Yesaya 16:9

16:9 So I weep along with Jazer ¹ 

over the vines of Sibmah.

I will saturate you ²  with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,

for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly

over your fruit and crops. ³ 

Yesaya 44:14

44:14 He cuts down cedars

and acquires a cypress ⁴  or an oak.

He gets ⁵  trees from the forest;

he plants a cedar ⁶  and the rain makes it grow.

Yesaya 57:9

57:9 You take olive oil as tribute ⁷  to your king, ⁸ 

along with many perfumes. ⁹ 

You send your messengers to a distant place;

you go all the way to Sheol. ¹⁰ 

[16:9]  ¹ tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).

[16:9]  ² tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).

[16:9]  ³ tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”

[44:14]  ⁴ tn It is not certain what type of tree this otherwise unattested noun refers to. Cf. ASV “a holm-tree” (NRSV similar).

[44:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “strengthens for himself,” i.e., “secures for himself” (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמֵץ Pi.2).

[44:14]  ⁶ tn Some prefer to emend אֹרֶן (’oren) to אֶרֶז (’erez, “cedar”), but the otherwise unattested noun appears to have an Akkadian cognate, meaning “cedar.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 44-45. HALOT 90 s.v. I אֹרֶן offers the meaning “laurel.”

[57:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “you journey with oil.”

[57:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.

[57:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”

[57:9]  ¹⁰ sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.