24:25 “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take 4 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 5 as well as their sons and daughters: 6 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 7 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 8 you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me 9 are reminders and object lessons 10 in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
1 tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.
2 tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3 sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.
4 tn Heb “(Will) it not (be) in the day I take?”
5 tn Heb “the uplifting of their soul.” According to BDB 672 s.v. מַשָּׂא 2, the term “uplifting” refers to “that to which they lift up their soul, their heart’s desire.” However, this text is the only one listed for this use. It seems more likely that the term has its well-attested nuance of “burden, load,” here and refers to that which weighs them down emotionally and is a constant source of concern or worry.
6 tn In the Hebrew text there is no conjunction before “their sons and daughters.” For this reason one might assume that the preceding descriptive phrases refer to the sons and daughters, but verse 21 suggests otherwise. The descriptive phrases appear to refer to the “stronghold,” which parallels “my sanctuary” in verse 21. The children constitute a separate category.
7 tn Heb “to make the ears hear.”
8 tn Heb “your mouth will open.”
9 sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).
10 tn Or “signs and portents” (NAB, NRSV). The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the Lord delivers”) was a reminder that the Lord was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria (see the note at 8:4). The word מוֹפֶת (mofet, “portent”) can often refer to some miraculous event, but in 20:3 it is used, along with its synonym אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) of Isaiah’s walking around half-naked as an object lesson of what would soon happen to the Egyptians.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
12 tn Grk “behold.”
13 tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.
14 sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.
15 tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”
16 tn Grk “God bearing witness together” (the phrase “with them” is implied).
17 tn Grk “and distributions of the Holy Spirit.”