, like they do the Nile region” (cf. NIV, CEV). The point would be that the people of Tarshish should turn to agriculture because they will no longer be able to get what they need through the marketplace in Tyre.
[23:11] 160 tn Heb “his hand he stretched out over the sea.”
[23:11] 161 tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.
[23:11] 162 tn Heb “concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.” NIV, NLT translate “Canaan” as “Phoenicia” here.
[23:12] 163 tn Or “violated, raped,” the point being that Daughter Sidon has lost her virginity in the most brutal manner possible.
[23:12] 164 tn Heb “[to the] Kittim, get up, cross over; even there there will be no rest for you.” On “Kittim” see the note on “Cyprus” at v. 1.
[23:13] 165 tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”
[23:13] 166 tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.
[23:13] 167 tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.
[23:13] 168 sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.
[23:14] 169 tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” See the note at v. 1.
[23:15] 170 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.
[23:15] 171 sn The number seventy is probably used in a stereotypical, nonliteral sense here to indicate a long period of time that satisfies completely the demands of God’s judgment.
[23:15] 172 tn Heb “like the days of a king.”
[23:15] 173 tn Heb “At the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute.”
[23:16] 174 tn Heb “so you will be remembered.”
[23:17] 175 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[23:17] 176 tn Heb “visit [with favor]” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “will deal with.”
[23:17] 177 tn Heb “and she will return to her [prostitute’s] wages and engage in prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the earth.”
[23:18] 178 tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”
[23:18] sn The point of this verse, which in its blatant nationalism comes precariously close to comparing the Lord to one who controls or manages a prostitute, is that Tyre will become a subject of Israel and her God. Tyre’s commercial profits will be used to enrich the Lord’s people.
[24:2] 179 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
[24:2] 180 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
[24:2] 181 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
[24:2] 182 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
[24:2] 183 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
[24:2] 184 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
[24:3] 185 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
[24:4] 186 tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (erets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37;12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).
[24:4] 187 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.
[24:4] 188 tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (mÿrom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (mÿrome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.
[24:5] 189 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
[24:5] 190 sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.
[24:5] 191 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
[24:5] 192 tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”
[24:5] sn For a lengthy discussion of the identity of this covenant/treaty, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In this context, where judgment comes upon both the pagan nations and God’s covenant community, the phrase “permanent treaty” is intentionally ambiguous. For the nations this treaty is the Noahic mandate of Gen 9:1-7 with its specific stipulations and central regulation (Gen 9:7). By shedding blood, the warlike nations violated this treaty, which promotes population growth and prohibits murder. For Israel, which was also guilty of bloodshed (see Isa 1:15, 21; 4:4), this “permanent treaty” would refer more specifically to the Mosaic Law and its regulations prohibiting murder (Exod 20:13; Num 35:6-34), which are an extension of the Noahic mandate.
[24:6] 193 sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.
[24:6] 194 tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).
[24:6] 195 tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).
[24:6] 196 tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”
[24:7] 197 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.
[24:8] 198 tn Heb “the joy” (again later in this verse).
[24:9] 199 tn Heb “with a song they do not drink wine.”
[24:10] 200 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
[24:10] 201 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
[24:11] 202 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
[24:11] 203 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
[24:11] 204 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
[24:12] 205 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
[24:12] 206 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
[24:13] 207 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
[24:13] 208 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
[24:14] 209 sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.
[24:14] 210 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
[24:15] 211 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).
[24:15] 212 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
[24:15] 213 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
[24:16] 214 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
[24:16] 215 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
[24:16] 216 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
[24:16] 217 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”
[24:16] tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away…”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.
[24:17] 218 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
[24:18] 219 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:18] 220 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
[24:18] 221 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
[24:19] 222 tn Once more repetition is used to draw attention to a statement. In the Hebrew text each lines ends with אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”). Each line also uses a Hitpolel verb form from a geminate root preceded by an emphatic infinitive absolute.
[24:20] 223 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
[24:20] 224 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[24:21] 225 tn Or “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.
[24:21] 226 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
[24:21] 227 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/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).
[24:22] 228 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
[24:22] 229 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
[24:22] 230 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”
[24:23] 231 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
[24:23] 232 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
[24:23] 233 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
[24:23] 234 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
[24:23] 235 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:23] 236 tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”
[25:1] 237 sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
[25:1] 238 tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
[25:1] 239 tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.
