Yesaya 2:4

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ¹ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ² 

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Yesaya 3:14

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ³  “It is you ⁴  who have ruined ⁵  the vineyard! ⁶ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁷ 

Yesaya 19:11

19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; ⁸ 

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?” ⁹ 

[2:4]  ¹ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[2:4]  ² sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.

[3:14]  ³ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ⁵ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ⁶ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

[19:11]  ⁸ tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”

[19:11]  ⁹ 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.