Yesaya 20:1--40:31
Konteks20:1 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. 1 20:2 At that time the Lord announced through 2 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 3 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. 4 20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. 5 20:6 At that time 6 those who live on this coast 7 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: 8
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 9
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
21:2 I have received a distressing message: 10
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!” 11
21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; 12
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed 13 by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
I shake in fear; 15
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
21:5 Arrange the table,
lay out 16 the carpet,
eat and drink! 17
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields! 18
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master 19 has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
21:7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses, 20
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
21:8 Then the guard 21 cries out:
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, 22
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.” 23
When questioned, he replies, 24
“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, 25
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: 26
Someone calls to me from Seir, 27
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?” 28
21:12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night. 29
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.” 30
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 31 has told me: “Within exactly one year 32 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” 33 Indeed, 34 the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: 35
What is the reason 36
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. 37
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle. 38
22:3 39 All your leaders ran away together –
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees 40 were captured together –
they were captured without a single arrow being shot. 41
22:4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me! 42
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try 43 to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” 44
22:5 For the sovereign master, 45 the Lord who commands armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. 46
In the Valley of Vision 47 people shout 48
and cry out to the hill. 49
22:6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen; 50
the men of Kir 51 prepared 52 the shield. 53
22:7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots; 54
horsemen confidently took their positions 55 at the gate.
22:8 They 56 removed the defenses 57 of Judah.
At that time 58 you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest. 59
22:9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the city of David; 60
you stored up water in the lower pool.
22:10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem, 61
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall. 62
22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool –
but you did not trust in 63 the one who made it; 64
you did not depend on 65 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. 66
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! 67
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 68
22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 69 “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” 70 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, 71 and tell him: 72
22:16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? 73
Why 74 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, 75 you mere man! 76
He will wrap you up tightly. 77
22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land. 78
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots, 79
which bring disgrace to the house of your master. 80
22:19 I will remove you from 81 your office;
you will be thrown down 82 from your position.
22:20 “At that time 83 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. 84 He will become a protector of 85 the residents of Jerusalem and of the people 86 of Judah. 22:22 I will place the key 87 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; 88 he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. 89 22:24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, 90 including the offspring and the offshoots. 91 All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.’ 92
22:25 “At that time,” 93 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.” 94 Indeed, 95 the Lord has spoken.
23:1 Here is a message about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships, 96
for the port is too devastated to enter! 97
From the land of Cyprus 98 this news is announced to them.
23:2 Lament, 99 you residents of the coast,
you merchants of Sidon 100 who travel over the sea,
whose agents sail over 23:3 the deep waters! 101
Grain from the Shihor region, 102
crops grown near the Nile 103 she receives; 104
she is the trade center 105 of the nations.
23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea 106 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.” 107
23:5 When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre. 108
23:6 Travel to Tarshish!
Wail, you residents of the coast!
23:7 Is this really your boisterous city 109
whose origins are in the distant past, 110
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
23:8 Who planned this for royal Tyre, 111
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the dignitaries 112 of the earth?
23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –
to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, 113
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. 114
23:11 The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea, 115
he shook kingdoms;
he 116 gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses. 117
23:12 He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed 118 virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.” 119
23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
these people who have lost their identity! 120
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers, 121
demolished 122 its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins. 123
23:14 Wail, you large ships, 124
for your fortress is destroyed!
23:15 At that time 125 Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, 126 the typical life span of a king. 127 At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: 128
23:16 “Take the harp,
go through the city,
forgotten prostitute!
Play it well,
play lots of songs,
so you’ll be noticed!” 129
23:17 At the end of seventy years 130 the Lord will revive 131 Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms. 132 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. 133
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, 134
the master as well as the servant, 135
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 136
the seller as well as the buyer, 137
the borrower as well as the lender, 138
the creditor as well as the debtor. 139
24:3 The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment. 140
24:4 The earth 141 dries up 142 and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth 143 fade away.
24:5 The earth is defiled by 144 its inhabitants, 145
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation, 146
and broken the permanent treaty. 147
24:6 So a treaty curse 148 devours the earth;
its inhabitants pay for their guilt. 149
This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, 150
and are reduced to just a handful of people. 151
24:7 The new wine dries up,
the vines shrivel up,
all those who like to celebrate 152 groan.
24:8 The happy sound 153 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; 154
the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
24:10 The ruined town 155 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 156
24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 157
all joy turns to sorrow; 158
celebrations disappear from the earth. 159
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 160
the gate is reduced to rubble. 161
24:13 This is what will happen throughout 162 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. 163
24:14 They 164 lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise 165 the majesty of the Lord in the west.
24:15 So in the east 166 extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol 167 the fame 168 of the Lord God of Israel.
24:16 From the ends of the earth we 169 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 170
But I 171 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 172
24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 173
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 174
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 175 are opened up 176
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. 177
24:20 The earth will stagger around 178 like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. 179
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.
24:21 At that time 180 the Lord will punish 181
the heavenly forces in the heavens 182
and the earthly kings on the earth.
24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, 183
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time, 184 they will be punished. 185
24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 186
the bright sun 187 will be darkened; 188
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 189
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 190
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 191
25:1 O Lord, you are my God! 192
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. 193
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. 194
25:2 Indeed, 195 you have made the city 196 into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners 197 is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
25:3 So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of 198 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 199 is like a winter rainstorm, 200
25:5 like heat 201 in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners. 202
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, 203
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease. 204
25:6 The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. 205
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine –
tender meat and choicest wine. 206
25:7 On this mountain he will swallow up
the shroud that is over all the peoples, 207
the woven covering that is over all the nations; 208
25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. 209
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! 210
25:9 At that time they will say, 211
“Look, here 212 is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here 213 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. 214
Moab will be trampled down where it stands, 215
as a heap of straw is trampled down in 216 a manure pile.
25:11 Moab 217 will spread out its hands in the middle of it, 218
just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim;
the Lord 219 will bring down Moab’s 220 pride as it spreads its hands. 221
25:12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your 222 walls) 223 he will knock down,
he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground. 224
26:1 At that time 225 this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s 226 deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. 227
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. 228
26:4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward, 229
even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector! 230
26:5 Indeed, 231 the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,
he brings down an elevated town;
he brings it down to the ground, 232
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.”
26:7 233 The way of the righteous is level,
the path of the righteous that you make is straight. 234
26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, 235
O Lord, we wait for you.
We desire your fame and reputation to grow. 236
26:9 I 237 look for 238 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. 239
26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice. 240
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; 241
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, 242
but they don’t even notice.
They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, 243
yes, fire will consume your enemies. 244
26:12 O Lord, you make us secure, 245
for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us. 246
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. 247
That is because 248 you came in judgment 249 and destroyed them,
you wiped out all memory of them.
26:15 You have made the nation larger, 250 O Lord,
you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor, 251
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. 252
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. 253
We cannot produce deliverance on the earth;
people to populate the world are not born. 254
26:19 255 Your dead will come back to life;
your corpses will rise up.
Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! 256
For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, 257
and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. 258
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! 259
26:21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, 260
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. 261
27:1 At that time 262 the Lord will punish
with his destructive, 263 great, and powerful sword
Leviathan the fast-moving 264 serpent,
Leviathan the squirming serpent;
he will kill the sea monster. 265
27:2 When that time comes, 266
sing about a delightful vineyard! 267
27:3 I, the Lord, protect it; 268
I water it regularly. 269
I guard it night and day,
so no one can harm it. 270
27:4 I am not angry.
I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!
Then I would march against them 271 for battle;
I would set them 272 all on fire,
27:5 unless they became my subjects 273
and made peace with me;
let them make peace with me. 274
27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; 275
Israel will blossom and grow branches.
The produce 276 will fill the surface of the world. 277
27:7 Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors? 278
Has Israel been killed like their enemies? 279
27:8 When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; 280
he drives her away 281 with his strong wind in the day of the east wind. 282
27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, 283
and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: 284
They will make all the stones of the altars 285
like crushed limestone,
and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. 286
27:10 For the fortified city 287 is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves 288 graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare. 289
27:11 When its branches get brittle, 290 they break;
women come and use them for kindling. 291
For these people lack understanding, 292
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 293 the Lord will shake the tree, 294 from the Euphrates River 295 to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. 296 27:13 At that time 297 a large 298 trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost 299 in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in 300 the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. 301
28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, 302
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, 303
situated 304 at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine. 305
28:2 Look, the sovereign master 306 sends a strong, powerful one. 307
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, 308
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, 309
he will knock that crown 310 to the ground with his hand. 311
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. 312
28:5 At that time 313 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. 314
28:7 Even these men 315 stagger because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer –
priests and prophets stagger because of beer,
they are confused 316 because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer;
they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, 317
they totter while making legal decisions. 318
28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;
no place is untouched. 319
28:9 Who is the Lord 320 trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining a message? 321
Those just weaned from milk!
Those just taken from their mother’s breast! 322
28:10 Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there. 323
28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people. 324
28:12 In the past he said to them, 325
“This is where security can be found.
Provide security for the one who is exhausted!
This is where rest can be found.” 326
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. 327
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, 328
and be injured, ensnared, and captured. 329
28:14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word,
you who mock,
you rulers of these people
who reside in Jerusalem! 330
28:15 For you say,
“We have made a treaty with death,
with Sheol 331 we have made an agreement. 332
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by 333
it will not reach us.
For we have made a lie our refuge,
we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 334
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 335 a stone in Zion,
an approved 336 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 337
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 338
28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,
fairness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, 339
the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; 340
your agreement 341 with Sheol will not last. 342
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, 343
you will be overrun by it. 344
28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, 345 every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.” 346
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. 347
28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, 348
he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, 349
to accomplish his work,
his peculiar work,
to perform his task,
his strange task. 350
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. 351
28:23 Pay attention and listen to my message! 352
Be attentive and listen to what I have to say! 353
28:24 Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? 354
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? 355
28:26 His God instructs him;
he teaches him the principles of agriculture. 356
28:27 Certainly 357 caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. 358
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. 359
29:1 Ariel is as good as dead 360 –
Ariel, the town David besieged! 361
Keep observing your annual rituals,
celebrate your festivals on schedule. 362
29:2 I will threaten Ariel,
and she will mourn intensely
and become like an altar hearth 363 before me.
29:3 I will lay siege to you on all sides; 364
I will besiege you with troops; 365
I will raise siege works against you.
29:4 You will fall;
while lying on the ground 366 you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. 367
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; 368
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. 369
29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,
the horde of tyrants 370 like chaff that is blown away.
It will happen suddenly, in a flash.
29:6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, 371
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. 372
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. 373
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
29:9 You will be shocked and amazed! 374
You are totally blind! 375
They are drunk, 376 but not because of wine;
they stagger, 377 but not because of beer.
29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you
a strong urge to sleep deeply. 378
He has shut your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation 379 is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read 380 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 381 and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” 382
29:13 The sovereign master 383 says,
“These people say they are loyal to me; 384
they say wonderful things about me, 385
but they are not really loyal to me. 386
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual. 387
29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –
an absolutely extraordinary deed. 388
Wise men will have nothing to say,
the sages will have no explanations.” 389
29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, 390
who do their work in secret and boast, 391
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” 392
29:16 Your thinking is perverse! 393
Should the potter be regarded as clay? 394
Should the thing made say 395 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 396
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 397
29:18 At that time 398 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. 399
29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight 400 in the Holy One of Israel. 401
29:20 For tyrants will disappear,
those who taunt will vanish,
and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated 402 –
29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, 403
who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate 404
and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. 405
29:22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: 406
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;
their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. 407
29:23 For when they see their children,
whom I will produce among them, 408
they will honor 409 my name.
They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; 410
they will respect 411 the God of Israel.
29:24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding; 412
those who complain will acquire insight. 413
30:1 “The rebellious 414 children are as good as dead,” 415 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 416
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 417
and thereby compound their sin. 418
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 419
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 420
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 421 officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 422
30:5 all will be put to shame 423
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 424 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 425
by snakes and darting adders, 426
they transport 427 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 428
30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping. 429
For this reason I call her
‘Proud one 430 who is silenced.’” 431
30:8 Now go, write it 432 down on a tablet in their presence, 433
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness. 434
30:9 For these are rebellious people –
they are lying children,
children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law. 435
30:10 They 436 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 437
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 438
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 439
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 440
30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected this message; 441
you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, 442
and rely on that kind of behavior. 443
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. 444
30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,
so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. 445
Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough 446
to scoop a hot coal from a fire 447
or to skim off water from a cistern.” 448
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; 449
if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, 450
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; 451
at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, 452
until the remaining few are as isolated 453
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. 454
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 455
30:19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem 456 you will weep no more. 457
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you. 458
30:20 The sovereign master 459 will give you distress to eat
and suffering to drink; 460
but your teachers will no longer be hidden;
your eyes will see them. 461
30:21 You 462 will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
“This is the correct 463 way, walk in it,”
whether you are heading to the right or the left.
30:22 You will desecrate your silver-plated idols 464
and your gold-plated images. 465
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. 466
At that time 467 your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing 468
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. 469
30:25 On every high mountain
and every high hill
there will be streams flowing with water,
at the time of 470 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, 471
when the Lord binds up his people’s fractured bones 472
and heals their severe wound. 473
30:27 Look, the name 474 of the Lord comes from a distant place
in raging anger and awesome splendor. 475
He speaks angrily
and his word is like destructive fire. 476
30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river 477
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; 478
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. 479
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. 480
30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout 481
and intervene in power, 482
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, 483
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
30:31 Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; 484
he will beat them with a club.