[25:2] 240 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[25:2] 241 tn The Hebrew text has “you have made from the city.” The prefixed mem (מ) on עִיר (’ir, “city”) was probably originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:456, n. 3.
[25:2] 242 tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”).
[25:3] 243 tn The Hebrew text has a singular form, but it should be emended to a plural or eliminated altogether. The noun may have been accidentally copied from the preceding verse.
[25:4] 244 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.”
[25:4] 245 tc The Hebrew text has, “like a rainstorm of a wall,” which might be interpreted to mean, “like a rainstorm battering against a wall.” The translation assumes an emendation of קִיר (qir, “wall”) to קֹר (qor, “cold, winter”; cf. Gen 8:22). See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:457, n. 6, for discussion.
[25:5] 246 tn Or “drought” (TEV).
[25:5] 247 tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”
[25:5] 248 tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”
[25:5] 249 tn The translation assumes that the verb יַעֲנֶה (ya’aneh) is a Hiphil imperfect from עָנָה (’anah, “be afflicted, humiliated”). In this context with “song” as object it means to “quiet” (see HALOT 853-54 s.v. II ענה). Some prefer to emend the form to the second person singular, so that it will agree with the second person verb earlier in the verse. BDB 776 s.v. III עָנָה Qal.1 understands the form as Qal, with “song” as subject, in which case one might translate “the song of tyrants will be silent.” An emendation of the form to a Niphal (יֵעָנֶה, ye’aneh) would yield the same translation.
[25:6] 250 sn That is, Mount Zion (see 24:23); cf. TEV; NLT “In Jerusalem.”
[25:6] 251 tn Heb “And the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will make for all the nations on this mountain a banquet of meats, a banquet of wine dregs, meats filled with marrow, dregs that are filtered.”
[25:7] 252 tn The Hebrew text reads, “the face of the shroud, the shroud over all the nations.” Some emend the second הַלּוֹט (hallot) to a passive participle הַלּוּט (hallut, “that is wrapped”).
[25:7] 253 sn The point of the imagery is unclear. Perhaps the shroud/covering referred to was associated with death in some way (see v. 8).
[25:8] 254 sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.
[25:8] 255 tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[25:9] 256 tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
[25:9] 257 tn Heb “this [one].”
[25:9] 258 tn Heb “this [one].”
[25:10] 259 tn Heb “for the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain”; TEV “will protect Mount Zion”; NCV “will protect (rest on NLT) Jerusalem.”
[25:10] 260 tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”
[25:10] 261 tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”).
[25:11] 262 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:11] 263 tn The antecedent of the third masculine singular pronominal suffix is probably the masculine noun מַתְבֵּן (matben, “heap of straw”) in v. 10 rather than the feminine noun מַדְמֵנָה (madmenah, “manure pile”), also in v. 10.
[25:11] 264 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:11] 265 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:11] 266 tn The Hebrew text has, “he will bring down his pride along with the [?] of his hands.” The meaning of אָרְבּוֹת (’arbot), which occurs only here in the OT, is unknown. Some (see BDB 70 s.v. אָרְבָּה) translate “artifice, cleverness,” relating the form to the verbal root אָרָב (’arav, “to lie in wait, ambush”), but this requires some convoluted semantic reasoning. HALOT 83 s.v. *אָרְבָּה suggests the meaning “[nimble] movements.” The translation above, which attempts to relate the form to the preceding context, is purely speculative.
[25:12] 267 sn Moab is addressed.
[25:12] 268 tn Heb “a fortification, the high point of your walls.”
[25:12] 269 tn Heb “he will bring [it] down, he will make [it] touch the ground, even to the dust.”
[26:1] 270 tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).
[26:1] 271 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:1] 272 tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”
[26:3] 273 tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.
[26:4] 274 tn Or “forevermore.” For other uses of the phrase עֲדֵי־עַד (’ade-’ad) see Isa 65:18 and Pss 83:17; 92:7.
[26:4] 275 tc The Hebrew text has “for in Yah, the Lord, an everlasting rock.” Some have suggested that the phrase בְּיָהּ (beyah, “in Yah”) is the result of dittography. A scribe seeing כִּי יְהוָה (ki yÿhvah) in his original text would somehow have confused the letters and accidentally inserted בְּיָהּ between the words (bet and kaf [ב and כ] can be confused in later script phases). A number of English versions retain both divine names for emphasis (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). One of the Qumran texts (1QIsaa) confirms the MT reading as well.
