Yesaya 31:1-9
Konteks31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 1
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 2
and in their many, many horsemen. 3
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 4
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 5 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 6
He will attack the wicked nation, 7
and the nation that helps 8 those who commit sin. 9
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 10 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 11
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. 12
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 13
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 14
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 15
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 16
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 17 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 18 31:7 For at that time 19 everyone will get rid of 20 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 21
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 22
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 23
They will run away from this sword 24
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 25 because of fear; 26
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 27
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 28
Yesaya 33:1-24
Konteks33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 29
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 30
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 31 deceiving, others will deceive you!
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning! 32
Deliver us when distress comes. 33
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; 34
the nations scatter when you spring into action! 35
33:4 Your plunder 36 disappears as if locusts were eating it; 37
they swarm over it like locusts! 38
indeed, 40 he lives in heaven; 41
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; 42
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; 43
he gives all this to those who fear him. 44
33:7 Look, ambassadors 45 cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace 46 weep bitterly.
there are no travelers. 48
Treaties are broken, 49
witnesses are despised, 50
human life is treated with disrespect. 51
33:9 The land 52 dries up 53 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 54 and decays.
Sharon 55 is like the desert; 56
Bashan and Carmel 57 are parched. 58
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself. 59
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you. 61
33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 62
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 63 grips the godless. 64
They say, 65 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 66 fire?’
33:15 The one who lives 67 uprightly 68
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 69
the one who does not plot violent crimes 70
and does not seek to harm others 71 –
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 72
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 73
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; 74
you will see a wide land. 75
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 76
and you will ask yourselves, 77 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 78
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant 79 people
whose language you do not comprehend, 80
whose derisive speech you do not understand. 81
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 84
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. 85
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; 86
no war galley will enter; 87
no large ships will sail through. 88
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, 89
the mast is not secured, 90
and the sail 91 is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; 92
even the lame will drag off plunder. 93
33:24 No resident of Zion 94 will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
Yesaya 37:1-38
Konteks37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, 95 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, 96 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 97 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 98 and humiliation, 99 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 100 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. 101 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 102 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 103
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. 104 37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 105 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 106 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. 107 37:9 The king 108 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia 109 was marching out to fight him. 110 He again sent 111 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. 112 Do you really think you will be rescued? 113 37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors 114 destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 115 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, 116 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter 117 from the messengers and read it. 118 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! 119 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 120 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! 121 37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations 122 and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, 123 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. 124 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.” 125
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, 126 37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: 127
“The virgin daughter Zion 128
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 129
37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly? 130
At the Holy One of Israel! 131
37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 132
‘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, 133
its thickest woods.
37:25 I dug wells
and drank water. 134
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
37:26 135 Certainly you must have heard! 136
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned 137 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 138
37:27 Their residents are powerless; 139
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation. 140
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 141
when it is scorched by the east wind. 142
37:28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me. 143
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears, 144
I will put my hook in your nose, 145
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:30 146 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 147 This year you will eat what grows wild, 148 and next year 149 what grows on its own. But the year after that 150 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 151 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 152
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 153 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. 154
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 155
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.”’” 156
37:36 The Lord’s messenger 157 went out and killed 185,000 troops 158 in the Assyrian camp. When they 159 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 160 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 161 37:38 One day, 162 as he was worshiping 163 in the temple of his god Nisroch, 164 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 165 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
[31:1] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
[31:1] 2 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
[31:1] 3 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
[31:1] 4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[31:2] 5 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] 6 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
[31:2] 7 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
[31:2] 9 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
[31:3] 10 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
[31:3] 11 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
[31:4] 12 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] 13 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] 14 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] 15 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[31:5] 16 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:5] 17 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] 18 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] 19 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[31:7] 20 tn Heb “reject” (so NIV); NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT “throw away.”
[31:7] 21 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] 22 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 23 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 24 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[31:9] 25 tn Heb “rocky cliff” (cf. ASV, NASB “rock”), viewed metaphorically as a place of defense and security.
[31:9] 26 tn Heb “His rocky cliff, because of fear, will pass away [i.e., “perish”].”
[31:9] 27 tn Heb “and they will be afraid of the flag, his officers.”
[31:9] 28 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.
[33:1] 29 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] 30 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] 31 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] 32 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] 33 tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
[33:3] 34 tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
[33:3] 35 tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
[33:4] 36 tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.
[33:4] 37 tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
[33:4] 38 tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
[33:5] 39 tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
[33:5] 40 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).
[33:5] 41 tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
[33:6] 42 tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
[33:6] 43 tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
[33:6] 44 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
[33:7] 45 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] 46 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
[33:8] 47 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
[33:8] 48 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
[33:8] 49 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
[33:8] 50 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] 51 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
[33:9] 52 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
[33:9] 53 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] 54 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] 55 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
[33:9] 56 tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.
[33:9] 57 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
[33:9] 58 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
[33:10] 59 tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
[33:11] 60 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] 61 sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
[33:12] 62 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
[33:14] 63 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
[33:14] 64 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
[33:14] 65 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[33:14] 66 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:15] 67 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
[33:15] 68 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
[33:15] 69 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
[33:15] 70 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
[33:15] 71 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
[33:16] 72 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
[33:16] 73 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
[33:17] 74 tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
[33:17] 75 tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
[33:18] 76 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
[33:18] 77 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[33:18] 78 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] 79 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] 80 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] 81 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] 82 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:20] 83 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[33:20] 84 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
[33:21] 85 tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
[33:21] 86 tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
[33:21] 87 tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
[33:21] 88 tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
[33:23] 89 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] 90 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] 91 tn Or perhaps, “flag.”
[33:23] 92 tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
[33:23] 93 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] 94 tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[37:1] 95 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] 96 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
[37:3] 97 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
[37:3] 98 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
[37:3] 99 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
[37:3] 100 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[37:4] 101 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:4] 102 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
[37:4] 103 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[37:6] 104 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[37:7] 105 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] 106 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
[37:8] 107 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] 108 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:9] 109 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
[37:9] 110 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
[37:9] 111 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] 112 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[37:11] 113 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[37:12] 114 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
[37:12] 115 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] 116 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[37:14] 117 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] 118 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] 119 sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
[37:16] 120 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[37:17] 121 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:18] 122 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
[37:19] 123 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[37:19] 124 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
[37:20] 125 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
[37:21] 126 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] 127 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
[37:22] 128 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] 129 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[37:23] 130 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”
[37:23] 131 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[37:24] 132 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[37:24] 133 tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”
[37:25] 134 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] 135 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[37:26] 136 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] 137 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
[37:26] 138 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] 139 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
[37:27] 140 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] 141 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[37:27] 142 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] 143 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] 144 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] 145 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[37:30] 146 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] 147 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] 148 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[37:30] 149 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
[37:30] 150 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
[37:30] 151 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] 152 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[37:32] 153 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] 154 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] 155 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[37:35] 156 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[37:36] 157 tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[37:36] 158 tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
[37:36] 159 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[37:36] 160 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”
[37:37] 161 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[37:38] 162 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
[37:38] 163 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] 164 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
[37:38] 165 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.
