Isaiah 14:19

14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave

like a shoot that is thrown away. ¹ 

You lie among ²  the slain,

among those who have been slashed by the sword,

among those headed for ³  the stones of the pit, ⁴ 

as if you were a mangled corpse. ⁵ 

Isaiah 21:15

21:15 For they flee from the swords –

from the drawn sword

and from the battle-ready bow

and from the severity of the battle.

Isaiah 22:2

22:2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;

the town is filled with revelry. ⁶ 

Your slain were not cut down by the sword;

they did not die in battle. ⁷ 

Isaiah 31:8

31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; ⁸ 

a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. ⁹ 

They will run away from this sword ¹⁰ 

and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

[14:19]  ¹ tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”

[14:19]  ² tn Heb “are clothed with.”

[14:19]  ³ tn Heb “those going down to.”

[14:19]  ⁴ tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.

[14:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.

[22:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.

[22:2]  ⁷ sn Apparently they died from starvation during the siege that preceded the final conquest of the city. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:409.

[31:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”

[31:8]  ¹² tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”

[31:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”