[26:5] 276 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[26:5] 277 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.
[26:7] 278 sn The literary structure of chap. 26 is not entirely clear. The chapter begins with an eschatological song of praise and ends with a lament and prophetic response (vv. 16-21). It is not certain where the song of praise ends or how vv. 7-15 fit into the structure. Verses 10-11a seem to lament the presence of evil and v. 11b anticipates the arrival of judgment, so it is possible that vv. 7-15 are a prelude to the lament and announcement that conclude the chapter.
[26:7] 279 tc The Hebrew text has, “upright, the path of the righteous you make level.” There are three possible ways to translate this line. Some take יָשָׁר (yashar) as a divine title: “O Upright One” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). Others regard יָשָׁר as the result of dittography (מֵישָׁרִים יָשָׁר ַמעְגַּל, mesharim yashar ma’gal) and do not include it in the translation. Another possibility is to keep יָשָׁר and render the line as “the path of the righteous that you prepare is straight.”
[26:7] sn The metaphor of a level/smooth road/path may refer to their morally upright manner of life (see v. 8a), but verse 7b, which attributes the smooth path to the Lord, suggests that the Lord’s vindication and blessing may be the reality behind the metaphor here.
[26:8] 280 tn The Hebrew text has, “yes, the way of your judgments.” The translation assumes that “way” is related to the verb “we wait” as an adverbial accusative (“in the way of your judgments we wait”). מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ (mishpatekha, “your judgments”) could refer to the Lord’s commandments, in which case one might translate, “as we obey your commands.” However, in verse 9 the same form refers to divine acts of judgment on evildoers.
[26:8] 281 tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”
[26:9] 282 tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).
[26:9] 283 tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).
[26:9] 284 tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).
[26:10] 285 tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”
[26:10] 286 tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”
[26:11] 287 tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”
[26:11] 288 tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”
[26:11] 289 tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”
[26:12] 290 tn Heb “O Lord, you establish peace for us.”
[26:12] 291 tc Some suggest emending גַּם כָּל (gam kol, “even all”) to כִּגְמֻל (kigmul, “according to the deed[s] of”) One might then translate “for according to what our deeds deserve, you have acted on our behalf.” Nevertheless, accepting the MT as it stands, the prophet affirms that Yahweh deserved all the credit for anything Israel had accomplished.
[26:14] 292 sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.
[26:14] 293 tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen) normally indicates a cause-effect relationship between what precedes and follows and is translated, “therefore.” Here, however, it infers the cause from the effect and brings out what is implicit in the previous statement. See BDB 487 s.v.
[26:14] 294 tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”
[26:15] 295 tn Heb “you have added to the nation.” The last line of the verse suggests that geographical expansion is in view. “The nation” is Judah.
[26:15] 296 tn Or “brought honor to yourself.”
[26:16] 297 tn The meaning of this verse is unclear. It appears to read literally, “O Lord, in distress they visit you, they pour out [?] an incantation, your discipline to them.” פָּקַד (paqad) may here carry the sense of “seek with interest” (cf. Ezek 23:21 and BDB 823 s.v.) or “seek in vain” (cf. Isa 34:16), but it is peculiar for the Lord to be the object of this verb. צָקוּן (tsaqun) may be a Qal perfect third plural form from צוּק (tsuq, “pour out, melt”), though the verb is not used of pouring out words in its two other occurrences. Because of the appearance of צַר (tsar, “distress”) in the preceding line, it is tempting to emend the form to a noun and derive it from צוּק (“be in distress”) The term לַחַשׁ (lakhash) elsewhere refers to an incantation (Isa 3:3; Jer 8:17; Eccl 10:11) or amulet (Isa 3:20). Perhaps here it refers to ritualistic prayers or to magical incantations used to ward off evil.
[26:18] 298 tn On the use of כְּמוֹ (kÿmo, “like, as”) here, see BDB 455 s.v. Israel’s distress and suffering, likened here to the pains of childbirth, seemed to be for no purpose. A woman in labor endures pain with the hope that a child will be born; in Israel’s case no such positive outcome was apparent. The nation was like a woman who strains to bring forth a child, but can’t push the baby through to daylight. All her effort produces nothing.