30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, 485
with which the Lord will beat them, 486
will be accompanied by music from the 487 tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons. 488
30:33 For 489 the burial place is already prepared; 490
it has been made deep and wide for the king. 491
The firewood is piled high on it. 492
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, 493
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 494
and in their many, many horsemen. 495
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 496
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 497 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 498
He will attack the wicked nation, 499
and the nation that helps 500 those who commit sin. 501
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 502 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 503
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. 504
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 505
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 506
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 507
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 508
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 509 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 510 31:7 For at that time 511 everyone will get rid of 512 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 513
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 514
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 515
They will run away from this sword 516
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 517 because of fear; 518
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 519
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 520
32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 521
officials will promote justice. 522
32:2 Each of them 523 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 524 will no longer be blind 525
and ears 526 will be attentive.
32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment 527
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; 528
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 529
He commits godless deeds 530
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 531
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 532
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 533
he dreams up evil plans 534
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 535
32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security. 536
32:9 You complacent 537 women,
get up and listen to me!
You carefree 538 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
you carefree ones will shake with fear,
for the grape 540 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! 541
32:12 Mourn over the field, 542
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 543 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 544
in the city filled with revelry. 545
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 546 city is abandoned.
Hill 547 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 548
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 549
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 550
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 551
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 552
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 553
and result in lasting security. 554
32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 555
32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed 556
and the city is annihilated, 557
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 558
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 559
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 560
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 561
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 562 deceiving, others will deceive you!
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning! 563
Deliver us when distress comes. 564
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; 565
the nations scatter when you spring into action! 566
33:4 Your plunder 567 disappears as if locusts were eating it; 568
they swarm over it like locusts! 569
indeed, 571 he lives in heaven; 572
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; 573
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; 574
he gives all this to those who fear him. 575
33:7 Look, ambassadors 576 cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace 577 weep bitterly.
there are no travelers. 579
Treaties are broken, 580
witnesses are despised, 581
human life is treated with disrespect. 582
33:9 The land 583 dries up 584 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 585 and decays.
Sharon 586 is like the desert; 587
Bashan and Carmel 588 are parched. 589
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself. 590
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you. 592
33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 593
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 594 grips the godless. 595
They say, 596 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 597 fire?’
33:15 The one who lives 598 uprightly 599
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 600
the one who does not plot violent crimes 601
and does not seek to harm others 602 –
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 603
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 604
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; 605
you will see a wide land. 606
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 607
and you will ask yourselves, 608 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 609
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant 610 people
whose language you do not comprehend, 611
whose derisive speech you do not understand. 612
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You 613 will see Jerusalem, 614
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 615
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. 616
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; 617
no war galley will enter; 618
no large ships will sail through. 619
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, 620
the mast is not secured, 621
and the sail 622 is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; 623
even the lame will drag off plunder. 624
33:24 No resident of Zion 625 will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!
Pay attention, you people!
The earth and everything it contains must listen,
the world and everything that lives in it. 626
34:2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations
and furious with all their armies.
He will annihilate them and slaughter them.
34:3 Their slain will be left unburied, 627
their corpses will stink; 628
the hills will soak up their blood. 629
34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, 630
the sky will roll up like a scroll;
all its stars will wither,
like a leaf withers and falls from a vine
or a fig withers and falls from a tree. 631
34:5 He says, 632 “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. 633
Look, it now descends on Edom, 634
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 635 with fat;
it drips 636 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 637 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 638 in Bozrah, 639
a bloody 640 slaughter in the land of Edom.
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered 641 along with them,
as well as strong bulls. 642
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 643
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 644
34:9 Edom’s 645 streams will be turned into pitch
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
34:10 Night and day it will burn; 646
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland
and no one will ever pass through it again.
34:11 Owls and wild animals 647 will live there, 648
all kinds of wild birds 649 will settle in it.
The Lord 650 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 651 of destruction. 652
34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom
and all her officials will disappear. 653
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 654 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 655
34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; 656
wild goats will bleat to one another. 657
Yes, nocturnal animals 658 will rest there
and make for themselves a nest. 659
34:15 Owls 660 will make nests and lay eggs 661 there;
they will hatch them and protect them. 662
Yes, hawks 663 will gather there,
each with its mate.
34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! 664
Not one of these creatures will be missing, 665
none will lack a mate. 666
For the Lord has issued the decree, 667
and his own spirit gathers them. 668
34:17 He assigns them their allotment; 669
he measures out their assigned place. 670
They will live there 671 permanently;
they will settle in it through successive generations.
35:1 Let the desert and dry region be happy; 672
let the wilderness 673 rejoice and bloom like a lily!
let it rejoice and shout with delight! 675
It is given the grandeur 676 of Lebanon,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the grandeur of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,
steady the knees that shake! 677
35:4 Tell those who panic, 678
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge!
With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 679
35:5 Then blind eyes will open,
deaf ears will hear.
35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,
the mute tongue will shout for joy;
for water will flow 680 in the desert,
streams in the wilderness. 681
35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,
the parched ground springs of water.
Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,
grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.
35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –
it will be called the Way of Holiness. 682
The unclean will not travel on it;
it is reserved for those authorized to use it 683 –
fools 684 will not stray into it.
35:9 No lions will be there,
no ferocious wild animals will be on it 685 –
they will not be found there.
Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,
35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. 686
They will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them, 687
happiness and joy will overwhelm 688 them;
grief and suffering will disappear. 689
36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, 690 King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser 691 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 692 along with a large army. The chief adviser 693 stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 694 36:3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.
36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 695 36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 696 In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 36:6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ 36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 697 36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” 698
36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 699 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 700 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 701 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” 702
36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 703 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 704 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 705 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? 706 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 707 from my power? 708 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 709 36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief 710 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, 711 he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 712 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 713 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 714 and humiliation, 715 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 716 37:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 717 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 718 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 719
37:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 720 37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 721 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 722 with a sword in his own land.”’”
37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 723 37:9 The king 724 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia 725 was marching out to fight him. 726 He again sent 727 messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 37:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 728 Do you really think you will be rescued? 729 37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors 730 destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 731 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, 732 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter 733 from the messengers and read it. 734 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! 735 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 736 and the earth. 37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 737 37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations 738 and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, 739 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 740 37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” 741
37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 742 37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: 743
“The virgin daughter Zion 744
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 745
37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly? 746
At the Holy One of Israel! 747
37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 748
‘With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions, 749
its thickest woods.
37:25 I dug wells
and drank water. 750
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
37:26 751 Certainly you must have heard! 752
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned 753 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 754
37:27 Their residents are powerless; 755
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation. 756
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 757
when it is scorched by the east wind. 758
37:28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me. 759
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears, 760
I will put my hook in your nose, 761
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:30 762 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 763 This year you will eat what grows wild, 764 and next year 765 what grows on its own. But the year after that 766 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 767 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 768
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 769 will accomplish this.
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 770
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 771
nor will he build siege works against it.
