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 66:16

66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity ⁴ 

with fire and his sword;

the Lord will kill many. ⁵ 

[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).

[66:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “upon all men”; TEV “all the people of the world.”

[66:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “many are the slain of the Lord.”