40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot! 1
2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,
hide in the ground.
Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, 2
from his royal splendor!
2:11 Proud men will be brought low,
arrogant men will be humiliated; 3
the Lord alone will be exalted 4
in that day.
2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, 5
for 6 all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan; 7
2:14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills, 8
2:15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
2:16 for all the large ships, 9
for all the impressive 10 ships. 11
2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,
arrogant men will be brought low; 12
the Lord alone will be exalted 13
in that day.
2:18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated. 14
2:19 They 15 will go into caves in the rocky cliffs
and into holes in the ground, 16
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord 17
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth. 18
25:10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. 19
Moab will be trampled down where it stands, 20
as a heap of straw is trampled down in 21 a manure pile.
63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them 22 in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained 23 all my clothes.
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived. 24
4:13 For here he is!
He 25 formed the mountains and created the wind.
He reveals 26 his plans 27 to men.
He turns the dawn into darkness 28
and marches on the heights of the earth.
The Lord, the God who commands armies, 29 is his name!”
1 tn The expression translated “on the spot” is the prepositional phrase תַּחְתָּם (takhtam, “under them”). “Under them” means in their place. But it can also mean “where someone stands, on the spot” (see Exod 16:29; Jos 6:5; Judg 7:21, etc.).
2 tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “get away” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “and the eyes of the pride of men will be brought low, and the arrogance of men will be brought down.” The repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.
4 tn Or “elevated”; CEV “honored.”
5 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”
6 tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).
7 sn The cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan were well-known for their size and prominence. They make apt symbols here for powerful men who think of themselves as prominent and secure.
8 sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.
9 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
10 tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”
11 tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.
12 tn Heb “and the pride of men will be brought down, and the arrogance of men will be brought low.” As in v. 11, the repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.
13 tn Or “elevated”; NCV “praised”; CEV “honored.”
14 tc The verb “pass away” is singular in the Hebrew text, despite the plural subject (“worthless idols”) that precedes. The verb should be emended to a plural; the final vav (ו) has been accidentally omitted by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the immediately following form).
15 tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.
16 tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”
17 tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.
19 tn Heb “for the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain”; TEV “will protect Mount Zion”; NCV “will protect (rest on NLT) Jerusalem.”
20 tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”
21 tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”).
22 sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.
23 tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).
24 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
25 tn Heb “For look, the one who.” This verse is considered to be the first hymnic passage in the book. The others appear at 5:8-9 and 9:5-6. Scholars debate whether these verses were originally part of a single hymn or three distinct pieces deliberately placed in each context for particular effect.
26 tn Or “declares” (NAB, NASB).
27 tn Or “his thoughts.” The translation assumes that the pronominal suffix refers to God and that divine self-revelation is in view (see 3:7). If the suffix refers to the following term אָדַם (’adam, “men”), then the expression refers to God’s ability to read men’s minds.
28 tn Heb “he who makes dawn, darkness.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation assumes that allusion is made to God’s approaching judgment, when the light of day will be turned to darkness (see 5:20). Other options include: (1) “He makes the dawn [and] the darkness.” A few Hebrew
29 tn Traditionally, “God of hosts.”