Isaiah 13:6

13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment ¹  is near;

it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. ² 

Isaiah 41:3

41:3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed; ³ 

he advances with great speed. ⁴ 

Isaiah 57:2

57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;

they rest on their beds. ⁵ 

[13:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the day of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).

[13:6]  ² tn Heb “like destruction from the sovereign judge it comes.” The comparative preposition (כְּ, kÿ) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the destruction unleashed will have all the earmarks of divine judgment. One could paraphrase, “it comes as only destructive divine judgment can.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x.

[41:3]  ³ tn Heb “[in] peace”; KJV, ASV “safely”; NASB “in safety”; NIV “unscathed.”

[41:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “a way with his feet he does not come [or “enter”].” One could translate, “by a way he was not [previously] entering with his feet.” This would mean that he is advancing into new territory and expanding his conquests. The present translation assumes this is a hyperbolic description to his speedy advance. He moves so quickly he does not enter the way with his feet, i.e., his feet don’t even touch the ground. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 94.

[57:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “he enters peace, they rest on their beds, the one who walks straight ahead of himself.” The tomb is here viewed in a fairly positive way as a place where the dead are at peace and sleep undisturbed.