37:34 He will go back the way he came –
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 772
37:36 The Lord’s messenger 773 went out and killed 185,000 troops 774 in the Assyrian camp. When they 775 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 776 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 777 37:38 One day, 778 as he was worshiping 779 in the temple of his god Nisroch, 780 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 781 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 782 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 38:2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 38:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you 783 faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, 784 and how I have carried out your will.” 785 Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 786
38:4 The Lord told Isaiah, 787 38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor 788 David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life, 38:6 and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 38:7 Isaiah replied, 789 “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 38:8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.” 790 And then the shadow went back ten steps. 791
38:9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:
‘In the middle of my life 793 I must walk through the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived 794 of the rest of my years.’
38:11 “I thought,
‘I will no longer see the Lord 795 in the land of the living,
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world. 796
38:12 My dwelling place 797 is removed and taken away 798 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 799
from the loom he cuts me off. 800
You turn day into night and end my life. 801
38:13 I cry out 802 until morning;
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life. 803
38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo 804 like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. 805
O sovereign master, 806 I am oppressed;
help me! 807
38:15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted. 808
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. 809
38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me. 810
Restore my health 811 and preserve my life.’
38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. 812
You delivered me 813 from the pit of oblivion. 814
For you removed all my sins from your sight. 815
38:18 Indeed 816 Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not 817 praise you.
Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me, 818
and we will celebrate with music 819
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” 820
38:21 821 Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 38:22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 39:2 Hezekiah welcomed 822 them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. 823 39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 39:4 Isaiah 824 asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 39:5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies: 39:6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors 825 have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 826 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 827 Then he thought, 828 “For 829 there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”
40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your 830 God.
40:2 “Speak kindly to 831 Jerusalem, 832 and tell her
that her time of warfare is over, 833
that her punishment is completed. 834
For the Lord has made her pay double 835 for all her sins.”
40:3 A voice cries out,
“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;
construct in the desert a road for our God.
40:4 Every valley must be elevated,
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
40:5 The splendor 836 of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people 837 will see it at the same time.
For 838 the Lord has decreed it.” 839
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks, 840 “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds: 841 “All people are like grass, 842
and all their promises 843 are like the flowers in the field.
40:7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord 844 blows on them.
Surely humanity 845 is like grass.
40:8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” 846
40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! 847
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; 848
his military power establishes his rule. 849
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him. 850
40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart; 851
he leads the ewes along.
40:12 Who has measured out the waters 852 in the hollow of his hand,
or carefully 853 measured the sky, 854
or carefully weighed 855 the soil of the earth,
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales? 856
40:13 Who comprehends 857 the mind 858 of the Lord,
or gives him instruction as his counselor? 859
40:14 From whom does he receive directions? 860
Who 861 teaches him the correct way to do things, 862
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design? 863
40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts 864 the coastlands 865 as if they were dust.
40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; 866
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings. 867
40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;
they are regarded as absolutely nothing. 868
40:18 To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
40:19 A craftsman casts 869 an idol;
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; 870
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make 871 an idol that will not fall over.
40:21 Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
40:22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; 872
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. 873
He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, 874
and spreads it out 875 like a pitched tent. 876
40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;
yes, they are barely sown;
yes, they barely take root in the earth,
and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,
and the wind carries them away like straw.
40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One. 877
Who created all these heavenly lights? 879
He is the one who leads out their ranks; 880
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me, 881
My God is not concerned with my vindication”? 882
40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth. 883
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom. 884
40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired;
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
40:30 Even youths get tired and weary;
even strong young men clumsily stumble. 885
40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help 886 find renewed strength;
they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, 887
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.
[20:1] 1 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] 2 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
[20:2] 3 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] 4 tn Heb “lightly dressed and barefoot, and bare with respect to the buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt.”
[20:5] 5 tn Heb “and they will be afraid and embarrassed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their beauty.”
[20:6] 6 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[20:6] 7 sn This probably refers to the coastal region of Philistia (cf. TEV).
[21:1] 8 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] 9 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
[21:2] 10 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
[21:2] 11 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
[21:3] 12 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
[21:3] 13 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
[21:4] 14 tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”
[21:4] 15 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
[21:5] 16 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] 17 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] 18 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] 19 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:7] 20 tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”
[21:8] 21 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] 22 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] 23 tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
[21:9] 24 tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).
[21:10] 25 tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
[21:11] 26 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] 27 sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.
[21:11] 28 sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.
[21:12] 29 sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.
[21:12] 30 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] 31 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:16] 32 tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.
[21:17] 33 tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”
[21:17] 34 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[22:1] 35 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] 36 tn Heb “What to you, then?”
[22:2] 37 tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.
[22:2] 38 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] 39 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] 40 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] 41 tn Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”
[22:4] 42 tn Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
[22:4] 43 tn Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).
[22:4] 44 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] 45 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[22:5] 46 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] 47 tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.
[22:5] 48 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] 49 sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.
[22:6] 50 tn Heb “[with] the chariots of men, horsemen.”
[22:6] 51 sn A distant region in the direction of Mesopotamia; see Amos 1:5; 9:7.
[22:6] 52 tn Heb “Kir uncovers” (so NAB, NIV).
[22:6] 53 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] 54 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] 55 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] 56 tn Heb “he,” i.e., the enemy invader. NASB, by its capitalization of the pronoun, takes this to refer to the Lord.
[22:8] 58 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of v. 12.
[22:8] 59 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] 60 tn Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”
[22:10] 61 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:10] 62 tn Heb “you demolished the houses to fortify the wall.”
[22:11] 63 tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”
[22:11] 64 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] 65 tn Heb “did not see.”
[22:12] 66 tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.
[22:13] 67 tn Heb “happiness and joy.”
[22:13] 68 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] 69 tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[22:14] 70 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] 71 tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”
[22:15] 72 tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[22:16] 73 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] 74 tn Heb “that you chisel out.”
[22:17] 75 tn Heb “will throw you with a throwing.”
[22:17] 76 tn Heb “O man” (so NASB); NAB “mortal man”; NRSV “my fellow.”
[22:17] 77 tn Heb “and the one who wraps you [will] wrap.”
[22:18] 78 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] 79 tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”
[22:18] 80 sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.
[22:19] 81 tn Heb “I will push you away from.”
[22:19] 82 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] 83 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] 84 tn Heb “and your dominion I will place in his hand.”
[22:21] 85 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] 87 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] 88 sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.
[22:23] 89 tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”
[22:24] 90 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] 91 tn The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”
[22:24] 92 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] 93 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[22:25] 94 sn Eliakim’s authority, though seemingly secure, will eventually be removed, and with it his family’s prominence.
[22:25] 95 tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[23:1] 96 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] 97 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] 98 tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.
[23:2] 99 tn Or “keep quiet”; NAB “Silence!”
[23:2] 100 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[23:3] 101 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] 102 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] 103 tn Heb “the harvest of the Nile.”
[23:3] 104 tn Heb “[is] her revenue.”
[23:3] 105 tn Heb “merchandise”; KJV, ASV “a mart of nations”; NLT “the merchandise mart of the world.”
[23:4] 106 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] 107 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] 108 tn Heb “they will be in pain at the report of Tyre.”
[23:7] 109 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] 110 tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”
[23:8] 111 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] 112 tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”
[23:9] 113 tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”
[23:10] 114 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] 115 tn Heb “his hand he stretched out over the sea.”
