Isaiah 13:11

13:11 ¹ I will punish the world for its evil, ² 

and wicked people for their sin.

I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,

I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. ³ 

Isaiah 29:4

29:4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground ⁴  you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. ⁵ 

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; ⁶ 

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. ⁷ 

[13:11]  ¹ sn The Lord is definitely speaking (again?) at this point. See the note at v. 4.

[13:11]  ² tn Or “I will bring disaster on the world.” Hebrew רָעָה (ra’ah) could refer to the judgment (i.e., disaster, calamity) or to the evil that prompts it. The structure of the parallel line favors the latter interpretation.

[13:11]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; cf. NASB, NIV “the ruthless.”

[29:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).

[29:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”

[29:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.

[29:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.