10:16 For this reason 1 the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. 2 His majestic glory will go up in smoke. 3
10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. 4
The tallest trees 5 will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero,
like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; 6
he shouts, yes, he yells,
he shows his enemies his power. 7
42:14 “I have been inactive 8 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 9
59:16 He sees there is no advocate; 10
he is shocked 11 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands; 12
his desire for justice drives him on. 13
59:17 He wears his desire for justice 14 like body armor, 15
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. 16
He puts on the garments of vengeance 17
and wears zeal like a robe.
32:36 The Lord will judge his people,
and will change his plans concerning 18 his servants;
when he sees that their power has disappeared,
and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.
32:37 He will say, “Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they sought security,
32:38 who ate the best of their sacrifices,
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise and help you;
let them be your refuge!
32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, 19
“and there is no other god besides me.
I kill and give life,
I smash and I heal,
and none can resist 20 my power.
32:40 For I raise up my hand to heaven,
and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,
32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,
and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; 21
I will execute vengeance on my foes,
and repay those who hate me! 22
32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh –
the blood of the slaughtered and captured,
the chief 23 of the enemy’s leaders!’”
32:43 Cry out, O nations, with his people,
for he will avenge his servants’ blood;
he will take vengeance against his enemies,
and make atonement for his land and people.
12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, 24
because of the painful cries 25 of the needy,
I will spring into action,” 26 says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” 27
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 28
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 29
102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. 30
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
102:14 Indeed, 31 your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for 32 the dust of her ruins. 33
102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, 34
and all the kings of the earth will respect 35 his splendor,
102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, 36
and does not reject 37 their request. 38
102:18 The account of his intervention 39 will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born will praise the Lord.
3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently 40 for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder. 41
I have decided 42 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For 43 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
1 sn The irrational arrogance of the Assyrians (v. 15) will prompt the judgment about to be described.
2 tn Heb “will send leanness against his healthy ones”; NASB, NIV “will send a wasting disease.”
3 tc Heb “and in the place of his glory burning will burn, like the burning of fire.” The highly repetitive text (יֵקַד יְקֹד כִּיקוֹד אֵשׁ, yeqad yiqod kiqod ’esh) may be dittographic; if the second consonantal sequence יקד is omitted, the text would read “and in the place of his glory, it will burn like the burning of fire.”
4 tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.
5 tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).
6 tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).
7 tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”
8 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
9 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
10 tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
11 tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”
12 tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
13 tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
14 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”
15 tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”
16 tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”
17 tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”
18 tn The translation understands the verb in the sense of “be grieved, relent” (cf. HALOT 689 s.v. נחם hitp 2); cf. KJV, ASV “repent himself”; NLT “will change his mind.” Another option is to translate “will show compassion to” (see BDB 637 s.v. נחם); cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV.
19 tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the
20 tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).
21 tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.
22 tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).
23 tn Or “head” (the same Hebrew word can mean “head” in the sense of “leader, chieftain” or “head” in the sense of body part).
24 tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.
25 tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).
26 tn Heb “I will rise up.”
27 tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the
28 tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The
29 tn Heb “like a warrior overcome with wine.” The Hebrew verb רוּן (run, “overcome”) occurs only here in the OT. The phrase “overcome with wine” could picture a drunken warrior controlled by his emotions and passions (as in the present translation), or it could refer to a warrior who awakes from a drunken stupor.
30 tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”
31 tn Or “for.”
32 tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.
33 tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.
34 tn Heb “will fear the name of the
35 tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
36 tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).
37 tn Heb “despise.”
38 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.
39 tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.
41 tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).
42 tn Heb “for my decision is.”
43 tn Or “certainly.”