Isaiah 10:34

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

and mighty Lebanon will fall. ¹ 

Isaiah 9:18

9:18 For ²  evil burned like a fire, ³ 

it consumed thorns and briers;

it burned up the thickets of the forest,

and they went up in smoke. ⁴ 

[10:34]  ¹ 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.”

[9:18]  ² tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[9:18]  ³ sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).