Yesaya 13:1--24:23
Konteks13:1 1 This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: 2
13:2 3 On a bare hill raise a signal flag,
shout to them,
wave your hand,
so they might enter the gates of the princes!
13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; 4
I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, 5
my boasting, arrogant ones. 6
13:4 7 There is a loud noise on the mountains –
it sounds like a large army! 8
There is great commotion among the kingdoms 9 –
nations are being assembled!
The Lord who commands armies is mustering
forces for battle.
13:5 They come from a distant land,
from the horizon. 10
It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, 11
coming to destroy the whole earth. 12
13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment 13 is near;
it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. 14
13:7 For this reason all hands hang limp, 15
every human heart loses its courage. 16
13:8 They panic –
cramps and pain seize hold of them
like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.
They look at one another in astonishment;
their faces are flushed red. 17
13:9 Look, the Lord’s day of judgment 18 is coming;
it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, 19
and annihilating its sinners.
13:10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations
no longer give out their light; 22
the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,
and the moon does not shine. 23
13:11 24 I will punish the world for its evil, 25
and wicked people for their sin.
I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,
I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. 26
13:12 I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold,
and people more scarce 27 than gold from Ophir.
13:13 So I will shake the heavens, 28
and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, 29
because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies,
in the day he vents his raging anger. 30
13:14 Like a frightened gazelle 31
or a sheep with no shepherd,
each will turn toward home, 32
each will run to his homeland.
13:15 Everyone who is caught will be stabbed;
everyone who is seized 33 will die 34 by the sword.
13:16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;
their houses will be looted
and their wives raped.
13:17 Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; 35
they are not concerned about silver,
nor are they interested in gold. 36
13:18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; 37
they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, 38
they will not 39 look with pity on children.
13:19 Babylon, the most admired 40 of kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, 41
will be destroyed by God
just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. 42
13:20 No one will live there again;
no one will ever reside there again. 43
No bedouin 44 will camp 45 there,
no shepherds will rest their flocks 46 there.
13:21 Wild animals will rest there,
the ruined 47 houses will be full of hyenas. 48
Ostriches will live there,
wild goats will skip among the ruins. 49
13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,
jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. 50
Her time is almost up, 51
her days will not be prolonged. 52
14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; 53 he will again choose Israel as his special people 54 and restore 55 them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family 56 of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. 57 They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, 58 and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: 59
“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility 60 has ceased!
14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
14:6 It 61 furiously struck down nations
with unceasing blows. 62
It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint. 63
14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.
14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, 64
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, 65
‘Since you fell asleep, 66
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ 67
14:9 Sheol 68 below is stirred up about you,
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses 69 the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth; 70
it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones. 71
14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
14:11 Your splendor 72 has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. 73
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you. 74
14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn! 75
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror 76 of the nations! 77
14:13 You said to yourself, 78
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El 79
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon. 80
14:14 I will climb up to the tops 81 of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!” 82
14:15 But you were brought down 83 to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the pit. 84
14:16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking: 85
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
14:17 Is this the one who made the world like a desert,
who ruined its 86 cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’ 87
14:18 88 As for all the kings of the nations,
all of them 89 lie down in splendor, 90
each in his own tomb. 91
14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave
like a shoot that is thrown away. 92
You lie among 93 the slain,
among those who have been slashed by the sword,
among those headed for 94 the stones of the pit, 95
as if you were a mangled corpse. 96
14:20 You will not be buried with them, 97
because you destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never be mentioned again.
14:21 Prepare to execute 98 his sons
for the sins their ancestors have committed. 99
They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,
or fill the surface of the world with cities.” 100
14:22 “I will rise up against them,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
“I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, 101
including the offspring she produces,” 102
says the Lord.
14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals 103
and covered with pools of stagnant water.
I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” 104
says the Lord who commands armies.
14:24 105 The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:
“Be sure of this:
Just as I have intended, so it will be;
just as I have planned, it will happen.
14:25 I will break Assyria 106 in my land,
I will trample them 107 underfoot on my hills.
Their yoke will be removed from my people,
the burden will be lifted from their shoulders. 108
14:26 This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;
my hand is ready to strike all the nations.” 109
14:27 Indeed, 110 the Lord who commands armies has a plan,
and who can possibly frustrate it?
His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it? 111
14:28 In the year King Ahaz died, 112 this message was revealed: 113
14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,
just because the club that beat you has been broken! 114
For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,
and its fruit will be a darting adder. 115
14:30 The poor will graze in my pastures; 116
the needy will rest securely.
But I will kill your root by famine;
it will put to death all your survivors. 117
14:31 Wail, O city gate!
Cry out, O city!
Melt with fear, 118 all you Philistines!
For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,
and there are no stragglers in its ranks. 119
14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? 120
Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;
the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.
15:1 Here is a message about Moab:
Indeed, in a night it is devastated,
Ar of Moab is destroyed!
Indeed, in a night it is devastated,
Kir of Moab is destroyed!
15:2 They went up to the temple, 121
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 122
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 123 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 124
15:3 In their streets they wear sackcloth;
on their roofs and in their town squares
all of them wail,
they fall down weeping.
15:4 The people of 125 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.
For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;
their courage wavers. 126
15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, 127
and for the fugitives 128 stretched out 129 as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.
For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;
they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. 130
15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; 131
the grass is dried up,
the vegetation has disappeared,
and there are no plants.
15:7 For this reason what they have made and stored up,
they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.
15:8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory;
their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. 132
15:9 Indeed, the waters of Dimon 133 are full of blood!
Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon. 134
A lion will attack 135 the Moabite fugitives
and the people left in the land.
16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, 136
from Sela in the desert 137
to the hill of Daughter Zion.
16:2 At the fords of the Arnon 138
the Moabite women are like a bird
that flies about when forced from its nest. 139
16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! 140
Provide some shade in the middle of the day! 141
Hide the fugitives! Do not betray 142 the one who tries to escape!
16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live 143 among you.
Hide them 144 from the destroyer!”
