Daniel 5:5

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ¹  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ²  The king was watching the back ³  of the hand that was writing.

Job 20:5

20:5 that the elation of the wicked is brief, ⁴ 

the joy of the godless ⁵  lasts but a moment. ⁶ 

Isaiah 30:14

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. ⁷ 

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough ⁸ 

to scoop a hot coal from a fire ⁹ 

or to skim off water from a cistern.” ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 30:1

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious ¹¹  children are as good as dead,” ¹²  says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me, ¹³ 

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, ¹⁴ 

and thereby compound their sin. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 5:2

5:2 He built a hedge around it, ¹⁶  removed its stones,

and planted a vine.

He built a tower in the middle of it,

and constructed a winepress.

He waited for it to produce edible grapes,

but it produced sour ones instead. ¹⁷ 

[5:5]  ¹ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ² sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ³ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[20:5]  ⁴ tn The expression in the text is “quite near.” This indicates that it is easily attained, and that its end is near.

[20:5]  ⁵ tn For the discussion of חָנֵף (khanef, “godless”) see Job 8:13.

[20:5]  ⁶ tn The phrase is “until a moment,” meaning it is short-lived. But see J. Barr, “Hebrew ’ad, especially at Job 1:18 and Neh 7:3,” JSS 27 (1982): 177-88.

[30:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”

[30:14]  ⁸ tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”

[30:14]  ¹⁰ tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.

[30:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”

[30:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”

[30:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”

[30:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.

[30:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”

[5:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or, “dug it up” (so NIV); KJV “fenced it.’ See HALOT 810 s.v. עזק.

[5:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “wild grapes,” i.e., sour ones (also in v. 4).