10:24 So 1 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 2
13:4 3 There is a loud noise on the mountains –
it sounds like a large army! 4
There is great commotion among the kingdoms 5 –
nations are being assembled!
The Lord who commands armies is mustering
forces for battle.
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. 6
23:1 Here is a message about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships, 7
for the port is too devastated to enter! 8
From the land of Cyprus 9 this news is announced to them.
33:15 The one who lives 10 uprightly 11
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 12
the one who does not plot violent crimes 13
and does not seek to harm others 14 –
34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; 15
wild goats will bleat to one another. 16
Yes, nocturnal animals 17 will rest there
and make for themselves a nest. 18
35:4 Tell those who panic, 19
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge!
With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 20
44:20 He feeds on ashes; 21
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 22
56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of 23 the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly 24 exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
1 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
2 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
3 sn In vv. 4-10 the prophet appears to be speaking, since the Lord is referred to in the third person. However, since the Lord refers to himself in the third person later in this chapter (see v. 13), it is possible that he speaks throughout the chapter.
4 tn Heb “a sound, a roar [is] on the mountains, like many people.”
5 tn Heb “a sound, tumult of kingdoms.”
5 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
7 tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
8 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for it is destroyed, from a house, from entering.” The translation assumes that the mem (מ) on בַּיִת (bayit) was originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. This assumption allows one to take בַּיִת as the subject of the preceding verb. It is used in a metaphorical sense for the port city of Tyre. The preposition min (מִן) prefixed to בּוֹא (bo’) indicates negative consequence: “so that no one can enter.” See BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b.
9 tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.
9 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
10 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
11 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
12 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
13 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
11 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
12 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
13 tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”
14 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
13 tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.
14 tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.
15 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
16 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
17 tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”
18 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.