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 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ³  The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. ⁴ 

In earlier times he ⁵  humiliated

the land of Zebulun,

and the land of Naphtali; ⁶ 

but now he brings honor ⁷ 

to the way of the sea,

the region beyond the Jordan,

and Galilee of the nations. ⁸ 

Yesaya 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ⁹ 

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. ¹⁰ 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

Yesaya 66:19-20

66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ¹¹  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ¹²  Lud ¹³  (known for its archers ¹⁴ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹⁵  and to the distant coastlands ¹⁶  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen ¹⁷  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ¹⁸  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ¹⁹  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

[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.

[9:1]  ³ sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) the chapter division comes one verse later than in the English Bible; 9:1 (8:23 HT). Thus 9:2-21 in the English Bible = 9:1-20 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads, “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her.” The feminine singular pronominal suffix “her” must refer to the land (cf. vv. 22a, 23b). So one could translate, “Indeed there will be no gloom for the land which was anxious.” In this case the statement introduces the positive message to follow. Some assume an emendation of לֹא (lo’, “no”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and of לָהּ (lah, “to her”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”), yielding this literal reading: “indeed there is gloom for him, for the one to whom there was anxiety for him.” In this case the statement concludes the preceding description of judgment.

[9:1]  ⁵ tn The Lord must be understood as the subject of the two verbs in this verse.

[9:1]  ⁶ sn The statement probably alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Israel in ca. 734-733 b.c., when Tiglath-pileser III annexed much of Israel’s territory and reduced Samaria to a puppet state.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn Heb Just as in earlier times he humiliated…, [in] the latter times he has brought honor.” The main verbs in vv. 1b-4 are Hebrew perfects. The prophet takes his rhetorical stance in the future age of restoration and describes future events as if they have already occurred. To capture the dramatic effect of the original text, the translation uses the English present or present perfect.

[9:1]  ⁸ sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733 b.c. The “way of the sea” is the province of Dor, along the Mediterranean coast, the “region beyond the Jordan” is the province of Gilead in Transjordan, and “Galilee of the nations” (a title that alludes to how the territory had been overrun by foreigners) is the province of Megiddo located west of the Sea of Galilee. See Y. Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 374.

[29:8]  ⁹ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”

[66:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ¹² tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ¹³ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ¹⁵ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[66:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

[66:20]  ¹⁸ tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[66:20]  ¹⁹ tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.