Yesaya 2:21

2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs

and the openings under the rocky overhangs, ¹ 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ² 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ³ 

Yesaya 5:17

5:17 Lambs ⁴  will graze as if in their pastures,

amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze. ⁵ 

Yesaya 33:21

33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. ⁶ 

Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; ⁷ 

no war galley will enter; ⁸ 

no large ships will sail through. ⁹ 

Yesaya 41:11

41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;

your adversaries ¹⁰  will be reduced to nothing ¹¹  and perish.

[2:21]  ¹ sn The precise point of vv. 20-21 is not entirely clear. Are they taking the idols into their hiding places with them, because they are so attached to their man-made images? Or are they discarding the idols along the way as they retreat into the darkest places they can find? In either case it is obvious that the gods are incapable of helping them.

[2:21]  ² tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:21]  ³ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men. Almost all English versions translate “earth,” taking this to refer to universal judgment.

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Or “young rams”; NIV, NCV “sheep”; NLT “flocks.”

[5:17]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and ruins, fatlings, resident aliens, will eat.” This part of the verse has occasioned various suggestions of emendation. The parallelism is tighter if the second line refers to animals grazing. The translation, “amid the ruins the fatlings and young sheep graze,” assumes an emendation of “resident aliens” (גָּרִים, garim) to “young goats/sheep” (גְּדַיִם, gÿdayim) – confusion of dalet and resh is quite common – and understands “fatlings” and “young sheep” taken as a compound subject or as in apposition as the subject of the verb. However, no emendations are necessary if the above translation is correct. The meaning of מֵחִים (mekhim) has a significant impact on one’s textual decision and translation. The noun can refer to a sacrificial (“fat”) animal as it does in its only other occurrence (Ps 66:15). However, it could signify the rich of the earth (“the fat ones of the earth”; Ps 22:29 [MT 30]) using a different word for “fatness” (דָּשֶׁן, dashen). If so, it serves a figurative reference to the rich. Consequently, the above translation coheres with the first half of the verse. Just as the sheep are out of place grazing in these places (“as in their pasture”), the sojourners would not have expected to have the chance to eat in these locations. Both animals and itinerant foreigners would eat in places not normal for them.

[5:17]  sn The image completes the picture begun in v. 14 and adds to the irony. When judgment comes, Sheol will eat up the sinners who frequent the feasts; then the banqueting halls will lie in ruins and only sheep will eat there.

[33:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”

[33:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”

[33:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”

[33:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”

[41:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”

[41:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”