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 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 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ⁸ 

Who ⁹  officially commissions him for service? ¹⁰ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹¹ 

and enables him to subdue ¹²  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ¹³ 

[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.

[41:2]  ¹¹ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ¹² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹⁵ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ¹⁶ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.