Isaiah 10:13-14

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ¹ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ²  I brought down rulers. ³ 

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ⁴ 

Isaiah 10:32-34

10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,

they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain ⁵  –

at the hill of Jerusalem.

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ⁶ 

The tallest trees ⁷  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,

and mighty Lebanon will fall. ⁸ 

Isaiah 17:12-14

17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, ⁹ 

those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. ¹⁰ 

The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, ¹¹ 

those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. ¹² 

17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, ¹³ 

when he shouts at ¹⁴  them, they will flee to a distant land,

driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,

or like dead thistles ¹⁵  before a strong gale.

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ¹⁶ 

by morning they vanish. ¹⁷ 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 37:11-18

37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. ¹⁹  Do you really think you will be rescued? ²⁰  37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors ²¹  destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? ²²  37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, ²³  Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ²⁴  from the messengers and read it. ²⁵  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! ²⁶  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ²⁷  and the earth. 37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ²⁸  37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations ²⁹  and their lands.

Isaiah 37:29-36

37:29 Because you rage against me

and the uproar you create has reached my ears, ³⁰ 

I will put my hook in your nose, ³¹ 

and my bridle between your lips,

and I will lead you back

the way you came.”

37:30 ³² “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: ³³  This year you will eat what grows wild, ³⁴  and next year ³⁵  what grows on its own. But the year after that ³⁶  you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ³⁷  37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ³⁸ 

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ³⁹  will accomplish this.

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. ⁴⁰ 

He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, ⁴¹ 

nor will he build siege works against it.

37:34 He will go back the way he came –

he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.

37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” ⁴² 

37:36 The Lord’s messenger ⁴³  went out and killed 185,000 troops ⁴⁴  in the Assyrian camp. When they ⁴⁵  got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! ⁴⁶ 

Psalms 46:6

46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. ⁴⁷ 

God ⁴⁸  gives a shout, ⁴⁹  the earth dissolves. ⁵⁰ 

[10:13]  ¹ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ² tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ³ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[10:14]  ⁴ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[10:32]  ⁵ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “a mountain of a house (בֵּית, bet), Zion,” but the marginal reading (Qere) correctly reads “the mountain of the daughter (בַּת, bat) of Zion.” On the phrase “Daughter Zion,” see the note on the same phrase in 1:8.

[10:33]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[10:34]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has, “and Lebanon, by/as [?] a mighty one, will fall.” The translation above takes the preposition בְּ (bet) prefixed to “mighty one” as indicating identity, “Lebanon, as a mighty one, will fall.” In this case “mighty one” describes Lebanon. (In Ezek 17:23 and Zech 11:2 the adjective is used of Lebanon’s cedars.) Another option is to take the preposition as indicating agency and interpret “mighty one” as a divine title (see Isa 33:21). One could then translate, “and Lebanon will fall by [the agency of] the Mighty One.”

[17:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[17:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”

[17:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.

[17:12]  ¹² tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”

[17:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[17:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”

[17:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[37:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”

[37:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”

[37:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”

[37:12]  ²² tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”

[37:13]  ²³ sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

[37:14]  ²⁴ tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).

[37:14]  ²⁵ tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).

[37:16]  ²⁶ sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.

[37:16]  ²⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[37:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

[37:18]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”

[37:29]  ³⁰ tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).

[37:29]  ³¹ sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.

[37:30]  ³² 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).

[37:30]  ³³ 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.

[37:30]  ³⁴ sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.

[37:30]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).

[37:30]  ³⁶ tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).

[37:30]  ³⁷ 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.

[37:31]  ³⁸ tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”

[37:32]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[37:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.

[37:33]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[37:35]  ⁴² tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”

[37:36]  ⁴³ tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[37:36]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[37:36]  ⁴⁵ tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.

[37:36]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”

[46:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “nations roar, kingdoms shake.” The Hebrew verb הָמָה (hamah, “roar, be in uproar”) is used in v. 3 of the waves crashing, while the verb מוֹט (mot, “overthrown”) is used in v. 2 of mountains tumbling into the sea (see also v. 5, where the psalm affirms that Jerusalem “cannot be moved”). The repetition of the verbs suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[46:6]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “He.” God is the obvious referent here (see v. 5), and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[46:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “offers his voice.” In theophanic texts the phrase refers to God’s thunderous shout which functions as a battle cry (see Pss 18:13; 68:33).

[46:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “melts.” See Amos 9:5. The image depicts the nation’s helplessness before Jerusalem’s defender, who annihilates their armies (see vv. 8-9). The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the characteristic nature of the action described.