Yesaya 15:1--21:17
Konteks15:1 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, 1
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 2
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 3 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 4
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 5 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. 6
15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, 7
and for the fugitives 8 stretched out 9 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. 10
15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; 11
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. 12
15:9 Indeed, the waters of Dimon 13 are full of blood!
Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon. 14
A lion will attack 15 the Moabite fugitives
and the people left in the land.
16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, 16
from Sela in the desert 17
to the hill of Daughter Zion.
16:2 At the fords of the Arnon 18
the Moabite women are like a bird
that flies about when forced from its nest. 19
16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! 20
Provide some shade in the middle of the day! 21
Hide the fugitives! Do not betray 22 the one who tries to escape!
16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live 23 among you.
Hide them 24 from the destroyer!”
Certainly 25 the one who applies pressure will cease, 26
the destroyer will come to an end,
those who trample will disappear 27 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. 28
He will be sure to make just decisions
and will be experienced in executing justice. 29
16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,
their great arrogance,
their boasting, pride, and excess. 30
But their boastful claims are empty! 31
16:7 So Moab wails over its demise 32 –
they all wail!
Completely devastated, they moan
about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. 33
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 34
over the vines of Sibmah.
I will saturate you 35 with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly
over your fruit and crops. 36
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 37 –
I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. 38
16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, 39
my inner being sighs 40 for Kir Hareseth. 41
16:12 When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places, 42
and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective! 43
16:13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab. 16:14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years 44 Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.” 45
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. 46
They will be used for herds,
which will lie down there in peace. 47
17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and Damascus will lose its kingdom. 48
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, 50
and he will become skin and bones. 51
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 52 men will trust in their creator; 53
they will depend on 54 the Holy One of Israel. 55
17:8 They will no longer trust in 56 the altars their hands made,
or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made. 57
17:9 At that time 58 their fortified cities will be
like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, 59
which they abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
17:10 For you ignore 60 the God who rescues you;
you pay no attention to your strong protector. 61
So this is what happens:
You cultivate beautiful plants
and plant exotic vines. 62
17:11 The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; 63
the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout.
Yet the harvest will disappear 64 in the day of disease
and incurable pain.
17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, 65
those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. 66
The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, 67
those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. 68
17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 69
when he shouts at 70 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 71 before a strong gale.
17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; 72
by morning they vanish. 73
This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,
the destiny of those who try to loot us! 74
18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, 75
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, 76
to a people that are feared far and wide, 77
to a nation strong and victorious, 78
whose land rivers divide. 79
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 80 and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, 81
like a cloud of mist 82 in the heat 83 of harvest.” 84
18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,
and the ripening fruit appears, 85
he will cut off the unproductive shoots 86 with pruning knives;
he will prune the tendrils. 87
18:6 They will all be left 88 for the birds of the hills
and the wild animals; 89
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. 90
The tribute 91 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 92
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. 93
19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, 94
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms. 95
19:3 The Egyptians will panic, 96
and I will confuse their strategy. 97
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. 98
19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master, 99 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. 100
19:6 The canals 101 will stink; 102
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. 103
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away. 104
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. 105
19:9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;
those who weave will turn pale. 106
19:10 Those who make cloth 107 will be demoralized; 108
all the hired workers will be depressed. 109
19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; 110
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?” 111
19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? 112
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 113 are misled;
the rulers 114 of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; 115
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 116
19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots and stalk. 117
19:16 At that time 118 the Egyptians 119 will be like women. 120 They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 121 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. 122
19:18 At that time five cities 123 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. 124 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 125 dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It 126 will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of 127 the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender 128 who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they 129 will acknowledge the Lord’s authority 130 at that time. 131 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 132 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. 133 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 134 in the earth. 135 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, 136 “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, 137 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. 138 20:2 At that time the Lord announced through 139 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 140 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. 141 20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. 142 20:6 At that time 143 those who live on this coast 144 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: 145
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 146
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
21:2 I have received a distressing message: 147
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!” 148
21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; 149
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed 150 by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
I shake in fear; 152
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
21:5 Arrange the table,
lay out 153 the carpet,
eat and drink! 154
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields! 155
21:6 For this is what the sovereign master 156 has told me:
“Go, post a guard!
He must report what he sees.
21:7 When he sees chariots,
teams of horses, 157
riders on donkeys,
riders on camels,
he must be alert,
very alert.”
21:8 Then the guard 158 cries out:
“On the watchtower, O sovereign master, 159
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.” 160
When questioned, he replies, 161
“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, 162
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: 163
Someone calls to me from Seir, 164
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?” 165
21:12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but then night. 166
If you want to ask, ask;
come back again.” 167
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 168 has told me: “Within exactly one year 169 all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” 170 Indeed, 171 the Lord God of Israel has spoken.
[15:2] 2 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
[15:2] 3 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
[15:2] 4 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
[15:4] 5 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[15:4] 6 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] 7 tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.
[15:5] 8 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] 9 tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:5] 10 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] 11 tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”
[15:8] 12 tn Heb “to Eglaim [is] her wailing, and [to] Beer Elim [is] her wailing.”
[15:9] 13 tc The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads “Dibon” instead of “Dimon” in this verse.
