37:30 1 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 2 This year you will eat what grows wild, 3 and next year 4 what grows on its own. But the year after that 5 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 6
1 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
2 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
3 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
4 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
5 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
6 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
7 tn The words “Isaiah replied” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the present form of the Hebrew text v. 7 is joined directly to v. 6, but vv. 21-22, if original to Isaiah 38, must be inserted here. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.