Yesaya 3:25

3:25 Your ¹  men will fall by the sword,

your strong men will die in battle. ² 

Yesaya 5:22

5:22 Those who are champions ³  at drinking wine are as good as dead, ⁴ 

who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.

Yesaya 17:12

17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, ⁵ 

those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. ⁶ 

The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, ⁷ 

those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. ⁸ 

Yesaya 21:7

21:7 When he sees chariots,

teams of horses, ⁹ 

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels,

he must be alert,

very alert.”

Yesaya 27:5

27:5 unless they became my subjects ¹⁰ 

and made peace with me;

let them make peace with me. ¹¹ 

[3:25]  ¹ tn The pronoun is feminine singular, suggesting personified Zion, as representative of its women, is the addressee. The reference to “her gates’ in v. 26 makes this identification almost certain.

[3:25]  ² tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.

[5:22]  ³ tn The language used here is quite sarcastic and paves the way for the shocking description of the enemy army in vv. 25-30. The rich leaders of Judah are nothing but “party animals” who are totally incapable of withstanding real warriors.

[5:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “Woe [to]….” See the note at v. 8.

[17:12]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”

[17:12]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”

[21:7]  ⁹ tn Or “a pair of horsemen.”

[27:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “or let him take hold of my refuge.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is uncertain. Apparently the symbolic “thorns and briers” are in view, though in v. 4b a feminine singular pronoun was used to refer to them.

[27:5]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text has, “he makes peace with me, peace he makes with me.” Some contend that two alternative readings are preserved here and one should be deleted. The first has the object שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) preceding the verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “make”); the second reverses the order. Another option is to retain both statements, although repetitive, to emphasize the need to make peace with Yahweh.