2:7 Their land is full of gold and silver;
there is no end to their wealth. 1
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to their chariots. 2
5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, 3
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they 4 come quickly and swiftly.
13:5 They come from a distant land,
from the horizon. 5
It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, 6
coming to destroy the whole earth. 7
42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!
Praise him 8 from the horizon of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, 9
you coastlands 10 and those who live there!
43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
7:18 At that time 11 the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 12
48:20 Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Babylonians!
Announce it with a shout of joy!
Make this known!
Proclaim it throughout the earth! 13
Say, ‘The Lord protects 14 his servant Jacob.
56:11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full. 15
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain. 16
62:11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth: 17
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him
and his reward goes before him!’” 18
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 21 of Israel? 22
I will make you a light to the nations, 23
so you can bring 24 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
1 tn Or “treasuries”; KJV “treasures.”
2 sn Judah’s royal bureaucracy had accumulated great wealth and military might, in violation of Deut 17:16-17.
3 tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.
4 tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.
5 tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”
6 tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”
7 tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.
7 tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.
8 tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”
9 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”
9 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
10 sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.
11 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
12 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
13 sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.
14 tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”
15 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so NASB, NRSV).
16 sn As v. 12 indicates, the returning exiles are the Lord’s reward/prize. See also 40:10 and the note there.
17 tn The name means “a remnant will return.” Perhaps in this context, where the Lord is trying to encourage Ahaz, the name suggests that only a few of the enemy invaders will return home; the rest will be defeated.
18 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “the Washerman’s Field.”
19 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
20 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
21 tn See the note at 42:6.
22 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”