Certainly 145 the one who applies pressure will cease, 146
the destroyer will come to an end,
those who trample will disappear 147 from the earth.
16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;
he will rule in a reliable manner,
this one from David’s family. 148
He will be sure to make just decisions
and will be experienced in executing justice. 149
16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,
their great arrogance,
their boasting, pride, and excess. 150
But their boastful claims are empty! 151
16:7 So Moab wails over its demise 152 –
they all wail!
Completely devastated, they moan
about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. 153
16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,
as well as the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,
which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;
their shoots spread out and cross the sea.
16:9 So I weep along with Jazer 154
over the vines of Sibmah.
I will saturate you 155 with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly
over your fruit and crops. 156
16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,
and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;
no one treads out juice in the wine vats 157 –
I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. 158
16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, 159
my inner being sighs 160 for Kir Hareseth. 161
16:12 When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places, 162
and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective! 163
16:13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab. 16:14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years 164 Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.” 165
17:1 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. 166
They will be used for herds,
which will lie down there in peace. 167
17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and Damascus will lose its kingdom. 168
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, 170
and he will become skin and bones. 171
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 172 men will trust in their creator; 173
they will depend on 174 the Holy One of Israel. 175
17:8 They will no longer trust in 176 the altars their hands made,
or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. 177
17:9 At that time 178 their fortified cities will be
like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, 179
which they abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
17:10 For you ignore 180 the God who rescues you;
you pay no attention to your strong protector. 181
So this is what happens:
You cultivate beautiful plants
and plant exotic vines. 182
17:11 The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; 183
the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout.
Yet the harvest will disappear 184 in the day of disease
and incurable pain.
17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, 185
those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. 186
The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, 187
those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. 188
17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 189
when he shouts at 190 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 191 before a strong gale.
17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; 192
by morning they vanish. 193
This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,
the destiny of those who try to loot us! 194
18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, 195
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, 196
to a people that are feared far and wide, 197
to a nation strong and victorious, 198
whose land rivers divide. 199
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 200 and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, 201
like a cloud of mist 202 in the heat 203 of harvest.” 204
18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,
and the ripening fruit appears, 205
he will cut off the unproductive shoots 206 with pruning knives;
he will prune the tendrils. 207
18:6 They will all be left 208 for the birds of the hills
and the wild animals; 209
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. 210
The tribute 211 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 212
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. 213
19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, 214
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms. 215
19:3 The Egyptians will panic, 216
and I will confuse their strategy. 217
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. 218
19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master, 219 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. 220
19:6 The canals 221 will stink; 222
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. 223
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away. 224
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. 225
19:9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;
those who weave will turn pale. 226
19:10 Those who make cloth 227 will be demoralized; 228
all the hired workers will be depressed. 229
19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; 230
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?” 231
19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? 232
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 233 are misled;
the rulers 234 of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; 235
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 236
19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots and stalk. 237
19:16 At that time 238 the Egyptians 239 will be like women. 240 They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 241 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. 242
19:18 At that time five cities 243 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. 244 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 245 dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It 246 will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of 247 the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender 248 who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they 249 will acknowledge the Lord’s authority 250 at that time. 251 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 252 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. 253 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 254 in the earth. 255 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, 256 “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, 257 Israel!”
20:1 The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. 258 20:2 At that time the Lord announced through 259 Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments 260 and barefoot. 20:3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. 261 20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. 262 20:6 At that time 263 those who live on this coast 264 will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?’”
21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: 265
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 266
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
21:2 I have received a distressing message: 267
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!” 268
21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; 269
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed 270 by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
I shake in fear; 272
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
21:5 Arrange the table,
lay out 273 the carpet,
eat and drink! 274
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields! 275
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master 276 has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
21:7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses, 277
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
21:8 Then the guard 278 cries out:
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, 279
I stand all day long;
at my post
I am stationed every night.
21:9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.” 280
When questioned, he replies, 281
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, 282
what I have heard
from the Lord who commands armies,
the God of Israel,
I have reported to you.
21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: 283
Someone calls to me from Seir, 284
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?” 285
21:12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night. 286
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.” 287
21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:
In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,
you Dedanite caravans.
21:14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.
You who live in the land of Tema,
bring some food for the fugitives.
21:15 For they flee from the swords –
from the drawn sword
and from the battle-ready bow
and from the severity of the battle.
21:16 For this is what the sovereign master 288 has told me: “Within exactly one year 289 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” 290 Indeed, 291 the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: 292
What is the reason 293
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
22:2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry. 294
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle. 295
22:3 296 All your leaders ran away together –
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees 297 were captured together –
they were captured without a single arrow being shot. 298
22:4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me! 299
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try 300 to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” 301
22:5 For the sovereign master, 302 the Lord who commands armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. 303
In the Valley of Vision 304 people shout 305
and cry out to the hill. 306
22:6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen; 307
the men of Kir 308 prepared 309 the shield. 310
22:7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots; 311
horsemen confidently took their positions 312 at the gate.
22:8 They 313 removed the defenses 314 of Judah.
At that time 315 you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest. 316
22:9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the city of David; 317
you stored up water in the lower pool.
22:10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem, 318
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall. 319
22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool –
but you did not trust in 320 the one who made it; 321
you did not depend on 322 the one who formed it long ago!
22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth. 323
22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! 324
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 325
22:14 The Lord who commands armies told me this: 326 “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” 327 says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.
22:15 This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says:
“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, 328 and tell him: 329
22:16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? 330
Why 331 do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?
He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,
he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
22:17 Look, the Lord will throw you far away, 332 you mere man! 333
He will wrap you up tightly. 334
22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land. 335
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots, 336
which bring disgrace to the house of your master. 337
22:19 I will remove you from 338 your office;
you will be thrown down 339 from your position.
22:20 “At that time 340 I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 22:21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. 341 He will become a protector of 342 the residents of Jerusalem and of the people 343 of Judah. 22:22 I will place the key 344 to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. 22:23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; 345 he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. 346 22:24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, 347 including the offspring and the offshoots. 348 All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.’ 349
22:25 “At that time,” 350 says the Lord who commands armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.” 351 Indeed, 352 the Lord has spoken.