[23:11] 116 tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.
[23:11] 117 tn Heb “concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.” NIV, NLT translate “Canaan” as “Phoenicia” here.
[23:12] 118 tn Or “violated, raped,” the point being that Daughter Sidon has lost her virginity in the most brutal manner possible.
[23:12] 119 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] 120 tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”
[23:13] 121 tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.
[23:13] 122 tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.
[23:13] 123 sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.
[23:14] 124 tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” See the note at v. 1.
[23:15] 125 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] 126 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] 127 tn Heb “like the days of a king.”
[23:15] 128 tn Heb “At the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute.”
[23:16] 129 tn Heb “so you will be remembered.”
[23:17] 130 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] 131 tn Heb “visit [with favor]” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “will deal with.”
[23:17] 132 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] 133 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] 134 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
[24:2] 135 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
[24:2] 136 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
[24:2] 137 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
[24:2] 138 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
[24:2] 139 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
[24:3] 140 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
[24:4] 141 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] 142 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] 143 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] 144 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
[24:5] 145 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] 146 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
[24:5] 147 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] 148 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] 149 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] 150 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] 151 tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”
[24:7] 152 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.
[24:8] 153 tn Heb “the joy” (again later in this verse).
[24:9] 154 tn Heb “with a song they do not drink wine.”
[24:10] 155 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] 156 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
[24:11] 157 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
[24:11] 158 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
[24:11] 159 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
[24:12] 160 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
[24:12] 161 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
[24:13] 162 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
[24:13] 163 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
[24:14] 164 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] 165 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
[24:15] 166 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] 167 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
[24:15] 168 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
[24:16] 169 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] 170 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] 171 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
[24:16] 172 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] 173 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] 174 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] 175 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
[24:18] 176 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
[24:19] 177 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] 178 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
[24:20] 179 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[24:21] 180 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] 181 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
[24:21] 182 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] 183 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] 184 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
[24:22] 185 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] 186 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
[24:23] 187 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
[24:23] 188 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
[24:23] 189 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
[24:23] 190 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:23] 191 tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”
[25:1] 192 sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
[25:1] 193 tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
[25:1] 194 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] 195 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[25:2] 196 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] 197 tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”).
[25:3] 198 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] 199 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.”
[25:4] 200 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] 201 tn Or “drought” (TEV).
[25:5] 202 tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”
[25:5] 203 tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”
[25:5] 204 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] 205 sn That is, Mount Zion (see 24:23); cf. TEV; NLT “In Jerusalem.”
[25:6] 206 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] 207 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] 208 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] 209 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] 210 tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[25:9] 211 tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
[25:9] 212 tn Heb “this [one].”
[25:9] 213 tn Heb “this [one].”
[25:10] 214 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] 215 tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”
[25:10] 216 tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”).
[25:11] 217 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:11] 218 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] 219 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:11] 220 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:11] 221 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] 222 sn Moab is addressed.
[25:12] 223 tn Heb “a fortification, the high point of your walls.”
[25:12] 224 tn Heb “he will bring [it] down, he will make [it] touch the ground, even to the dust.”
[26:1] 225 tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).
[26:1] 226 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:1] 227 tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”
[26:3] 228 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] 229 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] 230 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] 231 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[26:5] 232 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] 233 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] 234 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] 235 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] 236 tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”
[26:9] 237 tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).
[26:9] 238 tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).
[26:9] 239 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] 240 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] 241 tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”
[26:11] 242 tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”
[26:11] 243 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] 244 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] 245 tn Heb “O Lord, you establish peace for us.”
[26:12] 246 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] 247 sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.
[26:14] 248 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] 249 tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”
[26:15] 250 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] 251 tn Or “brought honor to yourself.”
[26:16] 252 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] 253 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] 254 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] 255 sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.
[26:19] 256 tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[26:19] 257 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] 258 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] 259 tn Heb “until anger passes by.”
[26:21] 260 tn Heb “out of his place” (so KJV, ASV).
[26:21] 261 sn This implies that rampant bloodshed is one of the reasons for divine judgment. See the note at 24:5.
[27:1] 262 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[27:1] 263 tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”
[27:1] 264 tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”
[27:1] 265 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] 266 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[27:2] 267 tn Heb “vineyard of delight,” or “vineyard of beauty.” Many medieval
[27:3] 268 tn Heb “her.” Apparently “vineyard” is the antecedent, though normally this noun is understood as masculine (see Lev 25:3, however).
[27:3] 269 tn Or perhaps, “constantly.” Heb “by moments.”
[27:3] 270 tn Heb “lest [someone] visit [harm] upon it, night and day I guard it.”
[27:4] 271 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] 272 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.
[27:5] 273 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] 274 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] 275 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] 276 tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[27:6] 277 sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.
[27:7] 278 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] 279 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] 280 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] 281 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] 282 sn The “east wind” here symbolizes violent divine judgment.
[27:9] 283 tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”
[27:9] 284 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] 285 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] 286 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] 287 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] 288 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
[27:10] 289 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] 290 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[27:11] 291 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] 292 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
[27:12] 293 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] 294 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] 295 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] 296 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] 297 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] 298 tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”
[27:13] 299 tn Or “the ones perishing.”
[27:13] 300 tn Or “the ones driven into.”
[27:13] 301 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[28:1] 302 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] 303 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] 304 tn Heb “which [is].”
[28:1] 305 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] 306 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[28:2] 307 tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”
[28:2] 308 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”
[28:2] 309 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”
[28:2] 310 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] 311 tn Or “by [his] power.”
[28:4] 312 tn Heb “which the one seeing sees, while still it is in his hand he swallows it.”
[28:5] 313 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[28:6] 314 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] 315 tn Heb “these.” The demonstrative pronoun anticipates “priests and prophets” two lines later.
[28:7] 316 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] 317 tn Heb “in the seeing.”
[28:7] 318 tn Heb “[in] giving a decision.”
[28:8] 319 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] 320 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[28:9] 321 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] 322 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] 323 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] 324 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] 325 tn Heb “who said to them.”
[28:12] 326 sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.
[28:13] 327 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] 328 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] 329 sn When divine warnings and appeals become gibberish to the spiritually insensitive, they have no guidance and are doomed to destruction.
[28:14] 330 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[28:15] 331 sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.
[28:15] 332 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] 333 tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).
[28:15] 334 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] 335 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] 336 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
[28:16] 337 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] 338 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
[28:17] 339 tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.
[28:18] 340 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] 341 tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.
[28:18] 342 tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).
[28:18] 343 tn See the note at v. 15.
[28:18] 344 tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”
[28:19] 345 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[28:19] 346 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] 347 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] 348 sn This probably alludes to David’s victory over the Philistines at Baal Perazim. See 2 Sam 5:20.
[28:21] 349 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] 350 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] 351 tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).
[28:23] 352 tn Heb “to my voice.”
[28:23] 353 tn Heb “to my word”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “hear my speech.”
[28:24] 354 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] 355 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] 356 tn Heb “he teaches him the proper way, his God instructs him.”
