Yesaya 9:14

9:14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,

both the shoots and stalk ¹  in one day.

Yesaya 9:16

9:16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,

and the people being led were destroyed. ² 

[9:14]  ¹ sn The metaphor in this line is that of a reed being cut down.

[9:16]  ² tn Heb “and the ones being led were swallowed up.” Instead of taking מְבֻלָּעִים (mÿbulla’im) from בָּלַע (bala’, “to swallow”), HALOT 134 s.v. בלע proposes a rare homonymic root בלע (“confuse”) here.