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 28:2

28:2 Look, the sovereign master ⁵  sends a strong, powerful one. ⁶ 

With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, ⁷ 

with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, ⁸ 

he will knock that crown ⁹  to the ground with his hand. 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.”

[28:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”

[28:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”

[28:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”

[28:2]  ⁹ tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.

[28:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “by [his] power.”