Isaiah 17:3

17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,

and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ¹ 

The survivors in Syria

will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 25:5

25:5 like heat ²  in a dry land,

you humble the boasting foreigners. ³ 

Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, ⁴ 

so he causes the song of tyrants to cease. ⁵ 

Isaiah 29:11

29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation ⁶  is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read ⁷  and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.”

Isaiah 30:14

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. ⁸ 

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough ⁹ 

to scoop a hot coal from a fire ¹⁰ 

or to skim off water from a cistern.” ¹¹ 

Isaiah 40:31

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ¹²  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ¹³ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Isaiah 44:7

44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ¹⁴ 

Let him announce it and explain it to me –

since I established an ancient people – ¹⁵ 

let them announce future events! ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 47:14

47:14 Look, they are like straw,

which the fire burns up;

they cannot rescue themselves

from the heat ¹⁷  of the flames.

There are no coals to warm them,

no firelight to enjoy. ¹⁸ 

[17:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”

[25:5]  ² tn Or “drought” (TEV).

[25:5]  ³ tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”

[25:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”

[25:5]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes that the verb יַעֲנֶה (ya’aneh) is a Hiphil imperfect from עָנָה (’anah, “be afflicted, humiliated”). In this context with “song” as object it means to “quiet” (see HALOT 853-54 s.v. II ענה). Some prefer to emend the form to the second person singular, so that it will agree with the second person verb earlier in the verse. BDB 776 s.v. III עָנָה Qal.1 understands the form as Qal, with “song” as subject, in which case one might translate “the song of tyrants will be silent.” An emendation of the form to a Niphal (יֵעָנֶה, ye’aneh) would yield the same translation.

[29:11]  ³ tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[29:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”

[30:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”

[30:14]  ⁵ tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”

[30:14]  ⁷ tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.

[40:31]  ⁵ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[44:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”

[44:7]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.

[44:7]  ⁸ tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”

[47:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.

[47:14]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.