Yesaya 5:26

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ¹ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ²  come quickly and swiftly.

Yesaya 37:36

37:36 The Lord’s messenger ³  went out and killed 185,000 troops ⁴  in the Assyrian camp. When they ⁵  got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! ⁶ 

Yesaya 40:11

40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart; ⁷ 

he leads the ewes along.

[5:26]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.

[5:26]  ² tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.

[37:36]  ³ tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[37:36]  ⁴ tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[37:36]  ⁵ tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.

[37:36]  ⁶ tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”

[40:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “in his bosom” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), an expression which reflects closeness and protective care.