23:1 Here is a message about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships, 353
for the port is too devastated to enter! 354
From the land of Cyprus 355 this news is announced to them.
23:2 Lament, 356 you residents of the coast,
you merchants of Sidon 357 who travel over the sea,
whose agents sail over 23:3 the deep waters! 358
Grain from the Shihor region, 359
crops grown near the Nile 360 she receives; 361
she is the trade center 362 of the nations.
23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea 363 says this, O fortress of the sea:
“I have not gone into labor
or given birth;
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.” 364
23:5 When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre. 365
23:6 Travel to Tarshish!
Wail, you residents of the coast!
23:7 Is this really your boisterous city 366
whose origins are in the distant past, 367
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
23:8 Who planned this for royal Tyre, 368
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the dignitaries 369 of the earth?
23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –
to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, 370
to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.
23:10 Daughter Tarshish, travel back to your land, as one crosses the Nile;
there is no longer any marketplace in Tyre. 371
23:11 The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea, 372
he shook kingdoms;
he 373 gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses. 374
23:12 He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed 375 virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.” 376
23:13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
these people who have lost their identity! 377
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers, 378
demolished 379 its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins. 380
23:14 Wail, you large ships, 381
for your fortress is destroyed!
23:15 At that time 382 Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, 383 the typical life span of a king. 384 At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: 385
23:16 “Take the harp,
go through the city,
forgotten prostitute!
Play it well,
play lots of songs,
so you’ll be noticed!” 386
23:17 At the end of seventy years 387 the Lord will revive 388 Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms. 389 23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. 390
24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, 391
the master as well as the servant, 392
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 393
the seller as well as the buyer, 394
the borrower as well as the lender, 395
the creditor as well as the debtor. 396
24:3 The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment. 397
24:4 The earth 398 dries up 399 and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth 400 fade away.
24:5 The earth is defiled by 401 its inhabitants, 402
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation, 403
and broken the permanent treaty. 404
24:6 So a treaty curse 405 devours the earth;
its inhabitants pay for their guilt. 406
This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, 407
and are reduced to just a handful of people. 408
24:7 The new wine dries up,
the vines shrivel up,
all those who like to celebrate 409 groan.
24:8 The happy sound 410 of the tambourines stops,
the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,
the happy sound of the harp ceases.
24:9 They no longer sing and drink wine; 411
the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
24:10 The ruined town 412 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 413
24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 414
all joy turns to sorrow; 415
celebrations disappear from the earth. 416
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 417
the gate is reduced to rubble. 418
24:13 This is what will happen throughout 419 the earth,
among the nations.
It will be like when they beat an olive tree,
and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. 420
24:14 They 421 lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise 422 the majesty of the Lord in the west.
24:15 So in the east 423 extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol 424 the fame 425 of the Lord God of Israel.
24:16 From the ends of the earth we 426 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 427
But I 428 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 429
24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 430
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 431
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 432 are opened up 433
and the foundations of the earth shake.
24:19 The earth is broken in pieces,
the earth is ripped to shreds,
the earth shakes violently. 434
24:20 The earth will stagger around 435 like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. 436
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.
24:21 At that time 437 the Lord will punish 438
the heavenly forces in the heavens 439
and the earthly kings on the earth.
24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, 440
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time, 441 they will be punished. 442
24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 443
the bright sun 444 will be darkened; 445
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 446
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 447
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 448
[13:1] 1 sn Isa 13-23 contains a series of judgment oracles against various nations. It is likely that Israel, not the nations mentioned, actually heard these oracles. The oracles probably had a twofold purpose. For those leaders who insisted on getting embroiled in international politics, these oracles were a reminder that Judah need not fear foreign nations or seek international alliances for security reasons. For the righteous remnant within the nation, these oracles were a reminder that Israel’s God was indeed the sovereign ruler of the earth, worthy of his people’s trust.
[13:1] 2 tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] [about] Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw.”
[13:2] 3 sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).
[13:3] 4 tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.
[13:3] 5 tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”
[13:3] 6 tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”
[13:4] 7 sn In vv. 4-10 the prophet appears to be speaking, since the Lord is referred to in the third person. However, since the Lord refers to himself in the third person later in this chapter (see v. 13), it is possible that he speaks throughout the chapter.
[13:4] 8 tn Heb “a sound, a roar [is] on the mountains, like many people.”
[13:4] 9 tn Heb “a sound, tumult of kingdoms.”
[13:5] 10 tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”
[13:5] 11 tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”
[13:5] 12 tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.
[13:6] 13 tn Heb “the day of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
[13:6] 14 tn Heb “like destruction from the sovereign judge it comes.” The comparative preposition (כְּ, kÿ) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the destruction unleashed will have all the earmarks of divine judgment. One could paraphrase, “it comes as only destructive divine judgment can.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x.
[13:6] sn The divine name used here is שַׁדַּי (shaddai, “Shaddai”). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name is uncertain (see discussion below) its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. In Gen 17:1-8 he appears to Abram, introduces himself as El Shaddai, and announces his intention to make the patriarch fruitful. In the role of El Shaddai God repeats these words (now elevated to the status of a decree) to Jacob (35:11). Earlier Isaac had pronounced a blessing upon Jacob in which he asked El Shaddai to make Jacob fruitful (28:3). Jacob later prays that his sons will be treated with mercy when they return to Egypt with Benjamin (43:14). The fertility theme is not as apparent here, though one must remember that Jacob viewed Benjamin as the sole remaining son of the favored and once-barren Rachel (cf. 29:31; 30:22-24; 35:16-18). It is quite natural that he would appeal to El Shaddai to preserve Benjamin’s life, for it was El Shaddai’s miraculous power which made it possible for Rachel to give him sons in the first place. In 48:3 Jacob, prior to blessing Joseph’s sons, tells him how El Shaddai appeared to him at Bethel (cf. chapter 28) and promised to make him fruitful. When blessing Joseph on his deathbed Jacob refers to Shaddai (we should probably read “El Shaddai,” along with a few Hebrew
[13:7] 15 tn Heb “drop”; KJV “be faint”; ASV “be feeble”; NAB “fall helpless.”
