Isaiah 17:12

17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, ¹ 

those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. ² 

The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, ³ 

those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. ⁴ 

Isaiah 16:11

16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, ⁵ 

my inner being sighs ⁶  for Kir Hareseth. ⁷ 

Isaiah 51:15

51:15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!

Isaiah 59:11

59:11 We all growl like bears,

we coo mournfully like doves;

we wait for deliverance, ⁸  but there is none,

for salvation, but it is far from us.

Isaiah 22:2

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

the town is filled with revelry. ⁹ 

Your slain were not cut down by the sword;

they did not die in battle. ¹⁰ 

[17:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[17:12]  ² tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”

[17:12]  ³ tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.

[17:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”

[16:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.

[16:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).

[59:11]  ⁹ tn See the note at v. 9.

[22:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.

[22:2]  ¹⁴ 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.