Isaiah 15:6

15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; ¹ 

the grass is dried up,

the vegetation has disappeared,

and there are no plants.

Isaiah 16:4

16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live ²  among you.

Hide them ³  from the destroyer!”

Certainly ⁴  the one who applies pressure will cease, ⁵ 

the destroyer will come to an end,

those who trample will disappear ⁶  from the earth.

Isaiah 24:13

24:13 This is what will happen throughout ⁷  the earth,

among the nations.

It will be like when they beat an olive tree,

and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. ⁸ 

Isaiah 28:22

28:22 So now, do not mock,

or your chains will become heavier!

For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,

from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. ⁹ 

Isaiah 62:5

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ¹⁰  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

[15:6]  ¹ tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”

[16:4]  ² tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”

[16:4]  ³ tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”

[16:4]  ⁴ tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5.

[16:4]  ⁵ tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.

[16:4]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem.

[24:13]  ³ tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[24:13]  ⁴ sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.

[28:22]  ⁴ tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).

[62:5]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).