[28:27] 357 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB).
[28:27] 358 sn Both of these seeds are too small to use the ordinary threshing techniques.
[28:29] 359 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] 360 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] 361 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] 362 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] 363 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] 364 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] 365 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] 366 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
[29:4] 367 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
[29:4] 368 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] 369 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] 370 tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”
[29:6] 371 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] 372 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
[29:8] 373 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
[29:9] 374 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] 375 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] 376 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] 377 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] 378 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] 379 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[29:11] 380 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
[29:12] 381 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
[29:12] 382 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
[29:13] 383 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[29:13] 384 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
[29:13] 385 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
[29:13] 386 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] 387 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
[29:14] 388 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] 389 tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”
[29:15] 390 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] 391 tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”
[29:15] 392 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
[29:16] 393 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] 394 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] 395 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
[29:17] 396 tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
[29:17] 397 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] 398 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[29:18] 399 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] 400 tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).
[29:19] 401 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[29:20] 402 tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”
[29:21] 403 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] 404 sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
[29:21] 405 tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
[29:22] 406 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] 407 tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
[29:23] 408 tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
[29:23] 409 tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”
[29:23] 410 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] 411 tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”
[29:24] 412 tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”
[29:24] 413 tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”
[30:1] 414 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
[30:1] 415 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
[30:1] 416 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
[30:1] 417 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] 418 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
[30:2] 419 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
[30:2] 420 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
[30:4] 421 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
[30:4] 422 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] 423 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
[30:6] 424 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
[30:6] 425 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] 426 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
[30:6] 427 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:6] 428 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
[30:7] 429 tn Heb “As for Egypt, with vanity and emptiness they help.”
[30:7] 430 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] 431 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] 432 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] 433 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
[30:8] 434 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] 435 tn Or perhaps, “instruction” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NCV, TEV “teachings.”
[30:10] 436 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:10] 437 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
[30:10] 438 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
[30:11] 439 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
[30:11] 440 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[30:12] 441 tn The sentence actually begins with the word “because.” In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[30:12] 442 tn Heb “and you trust in oppression and cunning.”
[30:12] 443 tn Heb “and you lean on it”; NAB “and depend on it.”
[30:13] 444 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] 445 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] 446 tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:14] 447 tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”
[30:14] 448 tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.
[30:15] 449 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] 450 tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).
[30:17] 451 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] 452 tn Heb “from before [or “because of”] the battle cry of five you will flee.
[30:17] 453 tn Heb “until you are left” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[30:18] 454 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] 455 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
[30:19] 456 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[30:19] 457 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] 458 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
[30:20] 459 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[30:20] 460 tn Heb “and the Master will give to you bread – distress, and water – oppression.”
[30:20] 461 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] 462 tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[30:21] 463 tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:22] 464 tn Heb “the platings of your silver idols.”
[30:22] 465 tn Heb “the covering of your gold image.”
[30:23] 466 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] 467 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[30:24] 468 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
[30:24] 469 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
[30:25] 470 tn Or “in the day of” (KJV).
[30:26] 471 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] 472 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] 473 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] 474 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] 475 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] 476 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] 477 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] 478 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] 479 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] 480 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] 481 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
[30:30] 482 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
[30:30] 483 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
[30:31] 484 tn Heb “Indeed by the voice of the Lord Assyria will be shattered.”
[30:32] 485 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] 486 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
[30:32] 487 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
[30:32] 488 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] 490 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] 491 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] 492 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] 493 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
[31:1] 494 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
[31:1] 495 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
[31:1] 496 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[31:2] 497 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] 498 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
[31:2] 499 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
[31:2] 501 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
[31:3] 502 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
[31:3] 503 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
[31:4] 504 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] 505 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] 506 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] 507 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:5] 508 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:5] 509 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] 510 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] 511 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[31:7] 512 tn Heb “reject” (so NIV); NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT “throw away.”
[31:7] 513 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] 514 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 515 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 516 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[31:9] 517 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
[31:9] 518 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
[31:9] 519 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
[31:9] 520 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] 521 tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”
[32:1] 522 tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”
[32:2] 523 tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.
[32:3] 524 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
[32:3] 525 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] 526 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
[32:4] 527 tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”
[32:6] 528 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
[32:6] 529 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
[32:6] 530 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
[32:6] 531 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
[32:6] 532 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
[32:7] 533 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
[32:7] 534 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
[32:7] 535 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
[32:8] 536 tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”
[32:9] 537 tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”
[32:9] 538 tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”
[32:10] 539 tn Heb “days upon a year.”
[32:10] 540 tn Or perhaps, “olive.” See 24:13.
[32:11] 541 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] 542 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] 543 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 544 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] 545 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 546 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 547 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] 548 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] 549 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[32:15] 550 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] 551 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] 552 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] 553 tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”
[32:17] 554 tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”
[32:18] 555 tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”
[32:19] 556 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] 557 tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”
[32:20] 558 tn Heb “by all the waters.”
[32:20] 559 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] 560 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] 561 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] 562 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] 563 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] 564 tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
[33:3] 565 tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
[33:3] 566 tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
[33:4] 567 tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.
[33:4] 568 tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
[33:4] 569 tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
[33:5] 570 tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
[33:5] 571 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).
[33:5] 572 tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
[33:6] 573 tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
[33:6] 574 tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
[33:6] 575 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
[33:7] 576 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] 577 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
[33:8] 578 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
[33:8] 579 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
[33:8] 580 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
[33:8] 581 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] 582 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
[33:9] 583 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
[33:9] 584 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] 585 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] 586 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
[33:9] 587 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
[33:9] 588 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
[33:9] 589 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
[33:10] 590 tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
[33:11] 591 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] 592 sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
[33:12] 593 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
[33:14] 594 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
[33:14] 595 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
[33:14] 596 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[33:14] 597 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:15] 598 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
[33:15] 599 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
[33:15] 600 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
[33:15] 601 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
[33:15] 602 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
[33:16] 603 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
[33:16] 604 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
[33:17] 605 tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
[33:17] 606 tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
[33:18] 607 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
[33:18] 608 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[33:18] 609 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] 610 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] 611 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] 612 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] 613 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:20] 614 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:20] 615 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
[33:21] 616 tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
[33:21] 617 tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
[33:21] 618 tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
[33:21] 619 tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
[33:23] 620 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] 621 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] 622 tn Or perhaps, “flag.”
[33:23] 623 tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
[33:23] 624 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] 625 tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[34:1] 626 tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”
[34:3] 627 tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”
[34:3] 628 tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”
[34:3] 629 tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”
[34:4] 630 tc Heb “and all the host of heaven will rot.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa inserts “and the valleys will be split open,” but this reading may be influenced by Mic 1:4. On the other hand, the statement, if original, could have been omitted by homoioarcton, a scribe’s eye jumping from the conjunction prefixed to “the valleys” to the conjunction prefixed to the verb “rot.”
[34:4] 631 tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”
[34:5] 632 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
[34:5] 633 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”
[34:5] sn In v. 4 the “host of the 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). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.
