Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:18-19
Context10:18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard
will be completely destroyed, 1
as when a sick man’s life ebbs away. 2
10:19 There will be so few trees left in his forest,
a child will be able to count them. 3
Isaiah 17:4-5
ContextJacob’s splendor will be greatly diminished, 5
and he will become skin and bones. 6
17:5 It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest,
and his hand gleans the ear of grain.
It will be like one gathering the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
Psalms 107:39
Context107:39 As for their enemies, 7 they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress 8 and suffering.
[10:18] 1 tn Heb “from breath to flesh it will destroy.” The expression “from breath to flesh” refers to the two basic components of a person, the immaterial (life’s breath) and the material (flesh). Here the phrase is used idiomatically to indicate totality.
[10:18] 2 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. מָסַס (masas), which is used elsewhere of substances dissolving or melting, may here mean “waste away” or “despair.” נָסַס (nasas), which appears only here, may mean “be sick” or “stagger, despair.” See BDB 651 s.v. I נָסַס and HALOT 703 s.v. I נסס. One might translate the line literally, “like the wasting away of one who is sick” (cf. NRSV “as when an invalid wastes away”).
[10:19] 3 tn Heb “and the rest of the trees of his forest will be counted, and a child will record them.”
[17:4] 4 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[17:4] 5 tn Heb “will be tiny.”
[17:4] 6 tn Heb “and the fatness of his flesh will be made lean.”
[107:39] 7 tn The words “As for their enemies” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Without such clarification, one might think that v. 39 refers to those just mentioned in v. 38 as objects of divine blessing, which would contradict the point just emphasized by the psalmist. The structure of vv. 33-42 is paneled (A-B-A-B). In vv. 33-34 the psalmist describes God’s judgment upon his enemies (perhaps those who had enslaved his people). In vv. 35-38 he contrasts this judgment with the divine blessing poured out on God’s people. (See the note on the word “people” in v. 35.) In vv. 39-40 he contrasts this blessing with the judgment experienced by enemies, before returning in vv. 41-42 to the blessing experienced by God’s people.