[13:7] 16 tn Heb “melts” (so NAB).
[13:8] 17 tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.
[13:9] 18 tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”
[13:9] 19 tn Heb “[with] cruelty, and fury, and rage of anger.” Three synonyms for “anger” are piled up at the end of the line to emphasize the extraordinary degree of divine anger that will be exhibited in this judgment.
[13:9] 20 tn Heb “making desolate.”
[13:9] 21 tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT).
[13:10] 22 tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”
[13:10] 23 tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”
[13:11] 24 sn The Lord is definitely speaking (again?) at this point. See the note at v. 4.
[13:11] 25 tn Or “I will bring disaster on the world.” Hebrew רָעָה (ra’ah) could refer to the judgment (i.e., disaster, calamity) or to the evil that prompts it. The structure of the parallel line favors the latter interpretation.
[13:11] 26 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; cf. NASB, NIV “the ruthless.”
[13:12] 27 tn The verb is supplied in the translation from the first line. The verb in the first line (“I will make scarce”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.
[13:13] 28 tn Or “the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[13:13] 29 tn Heb “from its place” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV).
[13:13] 30 tn Heb “and in the day of the raging of his anger.”
[13:14] 31 tn Or “like a gazelle being chased.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[13:14] 32 tn Heb “his people” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “his nation” (cf. TEV “their own countries”).
[13:15] 33 tn Heb “carried off,” i.e., grabbed from the fleeing crowd. See HALOT 764 s.v. ספה.
[13:15] 34 tn Heb “will fall” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NLT “will be run through with a sword.”
[13:17] 35 tn Heb “against them”; NLT “against Babylon.”
[13:17] 36 sn They cannot be bought off, for they have a lust for bloodshed.
[13:18] 37 tn Heb “and bows cut to bits young men.” “Bows” stands by metonymy for arrows.
[13:18] 38 tn Heb “the fruit of the womb.”
[13:18] 39 tn Heb “their eye does not.” Here “eye” is a metonymy for the whole person.
[13:19] 40 tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).
[13:19] 41 tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”
[13:19] sn The Chaldeans were a group of tribes who lived in southern Mesopotamia. The established the so-called neo-Babylonian empire in the late seventh century
[13:19] 42 tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.
[13:20] 43 tn Heb “she will not be inhabited forever, and she will not be dwelt in to generation and generation (i.e., forever).” The Lord declares that Babylon, personified as a woman, will not be inhabited. In other words, her people will be destroyed and the Chaldean empire will come to a permanent end.
[13:20] 44 tn Or “Arab” (NAB, NASB, NIV); cf. CEV, NLT “nomads.”
[13:20] 45 tn יַהֵל (yahel) is probably a corrupted form of יֶאֱהַל (ye’ehal). See GKC 186 §68.k.
[13:20] 46 tn The words “their flocks” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text does not supply the object here, but see Jer 33:12.
[13:21] 47 tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[13:21] 48 tn The precise referent of this word in uncertain. See HALOT 29 s.v. *אֹחַ. Various English versions translate as “owls” (e.g., NAB, NASB), “wild dogs” (NCV); “jackals” (NIV); “howling creatures” (NRSV, NLT).
[13:21] 49 tn Heb “will skip there.”
[13:22] 50 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “wild dogs will yip among his widows, and jackals in the palaces of pleasure.” The verb “yip” is supplied in the second line; it does double duty in the parallel structure. “His widows” makes little sense in this context; many emend the form (אַלְמנוֹתָיו, ’almnotayv) to the graphically similar אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ (’armÿnoteha, “her fortresses”), a reading that is assumed in the present translation. The use of “widows” may represent an intentional wordplay on “fortresses,” indicating that the fortresses are like dejected widows (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:308, n. 1).
[13:22] 51 tn Heb “near to come is her time.”
[13:22] 52 sn When was the prophecy of Babylon’s fall fulfilled? Some argue that the prophecy was fulfilled in 689
[14:1] 53 tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.
[14:1] 54 tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:1] 55 tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
[14:2] 57 tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”
[14:3] 58 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[14:4] 59 tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”
[14:4] 60 tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.
[14:6] 61 tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.
[14:6] 62 tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.
[14:6] 63 tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.
[14:8] 64 tn Heb “concerning you.”
[14:8] 65 tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.
[14:8] 66 tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”
[14:8] 67 tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”
[14:9] 68 sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.
[14:9] 69 tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.
[14:9] 70 tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.
[14:9] 71 tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.
[14:11] 72 tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”
[14:11] 73 tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[14:11] 74 tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”
[14:12] 75 tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.
[14:12] sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061).
[14:12] 76 tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”
[14:12] 77 sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.
[14:13] 78 tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”
[14:13] 79 sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.
[14:13] 80 sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.
[14:14] 81 tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.
[14:14] 82 sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.
[14:15] 83 tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.
[14:15] 84 tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.
[14:16] 85 tn The word “thinking” is supplied in the translation in order to make it clear that the next line records their thoughts as they gaze at him.
[14:17] 86 tc The pronominal suffix is masculine, even though its antecedent appears to be the grammatically feminine noun “world.” Some have suggested that the form עָרָיו (’arayv, plural noun with third masculine singular suffix) should be emended to עָרֶיהָ (’areha, plural noun with third feminine singular suffix). This emendation may be unnecessary in light of other examples of lack of agreement a suffix and its antecedent noun.
[14:17] 87 tn Heb “and his prisoners did not let loose to [their] homes.” This really means, “he did not let loose his prisoners and send them back to their homes.’ On the elliptical style, see GKC 366 §117.o.
[14:18] 88 sn It is unclear where the quotation of the kings, begun in v. 10b, ends. However, the reference to the “kings of the nations” in v. 18 (see also v. 9) seems to indicate that the quotation has ended at this point and that Israel’s direct taunt (cf. vv. 4b-10a) has resumed. In fact the references to the “kings of the nations” may form a stylistic inclusio or frame around the quotation.
