10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. 1
The tallest trees 2 will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
14:24 3 The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:
“Be sure of this:
Just as I have intended, so it will be;
just as I have planned, it will happen.
14:27 Indeed, 4 the Lord who commands armies has a plan,
and who can possibly frustrate it?
His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it? 5
46:10 who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand 6 what has not yet occurred,
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’
46:11 who summons an eagle 7 from the east,
from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.
Yes, I have decreed, 8
yes, I will bring it to pass;
I have formulated a plan,
yes, I will carry it out.
47:6 How long will you cry out, 9 ‘Oh, sword of the Lord,
how long will it be before you stop killing? 10
Go back into your sheath!
Stay there and rest!’ 11
47:7 But how can it rest 12
when I, the Lord, have 13 given it orders?
I have ordered it to attack
the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast. 14
1 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.
2 tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).
3 sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.
4 tn Or “For” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
5 tn Heb “His hand is outstretched and who will turn it back?”
6 tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”
7 tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).
8 tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”
9 tn The words “How long will you cry out” are not in the text but some such introduction seems necessary because the rest of the speech assumes a personal subject.
10 tn Heb “before you are quiet/at rest.”
11 sn The passage is highly figurative. The sword of the
12 tn The reading here follows the Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions. The Hebrew text reads “how can you rest” as a continuation of the second person in v. 6.
13 tn Heb “When the
14 tn Heb “Against Ashkelon and the sea coast, there he has appointed it.” For the switch to the first person see the preceding translator’s note. “There” is poetical and redundant and the idea of “attacking” is implicit in “against.”
15 tn Grk “hand,” here a metaphor for God’s strength or power or authority.
16 tn Or “purpose,” “will.”
17 tn Or “had predestined.” Since the term “predestine” is something of a technical theological term, not in wide usage in contemporary English, the translation “decide beforehand” was used instead (see L&N 30.84). God’s direction remains as the major theme.
18 tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.
19 tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.
20 tn Grk “according to.” The verse is a prepositional phrase subordinate to v. 10.