Isaiah 14:15

14:15 But you were brought down ¹  to Sheol,

to the remote slopes of the pit. ² 

Isaiah 63:6

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ³  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ⁴ 

Isaiah 64:1

64:1 (63:19b) ⁵  If only you would tear apart the sky ⁶  and come down!

The mountains would tremble ⁷  before you!

[14:15]  ¹ tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.

[14:15]  ² tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.

[63:6]  ³ sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).

[64:1]  ⁵ sn In BHS the chapter division occurs in a different place from the English Bible: 64:1 ET (63:19b HT) and 64:2-12 (64:1-11 HT). Beginning with 65:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[64:1]  ⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[64:1]  ⁷ tn Or “quake.” נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) is from the verbal root זָלַל (zalal, “quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). Perhaps there is a verbal allusion to Judg 5:5, the only other passage where this verb occurs. In that passage the poet tells how the Lord’s appearance to do battle caused the mountains to shake.