[14:18] 89 tc The phrase “all of them” does not appear in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
[14:18] 90 sn This refers to the typically extravagant burial of kings.
[14:18] 91 tn Heb “house” (so KJV, ASV), but in this context a tomb is in view. Note the verb “lie down” in the preceding line and the reference to a “grave” in the next line.
[14:19] 92 tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”
[14:19] 93 tn Heb “are clothed with.”
[14:19] 94 tn Heb “those going down to.”
[14:19] 95 tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.
[14:19] 96 tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.
[14:20] 97 tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).
[14:21] 98 tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”
[14:21] 99 tn Heb “for the sin of their fathers.”
[14:21] 100 sn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:320, n. 10) suggests that the garrison cities of the mighty empire are in view here.
[14:22] 101 tn Heb “I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant” (ASV, NAB, and NRSV all similar).
[14:22] 102 tn Heb “descendant and child.”
[14:23] 103 tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).
[14:23] 104 tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”
[14:24] 105 sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.
[14:25] 106 tn Heb “to break Assyria.”
[14:25] 107 tn Heb “him.” This is a collective singular referring to the nation, or a reference to the king of Assyria who by metonymy stands for the entire nation.
[14:25] 108 tn Heb “and his [i.e., Assyria’s] yoke will be removed from them [the people?], and his [Assyria’s] burden from his [the nation’s?] shoulder will be removed.” There are no antecedents in this oracle for the suffixes in the phrases “from them” and “from his shoulder.” Since the Lord’s land and hills are referred to in the preceding line and the statement seems to echo 10:27, it is likely that God’s people are the referents of the suffixes; the translation uses “my people” to indicate this.
[14:26] 109 tn Heb “and this is the hand that is outstretched over all the nations.”
[14:27] 110 tn Or “For” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[14:27] 111 tn Heb “His hand is outstretched and who will turn it back?”
[14:28] 112 sn Perhaps 715
[14:28] 113 tn Heb “this oracle came.”
[14:29] 114 sn The identity of this “club” (also referred to as a “serpent” in the next line) is uncertain. It may refer to an Assyrian king, or to Ahaz. For discussion see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:331-32. The viper/adder referred to in the second half of the verse is his successor.
[14:29] 115 tn Heb “flying burning one.” The designation “burning one” may allude to the serpent’s appearance or the effect of its poisonous bite. (See the note at 6:2.) The qualifier “flying” probably refers to the serpent’s quick, darting movements, though one might propose a homonym here, meaning “biting.” (See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:332, n. 18.) Some might think in terms of a mythological flying, fire breathing dragon (cf. NAB “a flying saraph”; CEV “a flying fiery dragon”), but this proposal does not make good sense in 30:6, where the phrase “flying burning one” appears again in a list of desert animals.
[14:30] 116 tc The Hebrew text has, “the firstborn of the poor will graze.” “Firstborn” may be used here in an idiomatic sense to indicate the very poorest of the poor. See BDB 114 s.v. בְּכוֹר. The translation above assumes an emendation of בְּכוֹרֵי (bÿkhorey, “firstborn of”) to בְּכָרַי (bekharay, “in my pastures”).
[14:30] 117 tn Heb “your remnant” (so NAB, NRSV).
[14:31] 118 tn Or “despair” (see HALOT 555 s.v. מוג). The form נָמוֹג (namog) should be taken here as an infinitive absolute functioning as an imperative. See GKC 199-200 §72.v.
[14:31] 119 tn Heb “and there is no one going alone in his appointed places.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. בּוֹדֵד (boded) appears to be a participle from בָּדַד (badad, “be separate”; see BDB 94 s.v. בָּדַד). מוֹעָד (mo’ad) may mean “assembly” or, by extension, “multitude” (see HALOT 558 s.v. *מוֹעָד), but the referent of the third masculine pronominal suffix attached to the noun is unclear. It probably refers to the “nation” mentioned in the next line.
[14:32] 120 sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.
[15:2] 122 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
[15:2] 123 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
[15:2] 124 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
[15:4] 125 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[15:4] 126 tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).
[15:5] 127 tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.
[15:5] 128 tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.
[15:5] 129 tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:5] 130 tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”
[15:6] 131 tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”
[15:8] 132 tn Heb “to Eglaim [is] her wailing, and [to] Beer Elim [is] her wailing.”
[15:9] 133 tc The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads “Dibon” instead of “Dimon” in this verse.
[15:9] 134 tn Heb “Indeed I will place on Dimon added things.” Apparently the Lord is speaking.
[15:9] 135 tn The words “will attack” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[16:1] 136 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Send [a plural imperatival form is used] a ram [to] the ruler of the land.” The term כַּר (kar, “ram”) should be emended to the plural כָּרִים (karim). The singular form in the text is probably the result of haplography; note that the next word begins with a mem (מ).
[16:1] 137 tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”
[16:2] 138 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[16:2] 139 tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”
[16:3] 140 sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.
[16:3] 141 tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.
[16:3] 142 tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”
[16:4] 143 tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”
[16:4] 144 tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”
[16:4] 145 tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5.
[16:4] 146 tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.
[16:4] 147 tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem.
[16:5] 148 tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”
[16:5] 149 tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”
[16:6] 150 tn עֶבְרָה (’evrah) often means “anger, fury,” but here it appears to refer to boastful outbursts or excessive claims. See HALOT 782 s.v. עֶבְרָה.
[16:6] 151 tn Heb “not so his boasting.”
[16:7] 152 tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”
[16:7] 153 tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”
[16:9] 154 tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).
[16:9] 155 tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).
[16:9] 156 tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”
[16:10] 157 tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”
[16:10] 158 sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.
[16:11] 159 tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.
[16:11] 160 tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.
[16:11] 161 tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).
[16:12] 162 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[16:12] 163 tn Heb “when he appears, when he grows tired, Moab on the high places, and enters his temple to pray, he will not prevail.” It is possible that “when he grows tired” is an explanatory gloss for the preceding “when he appears.”
