Isaiah 14:8

14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, ¹ 

as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, ² 

‘Since you fell asleep, ³ 

no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ ⁴ 

Isaiah 32:15

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ⁵ 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ⁶ 

[14:8]  ¹ tn Heb “concerning you.”

[14:8]  ² tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.

[14:8]  ³ tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”

[14:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”

[32:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.

[32:15]  ⁶ sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.