Yesaya 1:20

1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,

you will be devoured ¹  by the sword.”

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ² 

Yesaya 21:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ³ 

Like strong winds blowing in the south, ⁴ 

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

Yesaya 21:11

Bad News for Seir

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: ⁵ 

Someone calls to me from Seir, ⁶ 

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?” ⁷ 

Yesaya 36:5

36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. ⁸  In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?

Yesaya 39:8

39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” ⁹  Then he thought, ¹⁰  “For ¹¹  there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”

[1:20]  ¹ sn The wordplay in the Hebrew draws attention to the options. The people can obey, in which case they will “eat” v. 19 (תֹּאכֵלוּ [to’khelu], Qal active participle of אָכַל) God’s blessing, or they can disobey, in which case they will be devoured (Heb “eaten,” תְּאֻכְּלוּ, [tÿ’ukkÿlu], Qal passive/Pual of אָכַל) by God’s judgment.

[1:20]  ² tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the option chosen by the people will become reality (it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[21:1]  ³ sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.

[21:1]  ⁴ tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).

[21:11]  ⁵ tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.

[21:11]  ⁶ sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.

[21:11]  ⁷ sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.

[36:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.

[39:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”

[39:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (’amar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).

[39:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “surely”; cf. CEV “At least.”