[26:18] 299 tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the world do not fall.” The term נָפַל (nafal) apparently means here, “be born,” though the Qal form of the verb is not used with this nuance anywhere else in the OT. (The Hiphil appears to be used in the sense of “give birth” in v. 19, however.) The implication of verse 18b seems to be that Israel hoped its suffering would somehow end in deliverance and an increase in population. The phrase “inhabitants of the world” seems to refer to the human race in general, but the next verse, which focuses on Israel’s dead, suggests the referent may be more limited.
[26:19] 300 sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.
[26:19] 301 tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[26:19] 302 tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.
[26:19] 303 sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).
[26:20] 304 tn Heb “until anger passes by.”
[26:21] 305 tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).
[26:21] 306 sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.
[27:1] 307 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[27:1] 308 tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”
[27:1] 309 tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”
[27:1] 310 tn The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon (Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַנִּין [tannin, translated “sea monster” here]) vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling (Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן [’aqallaton, translated “squirming” here]) serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14).” (See CTA 3 iii 38-39.) (2) “for all that you smote Leviathan the slippery (Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ [bariakh, translated “fast-moving” here]) serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5 i 1-3.)
[27:1] sn In the Ugaritic mythological texts Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and in turn the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. Isaiah here applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Elsewhere in the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (cf. Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the chaos waters is related to His kingship (cf. Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea.
[27:2] 311 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[27:2] 312 tn Heb “vineyard of delight,” or “vineyard of beauty.” Many medieval
[27:3] 313 tn Heb “her.” Apparently “vineyard” is the antecedent, though normally this noun is understood as masculine (see Lev 25:3, however).
[27:3] 314 tn Or perhaps, “constantly.” Heb “by moments.”
[27:3] 315 tn Heb “lest [someone] visit [harm] upon it, night and day I guard it.”
[27:4] 316 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense. For other examples of a cohortative expressing resolve after a hypothetical statement introduced by נָתַן with מִי (miwith natan), see Judg 9:29; Jer 9:1-2; Ps 55:6.
[27:4] 317 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.
[27:5] 318 tn Heb “or let him take hold of my refuge.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is uncertain. Apparently the symbolic “thorns and briers” are in view, though in v. 4b a feminine singular pronoun was used to refer to them.
[27:5] 319 tc The Hebrew text has, “he makes peace with me, peace he makes with me.” Some contend that two alternative readings are preserved here and one should be deleted. The first has the object שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) preceding the verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “make”); the second reverses the order. Another option is to retain both statements, although repetitive, to emphasize the need to make peace with Yahweh.
[27:6] 320 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).
[27:6] 321 tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[27:6] 322 sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.
[27:7] 323 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Like the striking down of the one striking him down does he strike him down?” The meaning of the text is unclear, but this may be a rhetorical question, suggesting that Israel has not experienced divine judgment to the same degree as her oppressors. In this case “the one striking down” refers to Israel’s oppressors, while the pronoun “him” refers to Israel. The subject of the final verb (“does he strike down”) would then be God, while the pronoun “him” would again refer to Israel.
[27:7] 324 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Or like the killing of his killed ones is he killed?” If one accepts the interpretation of the parallel line outlined in the previous note, then this line too would contain a rhetorical question suggesting that Israel has not experienced destruction to the same degree as its enemies. In this case “his killed ones” refers to the one who struck Israel down, and Israel would be the subject of the final verb (“is he killed”).
[27:8] 325 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “in [?], in sending her away, you oppose her.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The form בְּסַאסְּאָה (bÿsa’ssÿ’ah) is taken as an infinitive from סַאסְּאָה (sa’ssÿ’ah) with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. (The MT does not have a mappiq in the final he [ה], however). According to HALOT 738 s.v. סַאסְּאָה the verb is a Palpel form from an otherwise unattested root cognate with an Arabic verb meaning “to gather beasts with a call.” Perhaps it means “to call, summon” here, but this is a very tentative proposal. בְּשַׁלְחָהּ (bÿshalkhah, “in sending her away”) appears to be a Piel infinitive with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. Since the Piel of שָׁלָח (shalakh) can sometimes mean “divorce” (HALOT 1514-15 s.v.) and the following verb רִיב (riv, “oppose”) can be used in legal contexts, it is possible that divorce proceedings are alluded to here. This may explain why Israel is referred to as feminine in this verse, in contrast to the masculine forms used in vv. 6-7 and 9.
