Isaiah 15:4

15:4 The people of ¹  Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,

their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.

For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;

their courage wavers. ² 

Isaiah 44:20

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ³ 

his deceived mind misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself,

nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ ⁴ 

Isaiah 53:10

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made, ⁵ 

he will see descendants and enjoy long life, ⁶ 

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

[15:4]  ¹ tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[15:4]  ² tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[44:20]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[53:10]  ⁵ tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

[53:10]  ⁶ sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.