Yesaya 8:22

8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees ¹  distress and darkness, gloom ²  and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. ³ 

Yesaya 9:2

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

see a bright light; ⁴ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ⁵ 

[8:22]  ¹ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[8:22]  ² tn The precise meaning of מְעוּף (mÿ’uf) is uncertain; the word occurs only here. See BDB 734 s.v. מָעוּף.

[8:22]  ³ tn Heb “ and darkness, pushed.” The word מְנֻדָּח (mÿnudakh) appears to be a Pual participle from נדח (“push”), but the Piel is unattested for this verb and the Pual occurs only here.

[9:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.