[16:14] 164 tn Heb “in three years, like the years of a hired worker.” The three years must be reckoned exactly, just as a hired worker would carefully keep track of the time he had agreed to work for an employer in exchange for a predetermined wage.
[16:14] 165 tn Heb “and the splendor of Moab will be disgraced with all the great multitude, and a small little remnant will not be strong.”
[17:2] 166 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] 167 tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”
[17:3] 168 tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”
[17:4] 169 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] 170 tn Heb “will be tiny.”
[17:4] 171 tn Heb “and the fatness of his flesh will be made lean.”
[17:7] 172 tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB, NIV); KJV “At that day.”
[17:7] 173 tn Heb “man will gaze toward his maker.”
[17:7] 174 tn Heb “his eyes will look toward.”
[17:7] 175 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[17:8] 176 tn Heb “he will not gaze toward.”
[17:8] 177 tn Heb “and that which his fingers made he will not see, the Asherah poles and the incense altars.”
[17:9] 178 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[17:9] 179 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] 180 tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[17:10] 181 tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”
[17:10] 182 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] 183 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] 184 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] 185 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] 186 tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”
[17:12] 187 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] 188 tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”
[17:13] 189 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
[17:13] 190 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] 191 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
[17:14] 192 tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”
[17:14] 193 tn Heb “before morning he is not.”
[17:14] 194 tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”
[18:1] 195 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] 196 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] 197 tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
[18:2] 198 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] 199 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] 200 tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”
[18:4] 201 tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
[18:4] 202 tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
[18:4] 203 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[18:4] 204 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] 205 tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”
[18:5] 206 tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.
[18:5] 207 tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”
[18:6] 208 tn Heb “they will be left together” (so NASB).
[18:6] 209 tn Heb “the beasts of the earth” (so KJV, NASB).
[18:7] 210 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
[18:7] 211 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
[18:7] 212 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
[19:1] 213 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
[19:2] 214 tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).
[19:2] 215 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] 216 tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”
[19:3] 217 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] 218 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] 219 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:5] 220 tn Heb “will dry up and be dry.” Two synonyms are joined for emphasis.
[19:6] 221 tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”
[19:6] 222 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] 223 tn Heb “the plants by the river, by the mouth of the river.”
[19:7] 224 tn Heb “will dry up, [being] scattered, and it will vanish.”
[19:8] 225 tn Or perhaps, “will disappear”; cf. TEV “will be useless.”
[19:9] 226 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] 227 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] 228 tn Heb “crushed.” Emotional distress is the focus of the context (see vv. 8-9, 10b).
[19:10] 229 tn Heb “sad of soul”; cf. NIV, NLT “sick at heart.”
[19:11] 230 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
[19:11] 231 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] 232 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] 233 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
[19:13] 234 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
[19:14] 235 tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”
[19:14] 236 tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”
[19:15] 237 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] 238 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
[19:16] 239 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
[19:16] 240 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] 241 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] 242 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] 243 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] 244 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] 245 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] 246 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] 247 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] 248 tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”
[19:21] 249 tn Heb “Egypt.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the present translation uses the pronoun (“they”) here.
[19:21] 250 tn Heb “will know the Lord.”
[19:21] 251 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 23 and 24.
[19:22] 252 tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”
[19:23] 253 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] 254 tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).
[19:24] 255 tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).
[19:25] 256 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] 257 tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
[20:1] 258 tn Heb “In the year the commanding general came to Ashdod, when Sargon king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and captured it.”
[20:1] sn This probably refers to the Assyrian campaign against Philistia in 712 or 711
[20:2] 259 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
[20:2] 260 tn The word used here (עָרוֹם, ’arom) sometimes means “naked,” but here it appears to mean simply “lightly dressed,” i.e., stripped to one’s undergarments. See HALOT 883 s.v. עָרוֹם. The term also occurs in vv. 3, 4.
[20:4] 261 tn Heb “lightly dressed and barefoot, and bare with respect to the buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt.”
[20:5] 262 tn Heb “and they will be afraid and embarrassed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their beauty.”
[20:6] 263 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[20:6] 264 sn This probably refers to the coastal region of Philistia (cf. TEV).
[21:1] 265 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] 266 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
[21:2] 267 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
[21:2] 268 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
[21:3] 269 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
[21:3] 270 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
[21:4] 271 tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”
[21:4] 272 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
[21:5] 273 tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).
[21:5] 274 tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.
[21:5] 275 sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.
[21:6] 276 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:7] 277 tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”
[21:8] 278 tn The Hebrew text has, “the lion,” but this makes little sense here. אַרְיֵה (’aryeh, “lion”) is probably a corruption of an original הָרֹאֶה (haro’eh, “the one who sees”), i.e., the guard mentioned previously in v. 6.
[21:8] 279 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay). Some translations take this to refer to the Lord (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV), while others take it to refer to the guard’s human master (“my lord”; cf. NIV, NLT).
[21:9] 280 tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
[21:9] 281 tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).
[21:10] 282 tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
[21:11] 283 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] 284 sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.
[21:11] 285 sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.
[21:12] 286 sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.
[21:12] 287 sn The point of the watchman’s final instructions (“if you want to ask, ask; come again”) is unclear. Perhaps they are included to add realism to the dramatic portrayal. The watchman sends the questioner away with the words, “Feel free to come back and ask again.”
[21:16] 288 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:16] 289 tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.
[21:17] 290 tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”
[21:17] 291 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[22:1] 292 sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).
[22:1] 293 tn Heb “What to you, then?”
[22:2] 294 tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.
[22:2] 295 sn Apparently they died from starvation during the siege that preceded the final conquest of the city. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:409.
