Yesaya 16:8

16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,

as well as the vines of Sibmah.

The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,

which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;

their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

Yesaya 24:4

24:4 The earth ¹  dries up ²  and withers,

the world shrivels up and withers;

the prominent people of the earth ³  fade away.

Yesaya 24:7

24:7 The new wine dries up,

the vines shrivel up,

all those who like to celebrate ⁴  groan.

Yesaya 24:11

24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; ⁵ 

all joy turns to sorrow; ⁶ 

celebrations disappear from the earth. ⁷ 

Yesaya 33:9

33:9 The land ⁸  dries up ⁹  and withers away;

the forest of Lebanon shrivels up ¹⁰  and decays.

Sharon ¹¹  is like the desert; ¹² 

Bashan and Carmel ¹³  are parched. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 34:4

34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, ¹⁵ 

the sky will roll up like a scroll;

all its stars will wither,

like a leaf withers and falls from a vine

or a fig withers and falls from a tree. ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 37:27

37:27 Their residents are powerless; ¹⁷ 

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field

or green vegetation. ¹⁸ 

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ¹⁹ 

when it is scorched by the east wind. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 40:7

40:7 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

when the wind sent by the Lord ²¹  blows on them.

Surely humanity ²²  is like grass.

Yesaya 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ²³  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ²⁴  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ²⁵  will not disappear. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 51:12

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ²⁷ 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ²⁸ 

[24:4]  ¹ tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (erets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37;12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).

[24:4]  ² tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.

[24:4]  ³ tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (mÿrom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (mÿrome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.

[24:7]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.

[24:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”

[24:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.

[24:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”

[33:9]  ⁸ tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”

[33:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.

[33:9]  ¹² tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.

[33:9]  ¹³ sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.

[33:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”

[34:4]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “and all the host of heaven will rot.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a inserts “and the valleys will be split open,” but this reading may be influenced by Mic 1:4. On the other hand, the statement, if original, could have been omitted by homoioarcton, a scribe’s eye jumping from the conjunction prefixed to “the valleys” to the conjunction prefixed to the verb “rot.”

[34:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”

[37:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”

[37:27]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.

[37:27]  ²⁰ 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 Isa^a; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.

[40:7]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text has רוּחַ יְהוָה (ruakh yehvah), which in this context probably does not refer to the Lord’s personal Spirit. The phrase is better translated “the breath of the Lord,” or “the wind of [i.e., sent by] the Lord.” The Lord’s sovereign control over nature, including the hot desert winds that dry up vegetation, is in view here (cf. Ps 147:18; Isa 59:19).

[40:7]  ²² tn Heb “the people” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[51:6]  ²³ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

[51:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”

[51:12]  ²⁷ tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.