5:28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared. 1
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, 2
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. 3
49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpened 4 arrow,
he hid me in his quiver. 5
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 6
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 7
nor will he build siege works against it.
1 tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”
2 tn Heb “regarded like flint.”
3 sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.
4 tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”
5 sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.
7 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
8 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).