[34:5] 634 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
[34:6] 635 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
[34:6] 636 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 637 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 638 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
[34:6] 639 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
[34:6] 640 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[34:7] 641 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
[34:7] 642 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
[34:8] 643 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
[34:8] 644 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
[34:9] 645 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:10] 646 tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
[34:11] 647 tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
[34:11] 648 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
[34:11] 649 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
[34:11] 650 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:11] 651 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
[34:11] 652 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
[34:12] 653 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
[34:13] 654 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:13] 655 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
[34:14] 656 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
[34:14] 657 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
[34:14] 658 tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”
[34:14] 659 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
[34:15] 660 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
[34:15] 661 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
[34:15] 662 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
[34:15] 663 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
[34:16] 664 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”
[34:16] sn It is uncertain what particular scroll is referred to here. Perhaps the phrase simply refers to this prophecy and is an admonition to pay close attention to the details of the message.
[34:16] 665 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:16] 666 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
[34:16] 667 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and a few medieval
[34:16] 668 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 669 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
[34:17] 670 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
[34:17] 671 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
[35:1] 672 tn The final mem (ם) on the verb יְשֻׂשׂוּם (yÿsusum) is dittographic (note the initial mem on the following noun מִדְבָּר [midbar]). The ambiguous verbal form is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel). The jussive is used rhetorically here, not as a literal command or prayer.
[35:1] 673 tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); NAB, NIV, TEV “desert.”
[35:2] 674 tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).
[35:2] 675 tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).
[35:2] 676 tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.
[35:3] 677 tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”
[35:4] 678 tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.
[35:4] 679 tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.
[35:6] 680 tn Heb “burst forth” (so NAB); KJV “break out.”
[35:6] 681 tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT “desert.”
[35:8] 682 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.
[35:8] 683 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.
[35:8] 684 tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.
[35:9] 685 tn Heb “will go up on it”; TEV “will pass that way.”
[35:10] 686 tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”
[35:10] 687 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
[35:10] 688 tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”
[35:10] 689 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
[36:1] 690 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[36:2] 691 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[36:2] 692 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:2] 693 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[36:2] 694 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[36:4] 695 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[36:5] 696 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[36:9] 697 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[36:10] 698 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[36:11] 699 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
[36:11] 700 tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”
[36:12] 701 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[36:12] 702 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[36:12] sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
[36:13] 703 tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
[36:16] 704 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[36:18] 705 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[36:19] 706 tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[36:19] 707 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[36:19] 708 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
[36:20] 709 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
[36:22] 710 tn Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning.
[37:1] 711 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[37:2] 712 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
[37:3] 713 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
[37:3] 714 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
[37:3] 715 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
[37:3] 716 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[37:4] 717 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:4] 718 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
[37:4] 719 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[37:6] 720 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[37:7] 721 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
[37:7] 722 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
[37:8] 723 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
[37:9] 724 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:9] 725 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
[37:9] 726 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
[37:9] 727 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
[37:11] 728 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[37:11] 729 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[37:12] 730 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
[37:12] 731 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[37:13] 732 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[37:14] 733 tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).
[37:14] 734 tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).
[37:16] 735 sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
[37:16] 736 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[37:17] 737 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:18] 738 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
[37:19] 739 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[37:19] 740 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
[37:20] 741 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
[37:21] 742 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”
[37:22] 743 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
[37:22] 744 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[37:22] 745 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[37:23] 746 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”
[37:23] 747 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[37:24] 748 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[37:24] 749 tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”
[37:25] 750 tc The Hebrew text has simply, “I dug and drank water.” But the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:24 has “foreign waters.” זָרִים (zarim, “foreign”) may have accidentally dropped out of the Isaianic text by homoioteleuton (cf. NCV, NIV, NLT). Note that the preceding word, מַיִם (mayim, “water) also ends in mem (ם). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has “foreign waters” for this line. However, in several other passages the 1QIsaa scroll harmonizes with 2 Kgs 19 against the MT (Isa 36:5; 37:9, 20). Since the addition of “foreign” to this text in Isaiah by a later scribe would be more likely than its deletion, the MT reading should be accepted.
[37:26] 751 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[37:26] 752 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
[37:26] 753 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
[37:26] 754 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
[37:27] 755 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
[37:27] 756 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[37:27] 757 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[37:27] 758 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.
[37:28] 759 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.
[37:29] 760 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).
[37:29] 761 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[37:30] 762 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
[37:30] 763 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[37:30] 764 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[37:30] 765 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
[37:30] 766 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
[37:30] 767 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
[37:31] 768 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[37:32] 769 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.
[37:33] 770 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
[37:33] 771 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[37:35] 772 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[37:36] 773 tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[37:36] 774 tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
[37:36] 775 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[37:36] 776 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”
[37:37] 777 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[37:38] 778 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
[37:38] 779 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[37:38] 780 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
[37:38] 781 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
[38:1] 782 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying”; NRSV “became sick and was at the point of death.”
[38:3] 783 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
[38:3] 784 tn Heb “and with a complete heart”; KJV, ASV “with a perfect heart.”
[38:3] 785 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
[38:3] 786 tn Heb “wept with great weeping”; NCV “cried loudly”; TEV “began to cry bitterly.”
[38:4] 787 tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying.”
[38:5] 788 tn Heb “father” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).
[38:7] 789 tn The words “Isaiah replied” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the present form of the Hebrew text v. 7 is joined directly to v. 6, but vv. 21-22, if original to Isaiah 38, must be inserted here. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
[38:8] 790 tn Heb “the shadow on the steps which [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, with the sun, back ten steps.”
[38:8] sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
[38:8] 791 tn Heb “and the sun returned ten steps on the steps which it had gone down.”
[38:10] 792 tn Or “I said” (KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[38:10] 793 tn The precise meaning of the phrase בִּדְמִי יָמַי (bidmi yamay, “in the [?] of my days”) is uncertain. According to HALOT 226 s.v. דְּמִי this word is a hapax legomenon meaning “half.” Others derive the form from דַּמִי (dami, “quiet, rest, peacefulness”).
[38:10] 794 tn The precise meaning of the verb is uncertain. The Pual of of פָּקַד (paqad) occurs only here and in Exod 38:21, where it appears to mean “passed in review” or “mustered.” Perhaps the idea is, “I have been called away for the remainder of my years.” To bring out the sense more clearly, one can translate, “I am deprived of the rest of my years.”
[38:11] 795 tn The Hebrew text has יָהּ יָהּ (yah yah, the abbreviated form of יְהוָה [yÿhvah] repeated), but this is probably a corruption of יְהוָה.
[38:11] 796 tc The Hebrew text has חָדֶל (khadel), which appears to be derived from a verbal root meaning “to cease, refrain.” But the form has probably suffered an error of transmission; the original form (attested in a few medieval Hebrew
[38:12] 797 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
[38:12] 798 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
[38:12] 799 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
[38:12] 800 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
[38:12] 801 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
[38:13] 802 tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Piel from שָׁוַה (shavah). There are two homonyms שָׁוַה, one meaning in the Piel “level, smooth out,” the other “set, place.” Neither fits in v. 13. It is likely that the original reading was שִׁוַּעְתִּי (shivva’ti, “I cry out”) from the verbal root שָׁוַע (shava’), which occurs exclusively in the Piel.
