41:15 “Look, I am making you like 1 a sharp threshing sledge,
new and double-edged. 2
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw. 3
41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? 4
Who 5 officially commissions him for service? 6
He hands nations over to him, 7
and enables him to subdue 8 kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow. 9
22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: 10
What is the reason 11
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
22:2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry. 12
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle. 13
13:7 For this reason all hands hang limp, 14
every human heart loses its courage. 15
1 tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”
2 tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.
3 sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.
4 sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).
5 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.
6 tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”
7 tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”
8 tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).
9 sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.
10 sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).
11 tn Heb “What to you, then?”
12 tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.
13 sn Apparently they died from starvation during the siege that preceded the final conquest of the city. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:409.
14 tn Heb “drop”; KJV “be faint”; ASV “be feeble”; NAB “fall helpless.”
15 tn Heb “melts” (so NAB).