Yesaya 8:7-8

8:7 So look, the sovereign master ¹  is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River ²  – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. ³  8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, ⁴  O Immanuel.” ⁵ 

Yesaya 28:2

28:2 Look, the sovereign master ⁶  sends a strong, powerful one. ⁷ 

With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, ⁸ 

with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, ⁹ 

he will knock that crown ¹⁰  to the ground with his hand. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 59:19

59:19 In the west, people respect ¹²  the Lord’s reputation; ¹³ 

in the east they recognize his splendor. ¹⁴ 

For he comes like a rushing ¹⁵  stream

driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ¹⁶ 

[8:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:7]  ² tn Heb “the mighty and abundant waters of the river.” The referent of “the river” here, the Euphrates River, has been specified in the translation for clarity. As the immediately following words indicate, these waters symbolize the Assyrian king and his armies which will, as it were, inundate the land.

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “it will go up over all its stream beds and go over all its banks.”

[8:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.

[8:8]  ⁵ sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)

[28:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”

[28:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”

[28:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”

[28:2]  ¹⁰ tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.

[28:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “by [his] power.”

[59:19]  ¹² tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”

[59:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”

[59:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”

[59:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”

[59:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).