Isaiah 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ¹ 

by morning they vanish. ² 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ³ 

Isaiah 34:17

34:17 He assigns them their allotment; ⁴ 

he measures out their assigned place. ⁵ 

They will live there ⁶  permanently;

they will settle in it through successive generations.

Isaiah 57:6

57:6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;

they, they are the object of your devotion. ⁷ 

You pour out liquid offerings to them,

you make an offering.

Because of these things I will seek vengeance. ⁸ 

[17:14]  ¹ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ² tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ³ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[34:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.

[34:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”

[57:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “among the smooth stones of the stream [is] your portion, they, they [are] your lot.” The next line indicates idols are in view.

[57:6]  ⁸ tn The text reads literally, “Because of these am I relenting?” If the prefixed interrogative particle is retained at the beginning of the sentence, then the question would be rhetorical, with the Niphal of נָחָם (nakham) probably being used in the sense of “relent, change one’s mind.” One could translate: “Because of these things, how can I relent?” However, the initial letter he may be dittographic (note the final he [ה] on the preceding word). In this case one may understand the verb in the sense of “console oneself, seek vengeance,” as in 1:24.