[15:9] 14 tn Heb “Indeed I will place on Dimon added things.” Apparently the Lord is speaking.
[15:9] 15 tn The words “will attack” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[16:1] 16 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] 17 tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”
[16:2] 18 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] 19 tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”
[16:3] 20 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] 21 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] 22 tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”
[16:4] 23 tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”
[16:4] 24 tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”
[16:4] 25 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] 26 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] 27 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] 28 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] 29 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] 30 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] 31 tn Heb “not so his boasting.”
[16:7] 32 tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”
[16:7] 33 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] 34 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] 35 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] 36 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] 37 tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”
[16:10] 38 sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.
[16:11] 39 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] 40 tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.
[16:11] 41 tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).
[16:12] 42 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] 43 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] 44 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] 45 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] 46 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] 47 tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”
[17:3] 48 tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”
[17:4] 49 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] 50 tn Heb “will be tiny.”
[17:4] 51 tn Heb “and the fatness of his flesh will be made lean.”
[17:7] 52 tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB, NIV); KJV “At that day.”
[17:7] 53 tn Heb “man will gaze toward his maker.”
[17:7] 54 tn Heb “his eyes will look toward.”
[17:7] 55 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[17:8] 56 tn Heb “he will not gaze toward.”
[17:8] 57 tn Heb “and that which his fingers made he will not see, the Asherah poles and the incense altars.”
[17:9] 58 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[17:9] 59 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] 60 tn Heb “you have forgotten” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[17:10] 61 tn Heb “and the rocky cliff of your strength you do not remember.”
[17:10] 62 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] 63 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] 64 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] 65 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] 66 tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”
[17:12] 67 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] 68 tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”
[17:13] 69 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
[17:13] 70 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] 71 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
[17:14] 72 tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”
[17:14] 73 tn Heb “before morning he is not.”
[17:14] 74 tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”
[18:1] 75 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] 76 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] 77 tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
[18:2] 78 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] 79 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] 80 tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”
[18:4] 81 tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
[18:4] 82 tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
[18:4] 83 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[18:4] 84 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] 85 tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”
[18:5] 86 tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.
[18:5] 87 tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”
[18:6] 88 tn Heb “they will be left together” (so NASB).
[18:6] 89 tn Heb “the beasts of the earth” (so KJV, NASB).
[18:7] 90 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
[18:7] 91 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
[18:7] 92 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
[19:1] 93 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
[19:2] 94 tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).
[19:2] 95 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] 96 tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”
[19:3] 97 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] 98 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] 99 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[19:5] 100 tn Heb “will dry up and be dry.” Two synonyms are joined for emphasis.
[19:6] 101 tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”
[19:6] 102 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] 103 tn Heb “the plants by the river, by the mouth of the river.”
[19:7] 104 tn Heb “will dry up, [being] scattered, and it will vanish.”
[19:8] 105 tn Or perhaps, “will disappear”; cf. TEV “will be useless.”
[19:9] 106 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] 107 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] 108 tn Heb “crushed.” Emotional distress is the focus of the context (see vv. 8-9, 10b).
[19:10] 109 tn Heb “sad of soul”; cf. NIV, NLT “sick at heart.”
[19:11] 110 tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”
[19:11] 111 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] 112 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] 113 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
[19:13] 114 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
[19:14] 115 tn Heb “the Lord has mixed into her midst a spirit of blindness.”
[19:14] 116 tn Heb “like the going astray of a drunkard in his vomit.”
[19:15] 117 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] 118 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
[19:16] 119 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
[19:16] 120 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] 121 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] 122 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] 123 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] 124 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] 125 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] 126 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] 127 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] 128 tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”
[19:21] 129 tn Heb “Egypt.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the present translation uses the pronoun (“they”) here.
[19:21] 130 tn Heb “will know the Lord.”
[19:21] 131 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 23 and 24.
[19:22] 132 tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”
[19:23] 133 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] 134 tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).
[19:24] 135 tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).
[19:25] 136 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] 137 tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
[20:1] 138 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] 139 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
[20:2] 140 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] 141 tn Heb “lightly dressed and barefoot, and bare with respect to the buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt.”
[20:5] 142 tn Heb “and they will be afraid and embarrassed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their beauty.”
[20:6] 143 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[20:6] 144 sn This probably refers to the coastal region of Philistia (cf. TEV).
[21:1] 145 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] 146 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
[21:2] 147 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
[21:2] 148 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
[21:3] 149 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
[21:3] 150 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
[21:4] 151 tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”
[21:4] 152 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
[21:5] 153 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] 154 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] 155 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] 156 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:7] 157 tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”
[21:8] 158 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] 159 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] 160 tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
[21:9] 161 tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).
[21:10] 162 tn Heb “My trampled one, and the son of the threshing floor.”
[21:11] 163 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] 164 sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.
[21:11] 165 sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.
[21:12] 166 sn Dumah will experience some relief, but it will be short-lived as night returns.
[21:12] 167 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] 168 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[21:16] 169 tn Heb “in still a year, like the years of a hired worker.” See the note at 16:14.
[21:17] 170 tn Heb “and the remnant of the number of the bow, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few.”
