Yesaya 2:2-4

2:2 In the future ¹ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ² 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ³ 

All the nations will stream to it,

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ⁴  he can teach us his requirements, ⁵ 

and ⁶  we can follow his standards.” ⁷ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ⁸ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ⁹ 

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ¹⁰ 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ¹¹ 

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Yesaya 19:18-25

19:18 At that time five cities ¹²  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. ¹³  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 ¹⁴  dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It ¹⁵  will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of ¹⁶  the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender ¹⁷  who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they ¹⁸  will acknowledge the Lord’s authority ¹⁹  at that time. ²⁰  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 ²¹  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. ²²  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 ²³  in the earth. ²⁴  19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, ²⁵  “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, ²⁶  Israel!”

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

[2:2]  ² tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[2:4]  ¹⁰ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[2:4]  ¹¹ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.

[19:18]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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 1QIsa^a and some medieval Hebrew mss read עִיר הָחֶרֶס (’ir hakheres, “City of the Sun,” i.e., Heliopolis). This reading also finds support from Symmachus’ Greek version, the Targum, and the Vulgate. See HALOT 257 s.v. חֶרֶס and HALOT 355 s.v. II חֶרֶס.

[19:19]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”

[19:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Egypt.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the present translation uses the pronoun (“they”) here.

[19:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will know the Lord.”

[19:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 23 and 24.

[19:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”

[19:23]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).

[19:24]  ²⁴ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).

[19:25]  ²⁵ 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.

[19:25]  ²⁶ tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).