Isaiah 13:4

13:4 ¹ There is a loud noise on the mountains –

it sounds like a large army! ² 

There is great commotion among the kingdoms ³  –

nations are being assembled!

The Lord who commands armies is mustering

forces for battle.

Isaiah 13:8

13:8 They panic –

cramps and pain seize hold of them

like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.

They look at one another in astonishment;

their faces are flushed red. ⁴ 

Isaiah 21:3

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ⁵ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ⁶  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

Isaiah 29:4

29:4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground ⁷  you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. ⁸ 

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; ⁹ 

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 30:28

30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ¹¹ 

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ¹² 

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ¹³ 

Isaiah 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Isaiah 51:20

51:20 Your children faint;

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a snare.

They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,

by the battle cry of your God. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 58:8

58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; ¹⁵ 

your restoration will quickly arrive; ¹⁶ 

your godly behavior ¹⁷  will go before you,

and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. ¹⁸ 

[13:4]  ¹ sn In vv. 4-10 the prophet appears to be speaking, since the Lord is referred to in the third person. However, since the Lord refers to himself in the third person later in this chapter (see v. 13), it is possible that he speaks throughout the chapter.

[13:4]  ² tn Heb “a sound, a roar [is] on the mountains, like many people.”

[13:4]  ³ tn Heb “a sound, tumult of kingdoms.”

[13:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.

[21:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[29:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).

[29:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”

[29:4]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.

[30:28]  ¹³ tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.

[30:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.

[30:28]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.

[51:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”

[58:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”

[58:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”

[58:8]  ²¹ tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.

[58:8]  ²² sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.