[27:8] 326 tn The Hebrew text has no object expressed, but one can understand a third feminine singular pronominal object and place a mappiq in the final he (ה) of the form to indicate the suffix.
[27:8] 327 sn The “east wind” here symbolizes violent divine judgment.
[27:9] 328 tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”
[27:9] 329 tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a corruption of לְכַפֵּר (lekhaper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).
[27:9] 330 tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.
[27:9] 331 sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.
[27:10] 332 sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.
[27:10] 333 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
[27:10] 334 tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.
[27:11] 335 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[27:11] 336 tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.
[27:11] 337 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
[27:12] 338 tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[27:12] 339 tn Heb “the Lord will beat out.” The verb is used of beating seeds or grain to separate the husk from the kernel (see Judg 6:11; Ruth 2:17; Isa 28:27), and of beating the olives off the olive tree (Deut 24:20). The latter metaphor may be in view here, where a tree metaphor has been employed in the preceding verses. See also 17:6.
[27:12] 340 tn Heb “the river,” a frequent designation in the OT for the Euphrates. For clarity most modern English versions substitute the name “Euphrates” for “the river” here.
[27:12] 341 sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).
[27:13] 342 tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[27:13] 343 tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”
[27:13] 344 tn Or “the ones perishing.”
[27:13] 345 tn Or “the ones driven into.”
[27:13] 346 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[28:1] 347 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] 348 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] 349 tn Heb “which [is].”
[28:1] 350 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] 351 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[28:2] 352 tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”
[28:2] 353 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”
[28:2] 354 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”
[28:2] 355 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] 356 tn Or “by [his] power.”
[28:4] 357 tn Heb “which the one seeing sees, while still it is in his hand he swallows it.”
[28:5] 358 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[28:6] 359 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] 360 tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.
[28:7] 361 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] 362 tn Heb “in the seeing.”
[28:7] 363 tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”
[28:8] 364 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] 365 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:9] 366 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] 367 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] 368 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] 369 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] 370 tn Heb “who said to them.”
[28:12] 371 sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.
[28:13] 372 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] 373 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] 374 sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.
[28:14] 375 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[28:15] 376 sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.
[28:15] 377 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] 378 tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).
[28:15] 379 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] 380 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] 381 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
[28:16] 382 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] 383 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
[28:17] 384 tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.
[28:18] 385 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] 386 tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.
[28:18] 387 tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).
[28:18] 388 tn See the note at v. 15.
[28:18] 389 tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”
[28:19] 390 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[28:19] 391 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] 392 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] 393 sn This probably alludes to David’s victory over the Philistines at Baal Perazim. See 2 Sam 5:20.
[28:21] 394 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] 395 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] 396 tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).
[28:23] 397 tn Heb “to my voice.”
[28:23] 398 tn Heb “to my word”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “hear my speech.”
[28:24] 399 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] 400 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] 401 tn Heb “he teaches him the proper way, his God instructs him.”
[28:27] 402 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB).
[28:27] 403 sn Both of these seeds are too small to use the ordinary threshing techniques.
[28:29] 404 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] 405 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] 406 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] 407 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] 408 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] 409 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] 410 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] 411 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
[29:4] 412 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
[29:4] 413 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] 414 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] 415 tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”
[29:6] 416 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] 417 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
[29:8] 418 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
[29:9] 419 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] 420 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] 421 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] 422 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] 423 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] 424 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[29:11] 425 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
[29:12] 426 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
[29:12] 427 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
[29:13] 428 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[29:13] 429 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
[29:13] 430 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
[29:13] 431 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] 432 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
[29:14] 433 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] 434 tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”
[29:15] 435 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] 436 tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”
[29:15] 437 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
[29:16] 438 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] 439 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] 440 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
[29:17] 441 tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
[29:17] 442 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] 443 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[29:18] 444 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] 445 tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).
