Yesaya 3:16

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ² 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ³ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ⁴ 

Yesaya 9:2

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ⁵ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ⁶ 

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ³ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[9:2]  ⁵ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ⁶ tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.