[22:3] 296 tn Verse 3 reads literally, “All your leaders ran away, apart from a bow they were captured, all your found ones were captured together, to a distant place they fled.” J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:403, n. 3) suggests that the lines of the verse are arranged chiastically; lines 1 and 4 go together, while lines 2 and 3 are parallel. To translate the lines in the order they appear in the Hebrew text is misleading to the English reader, who is likely unfamiliar with, or at least insensitive to, chiastic parallelism. Consequently, the translation above arranges the lines as follows: line 1 (Hebrew) = line 1 (in translation); line 2 (Hebrew) = line 4 (in translation); line 3 (Hebrew) = line 3 (in translation); line 4 (Hebrew) = line 2 (in translation).
[22:3] 297 tn Heb “all your found ones.” To achieve tighter parallelism (see “your leaders”) some prefer to emend the form to אַמִּיצַיִךְ (’ammitsayikh, “your strong ones”) or to נֶאֱמָצַיִךְ (ne’ematsayikh, “your strengthened ones”).
[22:3] 298 tn Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”
[22:4] 299 tn Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
[22:4] 300 tn Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).
[22:4] 301 tn Heb “the daughter of my people.” “Daughter” is here used metaphorically to express the speaker’s emotional attachment to his people, as well as their vulnerability and weakness.
[22:5] 302 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[22:5] 303 tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[22:5] 304 tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.
[22:5] 305 tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.
[22:5] 306 sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.
[22:6] 307 tn Heb “[with] the chariots of men, horsemen.”
[22:6] 308 sn A distant region in the direction of Mesopotamia; see Amos 1:5; 9:7.
[22:6] 309 tn Heb “Kir uncovers” (so NAB, NIV).
[22:6] 310 sn The Elamites and men of Kir may here symbolize a fierce army from a distant land. If this oracle anticipates a Babylonian conquest of the city (see 39:5-7), then the Elamites and men of Kir are perhaps viewed here as mercenaries in the Babylonian army. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:410.
[22:7] 311 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[22:7] 312 tn Heb “taking a stand, take their stand.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. The translation attempts to bring out this emphasis with the adverb “confidently.”
[22:8] 313 tn Heb “he,” i.e., the enemy invader. NASB, by its capitalization of the pronoun, takes this to refer to the Lord.
[22:8] 315 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of v. 12.
[22:8] 316 sn Perhaps this refers to a royal armory, or to Solomon’s “House of the Forest of Lebanon,” where weapons may have been kept (see 1 Kgs 10:16-17).
[22:9] 317 tn Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”
[22:10] 318 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:10] 319 tn Heb “you demolished the houses to fortify the wall.”
[22:11] 320 tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”
[22:11] 321 tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.
[22:11] 322 tn Heb “did not see.”
[22:12] 323 tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.
[22:13] 324 tn Heb “happiness and joy.”
[22:13] 325 tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.
[22:14] 326 tn Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
[22:14] 327 tn Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.
[22:15] 328 tn Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”
[22:15] 329 tn The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[22:16] 330 tn Heb “What to you here? And who to you here?” The point of the second question is not entirely clear. The interpretation reflected in the translation is based on the following context, which suggests that Shebna has no right to think of himself so highly and arrange such an extravagant burial place for himself.
[22:16] 331 tn Heb “that you chisel out.”
[22:17] 332 tn Heb “will throw you with a throwing.”
[22:17] 333 tn Heb “O man” (so NASB); NAB “mortal man”; NRSV “my fellow.”
[22:17] 334 tn Heb “and the one who wraps you [will] wrap.”
[22:18] 335 tn Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”
[22:18] 336 tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”
[22:18] 337 sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.
[22:19] 338 tn Heb “I will push you away from.”
[22:19] 339 tn Heb “he will throw you down.” The shift from the first to third person is peculiar and abrupt, but certainly not unprecedented in Hebrew poetry. See GKC 462 §144.p. The third person may be indefinite (“one will throw you down”), in which case the passive translation is justified.
[22:20] 340 tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[22:21] 341 tn Heb “and your dominion I will place in his hand.”
[22:21] 342 tn Heb “a father to.” The Hebrew term אָב (’av, “father”) is here used metaphorically of one who protects and supports those under his care and authority, like a father does his family. For another example of this metaphorical use of the word, see Job 29:16.
[22:22] 344 sn This may refer to a literal insignia worn by the chief administrator. Even so, it would still symbolize the administrator’s authority to grant or exclude access to the king. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:422.
[22:23] 345 sn The metaphor depicts how secure his position will be.
[22:23] 346 tn Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”
[22:24] 347 tn Heb “and all the glory of the house of his father they will hang on him.” The Lord returns to the peg metaphor of v. 23a. Eliakim’s secure position of honor will bring benefits and jobs to many others in the family.
[22:24] 348 tn The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”
[22:24] 349 tn Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.
[22:25] 350 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[22:25] 351 sn Eliakim’s authority, though seemingly secure, will eventually be removed, and with it his family’s prominence.
[22:25] 352 tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[23:1] 353 tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
[23:1] 354 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for it is destroyed, from a house, from entering.” The translation assumes that the mem (מ) on בַּיִת (bayit) was originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. This assumption allows one to take בַּיִת as the subject of the preceding verb. It is used in a metaphorical sense for the port city of Tyre. The preposition min (מִן) prefixed to בּוֹא (bo’) indicates negative consequence: “so that no one can enter.” See BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b.
[23:1] 355 tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.
[23:2] 356 tn Or “keep quiet”; NAB “Silence!”
[23:2] 357 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[23:3] 358 tc The Hebrew text (23:2b-3a) reads literally, “merchant of Sidon, the one who crosses the sea, they filled you, and on the deep waters.” Instead of מִלְאוּךְ (mil’ukh, “they filled you”) the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads מלאכיך (“your messengers”). The translation assumes an emendation of מִלְאוּךְ to מַלְאָכָו (mal’akhav, “his messengers”), taking the vav (ו) on וּבְמַיִם (uvÿmayim) as improperly placed; instead it should be the final letter of the preceding word.
[23:3] 359 tn Heb “seed of Shihor.” “Shihor” probably refers to the east branch of the Nile. See Jer 2:18 and BDB 1009 s.v. שִׁיחוֹר.
[23:3] 360 tn Heb “the harvest of the Nile.”
