13:11 1 I will punish the world for its evil, 2
and wicked people for their sin.
I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,
I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. 3
25:3 So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of 4 powerful nations will fear you.
25:4 For you are a protector for the poor,
a protector for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm,
a shade from the heat.
Though the breath of tyrants 5 is like a winter rainstorm, 6
25:5 like heat 7 in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners. 8
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, 9
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease. 10
28:7 I am about to bring foreigners 11 against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, 12
and they will defile your splendor.
1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;
they decide for themselves what is right. 13
1 sn The Lord is definitely speaking (again?) at this point. See the note at v. 4.
2 tn Or “I will bring disaster on the world.” Hebrew רָעָה (ra’ah) could refer to the judgment (i.e., disaster, calamity) or to the evil that prompts it. The structure of the parallel line favors the latter interpretation.
3 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; cf. NASB, NIV “the ruthless.”
4 tn The Hebrew text has a singular form, but it should be emended to a plural or eliminated altogether. The noun may have been accidentally copied from the preceding verse.
5 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.”
6 tc The Hebrew text has, “like a rainstorm of a wall,” which might be interpreted to mean, “like a rainstorm battering against a wall.” The translation assumes an emendation of קִיר (qir, “wall”) to קֹר (qor, “cold, winter”; cf. Gen 8:22). See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:457, n. 6, for discussion.
7 tn Or “drought” (TEV).
8 tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”
9 tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”
10 tn The translation assumes that the verb יַעֲנֶה (ya’aneh) is a Hiphil imperfect from עָנָה (’anah, “be afflicted, humiliated”). In this context with “song” as object it means to “quiet” (see HALOT 853-54 s.v. II ענה). Some prefer to emend the form to the second person singular, so that it will agree with the second person verb earlier in the verse. BDB 776 s.v. III עָנָה Qal.1 understands the form as Qal, with “song” as subject, in which case one might translate “the song of tyrants will be silent.” An emendation of the form to a Niphal (יֵעָנֶה, ye’aneh) would yield the same translation.
11 sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.
12 tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”
13 tn Heb “from him his justice, even his lifting up, goes out.” In this context שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) probably has the nuance “authority.” See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 150.