21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: 1
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 2
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
23:11 The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea, 3
he shook kingdoms;
he 4 gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses. 5
24:15 So in the east 6 extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol 7 the fame 8 of the Lord God of Israel.
42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!
Praise him 9 from the horizon of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, 10
you coastlands 11 and those who live there!
43:16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
48:18 If only you had obeyed my 12 commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, 13
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. 14
49:12 Look, they come from far away!
Look, some come from the north and west,
and others from the land of Sinim! 15
51:15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord who commands armies is his name!
57:20 But the wicked are like a surging sea
that is unable to be quiet;
its waves toss up mud and sand.
1 sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.
2 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
3 tn Heb “his hand he stretched out over the sea.”
4 tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.
5 tn Heb “concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.” NIV, NLT translate “Canaan” as “Phoenicia” here.
5 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).
6 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
7 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
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 “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
10 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
11 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
11 tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).