Yesaya 17:1--19:25
Konteks17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:
“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,
it is a heap of ruins!
17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. 1
They will be used for herds,
which will lie down there in peace. 2
17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and Damascus will lose its kingdom. 3
The survivors in Syria
will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
Jacob’s splendor will be greatly diminished, 5
and he will become skin and bones. 6
17:5 It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest,
and his hand gleans the ear of grain.
It will be like one gathering the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
17:6 There will be some left behind,
like when an olive tree is beaten –
two or three ripe olives remain toward the very top,
four or five on its fruitful branches,”
says the Lord God of Israel.
17:7 At that time 7 men will trust in their creator; 8
they will depend on 9 the Holy One of Israel. 10
17:8 They will no longer trust in 11 the altars their hands made,
or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. 12
17:9 At that time 13 their fortified cities will be
like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, 14
which they abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
17:10 For you ignore 15 the God who rescues you;
you pay no attention to your strong protector. 16
So this is what happens:
You cultivate beautiful plants
and plant exotic vines. 17
17:11 The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; 18
the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout.
Yet the harvest will disappear 19 in the day of disease
and incurable pain.
17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, 20
those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. 21
The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, 22
those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. 23
17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 24
when he shouts at 25 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 26 before a strong gale.
17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; 27
by morning they vanish. 28
This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,
the destiny of those who try to loot us! 29
18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, 30
the one beyond the rivers of Cush,
18:2 that sends messengers by sea,
who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, 31
to a people that are feared far and wide, 32
to a nation strong and victorious, 33
whose land rivers divide. 34
18:3 All you who live in the world,
who reside on the earth,
you will see a signal flag raised on the mountains;
you will hear a trumpet being blown.
18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will wait 35 and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, 36
like a cloud of mist 37 in the heat 38 of harvest.” 39
18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,
and the ripening fruit appears, 40
he will cut off the unproductive shoots 41 with pruning knives;
he will prune the tendrils. 42
18:6 They will all be left 43 for the birds of the hills
and the wild animals; 44
the birds will eat them during the summer,
and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.
18:7 At that time
tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,
by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,
a people that are feared far and wide,
a nation strong and victorious,
whose land rivers divide. 45
The tribute 46 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 47
19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage. 48
19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, 49
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms. 50
19:3 The Egyptians will panic, 51
and I will confuse their strategy. 52
They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,
from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. 53
19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master, 54 the Lord who commands armies.
19:5 The water of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will dry up and be empty. 55
19:6 The canals 56 will stink; 57
the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;
the bulrushes and reeds will decay,
19:7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river. 58
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away. 59
19:8 The fishermen will mourn and lament,
all those who cast a fishhook into the river,
and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve. 60
19:9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;
those who weave will turn pale. 61
19:10 Those who make cloth 62 will be demoralized; 63
all the hired workers will be depressed. 64
19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; 65
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” 66
19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? 67
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.
19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis 68 are misled;
the rulers 69 of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; 70
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 71
19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots and stalk. 72
19:16 At that time 73 the Egyptians 74 will be like women. 75 They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 76 19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them. 77
19:18 At that time five cities 78 in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 79 19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar 80 dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It 81 will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of 82 the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender 83 who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they 84 will acknowledge the Lord’s authority 85 at that time. 86 They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 19:22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayers 87 and heal them.
19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 88 19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing 89 in the earth. 90 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, 91 “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, 92 Israel!”


[17:2] 1 tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.
[17:2] 2 tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”
[17:3] 3 tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”
[17:4] 4 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[17:4] 5 tn Heb “will be tiny.”
[17:4] 6 tn Heb “and the fatness of his flesh will be made lean.”
[17:7] 7 tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB, NIV); KJV “At that day.”
[17:7] 8 tn Heb “man will gaze toward his maker.”
[17:7] 9 tn Heb “his eyes will look toward.”
[17:7] 10 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[17:8] 11 tn Heb “he will not gaze toward.”
[17:8] 12 tn Heb “and that which his fingers made he will not see, the Asherah poles and the incense altars.”
[17:9] 13 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[17:9] 14 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “like the abandonment of the wooded height and the top one.” The following relative clause appears to allude back to the Israelite conquest of the land, so it seems preferable to emend הַחֹרֶשׁ וְהָאָמִיר (hakhoresh vÿha’amir, “the wooded height and the top one”) to חֹרֵשֵׁי הָאֱמֹרִי (khoreshe ha’emori, “[like the abandonment] of the wooded heights of the Amorites”).
[17:10] 15 tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[17:10] 16 tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”
[17:10] 17 tn Heb “a vine, a strange one.” The substantival adjective זָר (zar) functions here as an appositional genitive. It could refer to a cultic plant of some type, associated with a pagan rite. But it is more likely that it refers to an exotic, or imported, type of vine, one that is foreign (i.e., “strange”) to Israel.
[17:11] 18 tn Heb “in the day of your planting you [?].” The precise meaning of the verb תְּשַׂגְשֵׂגִי (tÿsagsegi) is unclear. It is sometimes derived from שׂוּג/סוּג (sug, “to fence in”; see BDB 691 s.v. II סוּג). In this case one could translate “you build a protective fence.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one derives the form from שָׂגָא/שָׂגָה (saga’/sagah, “to grow”); see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:351, n. 4. For this verb, see BDB 960 s.v. שָׂגָא.