[23:3] 361 tn Heb “[is] her revenue.”
[23:3] 362 tn Heb “merchandise”; KJV, ASV “a mart of nations”; NLT “the merchandise mart of the world.”
[23:4] 363 tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.
[23:4] 364 tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).
[23:4] sn The sea is personified here as a lamenting childless woman. The foreboding language anticipates the following announcement of Tyre’s demise, viewed here as a child of the sea, as it were.
[23:5] 365 tn Heb “they will be in pain at the report of Tyre.”
[23:7] 366 tn Heb “Is this to you, boisterous one?” The pronoun “you” is masculine plural, like the imperatives in v. 6, so it is likely addressed to the Egyptians and residents of the coast. “Boisterous one” is a feminine singular form, probably referring to the personified city of Tyre.
[23:7] 367 tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”
[23:8] 368 tn The precise meaning of הַמַּעֲטִירָה (hamma’atirah) is uncertain. The form is a Hiphil participle from עָטַר (’atar), a denominative verb derived from עֲטָרָה (’atarah, “crown, wreath”). The participle may mean “one who wears a crown” or “one who distributes crowns.” In either case, Tyre’s prominence in the international political arena is in view.
[23:8] 369 tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”
[23:9] 370 tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”
[23:10] 371 tc This meaning of this verse is unclear. The Hebrew text reads literally, “Cross over your land, like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish, there is no more waistband.” The translation assumes an emendation of מֵזַח (mezakh, “waistband”) to מָחֹז (makhoz, “harbor, marketplace”; see Ps 107:30). The term עָבַר (’avar, “cross over”) is probably used here of traveling over the water (as in v. 6). The command is addressed to personified Tarshish, who here represents her merchants. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has עבדי (“work, cultivate”) instead of עִבְרִי (’ivri, “cross over”). In this case one might translate “Cultivate your land, like they do the Nile region” (cf. NIV, CEV). The point would be that the people of Tarshish should turn to agriculture because they will no longer be able to get what they need through the marketplace in Tyre.
[23:11] 372 tn Heb “his hand he stretched out over the sea.”
[23:11] 373 tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.
[23:11] 374 tn Heb “concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.” NIV, NLT translate “Canaan” as “Phoenicia” here.
[23:12] 375 tn Or “violated, raped,” the point being that Daughter Sidon has lost her virginity in the most brutal manner possible.
[23:12] 376 tn Heb “[to the] Kittim, get up, cross over; even there there will be no rest for you.” On “Kittim” see the note on “Cyprus” at v. 1.
[23:13] 377 tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”
[23:13] 378 tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.
[23:13] 379 tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.
[23:13] 380 sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.
[23:14] 381 tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” See the note at v. 1.
[23:15] 382 tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[23:15] 383 sn The number seventy is probably used in a stereotypical, nonliteral sense here to indicate a long period of time that satisfies completely the demands of God’s judgment.
[23:15] 384 tn Heb “like the days of a king.”
[23:15] 385 tn Heb “At the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute.”
[23:16] 386 tn Heb “so you will be remembered.”
[23:17] 387 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[23:17] 388 tn Heb “visit [with favor]” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “will deal with.”
[23:17] 389 tn Heb “and she will return to her [prostitute’s] wages and engage in prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the earth.”
[23:18] 390 tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”
[23:18] sn The point of this verse, which in its blatant nationalism comes precariously close to comparing the Lord to one who controls or manages a prostitute, is that Tyre will become a subject of Israel and her God. Tyre’s commercial profits will be used to enrich the Lord’s people.
[24:2] 391 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
[24:2] 392 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
[24:2] 393 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
[24:2] 394 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
[24:2] 395 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
[24:2] 396 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
[24:3] 397 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
[24:4] 398 tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (erets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37;12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).
[24:4] 399 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.
[24:4] 400 tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (mÿrom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (mÿrome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.
[24:5] 401 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
[24:5] 402 sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.
[24:5] 403 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
[24:5] 404 tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”
[24:5] sn For a lengthy discussion of the identity of this covenant/treaty, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In this context, where judgment comes upon both the pagan nations and God’s covenant community, the phrase “permanent treaty” is intentionally ambiguous. For the nations this treaty is the Noahic mandate of Gen 9:1-7 with its specific stipulations and central regulation (Gen 9:7). By shedding blood, the warlike nations violated this treaty, which promotes population growth and prohibits murder. For Israel, which was also guilty of bloodshed (see Isa 1:15, 21; 4:4), this “permanent treaty” would refer more specifically to the Mosaic Law and its regulations prohibiting murder (Exod 20:13; Num 35:6-34), which are an extension of the Noahic mandate.
[24:6] 405 sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.
[24:6] 406 tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).
[24:6] 407 tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).
[24:6] 408 tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”
[24:7] 409 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.
[24:8] 410 tn Heb “the joy” (again later in this verse).
[24:9] 411 tn Heb “with a song they do not drink wine.”
[24:10] 412 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
[24:10] 413 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
[24:11] 414 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
[24:11] 415 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
[24:11] 416 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
[24:12] 417 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
[24:12] 418 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
[24:13] 419 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
[24:13] 420 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
[24:14] 421 sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.
[24:14] 422 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
[24:15] 423 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).
[24:15] 424 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
[24:15] 425 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
[24:16] 426 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
[24:16] 427 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
[24:16] 428 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
[24:16] 429 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”
[24:16] tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away…”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.
[24:17] 430 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
[24:18] 431 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:18] 432 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
[24:18] 433 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
[24:19] 434 tn Once more repetition is used to draw attention to a statement. In the Hebrew text each lines ends with אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”). Each line also uses a Hitpolel verb form from a geminate root preceded by an emphatic infinitive absolute.
[24:20] 435 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
[24:20] 436 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[24:21] 437 tn Or “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.
[24:21] 438 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
[24:21] 439 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).
[24:22] 440 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
[24:22] 441 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
[24:22] 442 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”
[24:23] 443 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
[24:23] 444 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
[24:23] 445 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
[24:23] 446 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
[24:23] 447 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
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