Yesaya 2:12-16

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, ¹ 

for ²  all the high and mighty,

for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,

that are so high and mighty,

for all the oaks of Bashan; ³ 

2:14 for all the tall mountains,

for all the high hills, ⁴ 

2:15 for every high tower,

for every fortified wall,

2:16 for all the large ships, ⁵ 

for all the impressive ⁶  ships. ⁷ 

Yesaya 11:15-16

11:15 The Lord will divide ⁸  the gulf ⁹  of the Egyptian Sea; ¹⁰ 

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ¹¹  and send a strong wind, ¹² 

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ¹³ 

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ¹⁴ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ¹⁵  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Yesaya 44:27

44:27 who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry!

I will dry up your sea currents,’

Yesaya 49:11

49:11 I will make all my mountains into a road;

I will construct my roadways.”

Yesaya 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ¹⁶ 

Is my hand too weak ¹⁷  to deliver ¹⁸  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹⁹  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ²⁰ 

[2:12]  ¹ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”

[2:12]  ² tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:13]  ³ sn The cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan were well-known for their size and prominence. They make apt symbols here for powerful men who think of themselves as prominent and secure.

[2:14]  ⁴ sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.

[2:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[2:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”

[2:16]  ⁷ tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.

[2:16]  sn The ships mentioned in this verse were the best of their class, and therefore an apt metaphor for the proud men being denounced in this speech.

[11:15]  ⁸ tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”

[11:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[11:15]  ¹⁰ sn That is, the Red Sea.

[11:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.

[11:15]  ¹² tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.

[11:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.

[11:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[50:2]  ¹⁶ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”