[17:11] 19 tc The Hebrew text has, “a heap of harvest.” However, better sense is achieved if נֵד (ned, “heap”) is emended to a verb. Options include נַד (nad, Qal perfect third masculine singular from נָדַד [nadad, “flee, depart”]), נָדַד (Qal perfect third masculine singular from נָדַד), נֹדֵד (noded, Qal active participle from נָדַד), and נָד (nad, Qal perfect third masculine singular, or participle masculine singular, from נוּד [nud, “wander, flutter”]). See BDB 626 s.v. נוּד and HALOT 672 s.v. I נדד. One could translate literally: “[the harvest] departs,” or “[the harvest] flies away.”
[17:12] 20 tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[17:12] 21 tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”
[17:12] 22 tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.
[17:12] 23 tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”
[17:13] 24 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
[17:13] 25 tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.
[17:13] 26 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
[17:14] 27 tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”
[17:14] 28 tn Heb “before morning he is not.”
[17:14] 29 tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”
[18:1] 30 tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[18:1] sn The significance of the qualifying phrase “buzzing wings” is uncertain. Some suggest that the designation points to Cush as a land with many insects. Another possibility is that it refers to the swiftness with which this land’s messengers travel (v. 2a); they move over the sea as swiftly as an insect flies through the air. For a discussion of the options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:359-60.
[18:2] 31 tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
[18:2] 32 tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
[18:2] 33 tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
[18:2] 34 tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”
[18:4] 35 tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”
[18:4] 36 tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
[18:4] 37 tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
[18:4] 38 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[18:4] 39 sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.
[18:5] 40 tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”
[18:5] 41 tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.
[18:5] 42 tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”
[18:6] 43 tn Heb “they will be left together” (so NASB).
[18:6] 44 tn Heb “the beasts of the earth” (so KJV, NASB).
[18:7] 45 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
[18:7] 46 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
[18:7] 47 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
[19:1] 48 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
[19:2] 49 tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).
[19:2] 50 tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.
[19:3] 51 tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”
[19:3] 52 tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.
[19:3] 53 tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.
[19:4] 54 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:5] 55 tn Heb “will dry up and be dry.” Two synonyms are joined for emphasis.
[19:6] 56 tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”
[19:6] 57 tn The verb form appears as a Hiphil in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa; the form in MT may be a so-called “mixed form,” reflecting the Hebrew Hiphil stem and the functionally corresponding Aramaic Aphel stem. See HALOT 276 s.v. I זנח.
[19:7] 58 tn Heb “the plants by the river, by the mouth of the river.”
[19:7] 59 tn Heb “will dry up, [being] scattered, and it will vanish.”
[19:8] 60 tn Or perhaps, “will disappear”; cf. TEV “will be useless.”
[19:9] 61 tn BDB 301 s.v. חוֹרִי suggests the meaning “white stuff” for חוֹרִי (khori); the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חָוֵרוּ (khaveru), probably a Qal perfect, third plural form of חוּר, (khur, “be white, pale”). See HALOT 299 s.v. I חור. The latter reading is assumed in the translation above.
[19:10] 62 tn Some interpret שָׁתֹתֶיהָ (shatoteha) as “her foundations,” i.e., leaders, nobles. See BDB 1011 s.v. שָׁת. Others, on the basis of alleged cognates in Akkadian and Coptic, repoint the form שְׁתִיתֶיהָ (shÿtiteha) and translate “her weavers.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:370.
[19:10] 63 tn Heb “crushed.” Emotional distress is the focus of the context (see vv. 8-9, 10b).
[19:10] 64 tn Heb “sad of soul”; cf. NIV, NLT “sick at heart.”
[19:11] 65 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
[19:11] 66 tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.
[19:12] 67 tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.
[19:13] 68 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
[19:13] 69 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
[19:14] 70 tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”
[19:14] 71 tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”
[19:15] 72 tn Heb “And there will not be for Egypt a deed, which head and tail, shoot and stalk can do.” In 9:14-15 the phrase “head or tail” refers to leaders and prophets, respectively. This interpretation makes good sense in this context, where both leaders and advisers (probably including prophets and diviners) are mentioned (vv. 11-14). Here, as in 9:14, “shoots and stalk” picture a reed, which symbolizes the leadership of the nation in its entirety.
[19:16] 73 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
[19:16] 74 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
[19:16] 75 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] 76 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.
[19:17] 77 tn Heb “and the land of Judah will become [a source of] shame to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it [i.e., the land of Judah] will fear because of the plan of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] which he is planning against him.”
[19:18] 78 sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.
[19:18] 79 tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and some medieval Hebrew
[19:19] 80 tn This word is sometimes used of a sacred pillar associated with pagan worship, but here it is associated with the worship of the Lord.
[19:20] 81 tn The masculine noun מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbbeakh, “altar”) in v. 19 is probably the subject of the masculine singular verb הָיָה (hayah) rather than the feminine noun מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”), also in v. 19.
[19:20] 82 tn Heb “a sign and a witness to the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] in the land of Egypt.”
[19:20] 83 tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”
[19:21] 84 tn Heb “Egypt.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the present translation uses the pronoun (“they”) here.
[19:21] 85 tn Heb “will know the Lord.”
[19:21] 86 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 23 and 24.
[19:22] 87 tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”
[19:23] 88 tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.
[19:24] 89 tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).
[19:24] 90 tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).
[19:25] 91 tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.