Yesaya 64:1-2

64:1 (63:19b) ¹  If only you would tear apart the sky ²  and come down!

The mountains would tremble ³  before you!

64:2 (64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,

or fire makes water boil,

let your adversaries know who you are, ⁴ 

and may the nations shake at your presence!

Yehezkiel 47:1-12

Water from the Temple

47:1 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed ⁵  that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. 47:2 He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed ⁶  that the water was trickling out from the south side.

47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, ⁷  and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. 47:4 Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. 47:5 Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 47:6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 47:7 When I had returned, I noticed ⁸  a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. 47:8 He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, ⁹  where the sea is stagnant, ¹⁰  the waters become fresh. ¹¹  47:9 Every living creature which swarms where the river ¹²  flows will live; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will become fresh ¹³  and everything will live where the river flows. 47:10 Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. ¹⁴  47:11 But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh; they will remain salty. 47:12 On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” ¹⁵ 

Mikha 1:3-4

1:3 Look, ¹⁶  the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place!

He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! ¹⁷ 

1:4 The mountains will disintegrate ¹⁸  beneath him,

and the valleys will be split in two. ¹⁹ 

The mountains will melt ²⁰  like wax in a fire,

the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. ²¹ 

Zakharia 14:4

14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward. ²² 

[64:1]  ¹ sn In BHS the chapter division occurs in a different place from the English Bible: 64:1 ET (63:19b HT) and 64:2-12 (64:1-11 HT). Beginning with 65:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[64:1]  ² tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[64:1]  ³ tn Or “quake.” נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) is from the verbal root זָלַל (zalal, “quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). Perhaps there is a verbal allusion to Judg 5:5, the only other passage where this verb occurs. In that passage the poet tells how the Lord’s appearance to do battle caused the mountains to shake.

[64:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “to make known your name to your adversaries.” Perhaps the infinitive construct with preposition -לְ (lamed) should be construed with “come down” in v. 1a, or subordinated to the following line: “To make known your name to your adversaries, let the nations shake from before you.”

[47:1]  ⁵ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:2]  ⁶ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “one thousand cubits” (i.e., 525 meters); this phrase occurs three times in the next two verses.

[47:7]  ⁸ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[47:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sea,” referring to the Dead Sea. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[47:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to the sea, those which are brought out.” The reading makes no sense. The text is best emended to read “filthy” (i.e., stagnant). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:273.

[47:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the waters become healed.”

[47:9]  ¹² tn Heb “two rivers,” perhaps under the influence of Zech 14:8. The translation follows the LXX and other ancient versions in reading the singular, which is demanded by the context (see vv. 5-7, 9b, 12).

[47:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “will be healed.”

[47:10]  ¹⁴ sn The Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea (also in vv. 15, 19, 20).

[47:12]  ¹⁵ sn See Rev 22:1-2.

[1:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “For look.” The expression כִּי־הִנֵּה (ki-hinneh) may function as an explanatory introduction (“For look!”; Isa 26:21; 60:2; 65:17, 18: 66:15; Jer 1:15; 25:29; 30:10; 45:5; 46:27; 50:9; Ezek 30:9; 36:9; Zech 2:10; 3:8), or as an emphatic introduction (“Look!”; Jdgs 3:15; Isa 3:1; Jer 8:17; 30:3; 49:15; Hos 9:6; Joel 3:1 [HT 4:1]; Amos 4:2, 13; 6:11, 14; 9:9; Hab 1:6; Zech 2:9 [HT 2:13]; Zech 3:9; 11:16).

[1:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “high places” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).

[1:4]  ¹⁹ sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.

[1:4]  ²⁰ tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.

[1:4]  ²¹ tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.

[14:4]  ²² sn This seismic activity provides a means of escape from Jerusalem so that the Messiah (the Lord), whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, may destroy the wicked nations in the Kidron Valley (the v. of Jehoshaphat, or of “judgment of the Lord”) without harming the inhabitants of the city.