Isaiah 10:17

10:17 The light of Israel ¹  will become a fire,

their Holy One ²  will become a flame;

it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s ³  briers

and his thorns in one day.

Isaiah 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ⁴  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ⁵  you.

Isaiah 47:14

47:14 Look, they are like straw,

which the fire burns up;

they cannot rescue themselves

from the heat ⁶  of the flames.

There are no coals to warm them,

no firelight to enjoy. ⁷ 

Isaiah 4:5

4:5 Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion ⁸ 

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night; ⁹ 

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ¹¹  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ¹² 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ¹³  of the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁴ 

[10:17]  ¹ tn In this context the “Light of Israel” is a divine title (note the parallel title “his holy one”). The title points to God’s royal splendor, which overshadows and, when transformed into fire, destroys the “majestic glory” of the king of Assyria (v. 16b).

[10:17]  ² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[10:17]  ³ tn Heb “his.” In vv. 17-19 the Assyrian king and his empire is compared to a great forest and orchard that are destroyed by fire (symbolic of the Lord).

[43:2]  ⁴ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[47:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.

[47:14]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.

[4:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

[4:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.

[4:5]  ¹² tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.

[5:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ¹⁴ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.