Yesaya 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ¹ 

They will say, “We will provide ²  our own food,

we will provide ³  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁴  –

take away our shame!” ⁵ 

Yesaya 23:15

23:15 At that time ⁶  Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, ⁷  the typical life span of a king. ⁸  At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: ⁹ 

Yesaya 27:12

27:12 At that time ¹⁰  the Lord will shake the tree, ¹¹  from the Euphrates River ¹²  to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ¹³ 

Yesaya 36:9

36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 47:9

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ¹⁵ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ¹⁶ 

despite ¹⁷  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 66:17

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ¹⁹  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ²⁰  – they will all be destroyed together,” ²¹  says the Lord.

[4:1]  ¹ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ⁵ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[23:15]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “like the days of a king.”

[23:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “At the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute.”

[27:12]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).

[36:9]  ¹⁴ 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.”

[47:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ¹⁷ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  ¹⁸ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.

[66:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.

[66:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”

[66:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”