Yesaya 1:7

1:7 Your land is devastated,

your cities burned with fire.

Right before your eyes your crops

are being destroyed by foreign invaders. ¹ 

They leave behind devastation and destruction. ² 

Yesaya 14:19

14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave

like a shoot that is thrown away. ³ 

You lie among ⁴  the slain,

among those who have been slashed by the sword,

among those headed for ⁵  the stones of the pit, ⁶ 

as if you were a mangled corpse. ⁷ 

Yesaya 19:16

19:16 At that time ⁸  the Egyptians ⁹  will be like women. ¹⁰  They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 27:8

27:8 When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; ¹² 

he drives her away ¹³  with his strong wind in the day of the east wind. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 28:9

28:9 Who is the Lord ¹⁵  trying to teach?

To whom is he explaining a message? ¹⁶ 

Those just weaned from milk!

Those just taken from their mother’s breast! ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 33:16

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ¹⁸ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ¹⁹ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

Yesaya 50:7

50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; ²⁰ 

I know I will not be put to shame.

Yesaya 51:23

51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors ²¹ 

who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’

You made your back like the ground,

and like the street for those who walked over you.”

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “As for your land, before you foreigners are devouring it.”

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “and [there is] devastation like an overthrow by foreigners.” The comparative preposition כְּ (kÿ, “like, as”) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the land has all the earmarks of a destructive foreign invasion because that is what has indeed happened. One could paraphrase, “it is desolate as it can only be when foreigners destroy.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x. Many also prefer to emend “foreigners” here to “Sodom,” though there is no external attestation for such a reading in the mss or ancient versions. Such an emendation finds support from the following context (vv. 9-10) and usage of the preceding noun מַהְפֵּכָה (mahpekhah, “overthrow”). In its five other uses, this noun is associated with the destruction of Sodom. If one accepts the emendation, then one might translate, “the devastation resembles the destruction of Sodom.”

[14:19]  ³ tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”

[14:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “are clothed with.”

[14:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “those going down to.”

[14:19]  ⁶ tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.

[14:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.

[19:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.

[19:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.

[19:16]  ¹⁰ sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.

[19:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.

[27:8]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “in [?], in sending her away, you oppose her.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The form בְּסַאסְּאָה (bÿsa’ssÿ’ah) is taken as an infinitive from סַאסְּאָה (sa’ssÿ’ah) with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. (The MT does not have a mappiq in the final he [ה], however). According to HALOT 738 s.v. סַאסְּאָה the verb is a Palpel form from an otherwise unattested root cognate with an Arabic verb meaning “to gather beasts with a call.” Perhaps it means “to call, summon” here, but this is a very tentative proposal. בְּשַׁלְחָהּ (bÿshalkhah, “in sending her away”) appears to be a Piel infinitive with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. Since the Piel of שָׁלָח (shalakh) can sometimes mean “divorce” (HALOT 1514-15 s.v.) and the following verb רִיב (riv, “oppose”) can be used in legal contexts, it is possible that divorce proceedings are alluded to here. This may explain why Israel is referred to as feminine in this verse, in contrast to the masculine forms used in vv. 6-7 and 9.

[27:8]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text has no object expressed, but one can understand a third feminine singular pronominal object and place a mappiq in the final he (ה) of the form to indicate the suffix.

[27:8]  ¹⁴ sn The “east wind” here symbolizes violent divine judgment.

[28:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who is he teaching knowledge? For whom is he explaining a message?” The translation assumes that the Lord is the subject of the verbs “teaching” and “explaining,” and that the prophet is asking the questions. See v. 12. According to some vv. 9-10 record the people’s sarcastic response to the Lord’s message through Isaiah.

[28:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from the breasts.” The words “their mother’s” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation assumes that this is the prophet’s answer to the questions asked in the first half of the verse. The Lord is trying to instruct people who are “infants” morally and ethically.

[33:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

[33:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”

[50:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”

[51:23]  ²¹ tn That is, to make them drink it.