[38:13] 803 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
[38:14] 804 tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”
[38:14] 805 tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”
[38:14] 806 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[38:14] 807 tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.
[38:15] 808 tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”
[38:15] 809 tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”
[38:16] 810 tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”
[38:16] 811 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.
[38:17] 812 tn Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”
[38:17] 813 tc The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).
[38:17] 814 tn בְּלִי (bÿli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”
[38:17] 815 tn Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”
[38:18] 816 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[38:18] 817 tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.
[38:20] 818 tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate that an action is imminent. See GKC 348-49 §114.i, and IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.
[38:20] 819 tn Heb “and music [or perhaps, “stringed instruments”] we will play.”
[38:20] 820 tn Heb “all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.”
[38:20] sn Note that vv. 21-22 have been placed between vv. 6-7, where they logically belong. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
[38:21] 821 tc If original to Isaiah 38, vv. 21-22 have obviously been misplaced in the course of the text’s transmission, and would most naturally be placed here, between Isa 38:6 and 38:7. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8, where these verses are placed at this point in the narrative, not at the end. Another possibility is that these verses were not in the original account, and a scribe, familiar with the 2 Kgs version of the story, appended vv. 21-22 to the end of the account in Isaiah 38.
[39:2] 822 tn Heb “was happy with”; NAB, NASB “was pleased”; NIV “received the envoys gladly.”
[39:2] 823 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
[39:4] 824 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:6] 825 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
[39:7] 826 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
[39:8] 827 tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”
[39:8] 828 tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (’amar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
[39:8] 829 tn Or “surely”; cf. CEV “At least.”
[40:1] 830 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.
[40:2] 831 tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.
[40:2] 832 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[40:2] 833 tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.
[40:2] 834 tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”
[40:2] 835 tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).
[40:5] 836 tn Or “glory.” The Lord’s “glory” is his theophanic radiance and royal splendor (see Isa 6:3; 24:23; 35:2; 60:1; 66:18-19).
[40:5] 837 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NAB, NIV “mankind”; TEV “the whole human race.”
[40:5] 839 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[40:6] 840 tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”
[40:6] 841 tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.
[40:6] 842 tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.
[40:6] 843 tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.
[40:7] 844 tn The Hebrew text has רוּחַ יְהוָה (ruakh yehvah), which in this context probably does not refer to the Lord’s personal Spirit. The phrase is better translated “the breath of the Lord,” or “the wind of [i.e., sent by] the Lord.” The Lord’s sovereign control over nature, including the hot desert winds that dry up vegetation, is in view here (cf. Ps 147:18; Isa 59:19).
[40:7] 845 tn Heb “the people” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[40:8] 846 tn Heb “but the word of our God stands forever.” In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1-5).
[40:9] 847 tn The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.
[40:10] 848 tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.
[40:10] 849 tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).
[40:10] 850 tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.
[40:11] 851 tn Heb “in his bosom” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), an expression which reflects closeness and protective care.
[40:12] 852 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.
[40:12] 853 tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).
[40:12] 854 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[40:12] 855 tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”
[40:12] 856 sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.
[40:13] 857 tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).
[40:13] 858 tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).
[40:13] 859 tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”
[40:14] 860 tn Heb “With whom did he consult, so that he gave discernment to him?”
[40:14] 861 tn Heb “and taught him.” The vav (ו) consecutive with prefixed verbal form continues the previous line. The translation employs an interrogative pronoun for stylistic reasons.
[40:14] 862 tn The phrase אֹרַח מִשְׁפָּט (’orakh mishpat) could be translated “path of justice” (so NASB, NRSV), but in this context, where creative ability and skill is in view, the phrase is better understood in the sense of “the way that is proper or fitting” (see BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6); cf. NIV, NCV “the right way.”
[40:14] 863 tn Heb “or the way of understanding causes him to know?”
[40:14] sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions in vv. 13-14 is, “No one.” In contrast to Marduk, the creator-god of Mesopotamian myths who receives help from the god of wisdom, the Lord neither needs nor receives any such advice or help. See R. Whybray, Heavenly Counsellor (SOTSMS), 64-77.
[40:15] 864 tn Or “weighs” (NIV); NLT “picks up.”
[40:15] 865 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV, NLT).
[40:16] 866 tn The words “for a sacrifice” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[40:16] 867 sn The point is that not even the Lebanon forest could supply enough wood and animals for an adequate sacrifice to the Lord.
[40:17] 868 tn Heb “[as derived] from nothing and unformed.”
[40:19] 869 tn Heb “pours out”; KJV “melteth.”
[40:20] 870 tn The first two words of the verse (הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה, hamsukan tÿrumah) are problematic. Some take מְסֻכָּן as an otherwise unattested Pual participle from סָכַן (sakhan, “be poor”) and translate “the one who is impoverished.” תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah, “contribution”) can then be taken as an adverbial accusative, “with respect to a contribution,” and the entire line translated, “the one who is too impoverished for such a contribution [i.e., the metal idol of v. 19?] selects wood that will not rot.” However, מְסֻכָּן is probably the name of a tree used in idol manufacturing (cognate with Akkadian musukkanu, cf. H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 133). מְסֻכָּן may be a scribal interpretive addition attempting to specify עֵץ (’ets) or עֵץ may be a scribal attempt to categorize מְסֻכָּן. How an idol constitutes a תְּרוּמָה (“contribution”) is not entirely clear.
[40:20] 871 tn Or “set up” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NASB “to prepare.”
[40:22] 872 tn Heb “the circle of the earth” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[40:22] 873 tn The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[40:22] 874 tn The otherwise unattested noun דֹּק (doq), translated here “thin curtain,” is apparently derived from the verbal root דקק (“crush”) from which is derived the adjective דַּק (daq, “thin”; see HALOT 229 s.v. דקק). The nuance “curtain” is implied from the parallelism (see “tent” in the next line).
[40:22] 875 tn The meaning of the otherwise unattested verb מָתַח (matakh, “spread out”) is determined from the parallelism (note the corresponding verb “stretch out” in the previous line) and supported by later Hebrew and Aramaic cognates. See HALOT 654 s.v. *מתה.
[40:22] 876 tn Heb “like a tent [in which] to live”; NAB, NASB “like a tent to dwell (live NIV, NRSV) in.”
[40:25] 877 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[40:26] 878 tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”
[40:26] 879 tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.
[40:26] 880 tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)
[40:27] 881 tn Heb “my way is hidden from the Lord” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[40:27] 882 tn Heb “and from my God my justice passes away”; NRSV “my right is disregarded by my God.”
[40:28] 883 tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.
[40:28] 884 sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).
[40:30] 885 tn Heb “stumbling they stumble.” The verbal idea is emphasized by the infinitive absolute.
[40:31] 886 tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[40:31] 887 tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).
