31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 1
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 2
They will run away from this sword 3
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
57:1 The godly 4 perish,
but no one cares. 5
Honest people disappear, 6
when no one 7 minds 8
that the godly 9 disappear 10 because of 11 evil. 12
62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons 13 will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
1 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
2 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
3 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
4 tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”
5 tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”
6 tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”
7 tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.
8 tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
9 tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”
10 tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”
11 tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).
12 tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.
7 tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).