[29:19] 446 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[29:20] 447 tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”
[29:21] 448 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] 449 sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
[29:21] 450 tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
[29:22] 451 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] 452 tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
[29:23] 453 tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
[29:23] 454 tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”
[29:23] 455 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] 456 tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”
[29:24] 457 tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”
[29:24] 458 tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”
[30:1] 459 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
[30:1] 460 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
[30:1] 461 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
[30:1] 462 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] 463 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
[30:2] 464 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
[30:2] 465 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
[30:4] 466 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
[30:4] 467 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] 468 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
[30:6] 469 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
[30:6] 470 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] 471 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
[30:6] 472 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:6] 473 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
[30:7] 474 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
[30:7] 475 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] 476 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] 477 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] 478 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
[30:8] 479 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] 480 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
[30:10] 481 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:10] 482 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
[30:10] 483 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
[30:11] 484 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
[30:11] 485 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[30:12] 486 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[30:12] 487 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
[30:12] 488 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
[30:13] 489 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] 490 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] 491 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:14] 492 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
[30:14] 493 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
[30:15] 494 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] 495 tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).
[30:17] 496 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] 497 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
[30:17] 498 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[30:18] 499 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] 500 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
[30:19] 501 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[30:19] 502 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] 503 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
[30:20] 504 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[30:20] 505 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”
[30:20] 506 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] 507 tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:21] 508 tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:22] 509 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
[30:22] 510 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
[30:23] 511 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] 512 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[30:24] 513 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
[30:24] 514 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
[30:25] 515 tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).
[30:26] 516 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] 517 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] 518 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] 519 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] 520 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] 521 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] 522 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] 523 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] 524 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] 525 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] 526 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
[30:30] 527 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
[30:30] 528 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
[30:31] 529 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
[30:32] 530 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] 531 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
[30:32] 532 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
[30:32] 533 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] 535 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] 536 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] 537 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] 538 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
[31:1] 539 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
[31:1] 540 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
[31:1] 541 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[31:2] 542 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] 543 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
[31:2] 544 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
[31:2] 546 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
[31:3] 547 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
[31:3] 548 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
[31:4] 549 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] 550 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] 551 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] 552 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:5] 553 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:5] 554 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] 555 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] 556 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[31:7] 557 tn Heb “reject” (so NIV); NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT “throw away.”
[31:7] 558 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] 559 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 560 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 561 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[31:9] 562 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
[31:9] 563 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
[31:9] 564 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
[31:9] 565 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] 566 tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”
[32:1] 567 tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”
[32:2] 568 tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.
[32:3] 569 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
[32:3] 570 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] 571 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
[32:4] 572 tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”
[32:6] 573 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
[32:6] 574 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
[32:6] 575 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
[32:6] 576 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
[32:6] 577 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
[32:7] 578 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
[32:7] 579 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
[32:7] 580 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
[32:8] 581 tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”
[32:9] 582 tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”
[32:9] 583 tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”
[32:10] 584 tn Heb “days upon a year.”
[32:10] 585 tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.
[32:11] 586 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] 587 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] 588 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 589 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] 590 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 591 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 592 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] 593 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] 594 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[32:15] 595 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] 596 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] 597 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] 598 tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”
[32:17] 599 tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”
[32:18] 600 tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”
[32:19] 601 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] 602 tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”
[32:20] 603 tn Heb “by all the waters.”
[32:20] 604 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] 605 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] 606 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] 607 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] 608 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] 609 tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
[33:3] 610 tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
[33:3] 611 tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
[33:4] 612 tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.
[33:4] 613 tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
[33:4] 614 tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
[33:5] 615 tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
[33:5] 616 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).
[33:5] 617 tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
[33:6] 618 tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
[33:6] 619 tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
[33:6] 620 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
[33:7] 621 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] 622 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
[33:8] 623 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
[33:8] 624 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
[33:8] 625 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
[33:8] 626 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] 627 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
[33:9] 628 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
[33:9] 629 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] 630 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] 631 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
[33:9] 632 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
[33:9] 633 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
[33:9] 634 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
[33:10] 635 tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
[33:11] 636 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] 637 sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
[33:12] 638 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
[33:14] 639 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
[33:14] 640 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
[33:14] 641 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[33:14] 642 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:15] 643 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
[33:15] 644 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
[33:15] 645 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
[33:15] 646 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
[33:15] 647 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
[33:16] 648 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
[33:16] 649 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
[33:17] 650 tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
[33:17] 651 tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
[33:18] 652 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
[33:18] 653 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[33:18] 654 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] 655 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] 656 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] 657 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] 658 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:20] 659 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:20] 660 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
[33:21] 661 tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
[33:21] 662 tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
[33:21] 663 tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
[33:21] 664 tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
[33:23] 665 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] 666 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] 667 tn Or perhaps, “flag.”
[33:23] 668 tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
[33:23] 669 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] 670 tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
