Isaiah 2:16

2:16 for all the large ships, ¹ 

for all the impressive ²  ships. ³ 

Isaiah 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ⁴  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ⁵  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ⁶ 

the Holy One of Israel, ⁷  for he has bestowed honor on you.

Isaiah 60:1

Zion’s Future Splendor

60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!

The splendor ⁸  of the Lord shines on you!

Isaiah 22:1-2

The Lord Will Judge Jerusalem

22:1 Here is a message about the Valley of Vision: ⁹ 

What is the reason ¹⁰ 

that all of you go up to the rooftops?

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

the town is filled with revelry. ¹¹ 

Your slain were not cut down by the sword;

they did not die in battle. ¹² 

Isaiah 9:21

9:21 Manasseh fought against ¹³  Ephraim,

and Ephraim against Manasseh;

together they fought against Judah.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 48:7

48:7 With an east wind

you shatter ¹⁵  the large ships. ¹⁶ 

Ezekiel 27:25

27:25 The ships of Tarshish ¹⁷  were the transports for your merchandise.

“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.

[2:16]  ¹ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[2:16]  ² tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”

[2:16]  ³ tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.

[60:9]  ⁴ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

[60:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

[60:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

[60:9]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[60:1]  ⁸ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[22:1]  ⁹ sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).

[22:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “What to you, then?”

[22:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.

[22:2]  ¹² 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.

[9:21]  ¹³ tn The words “fought against” are supplied in the translation both here and later in this verse for stylistic reasons.

[9:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched” (KJV and ASV both similar); NIV “his hand is still upraised.”

[48:7]  ¹⁵ tn The switch to the imperfect, as well as the introduction of the ship metaphor, perhaps signals a change to a generalizing tone; the Lord typically shatters these large ships, symbolic of the human strength of hostile armies (see the following note on “large ships”). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Pss 29:5; 46:9). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).

[48:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to and from the distant western port of Tarshish. These ships, which were the best of their class, here symbolize the mere human strength of hostile armies, which are incapable of withstanding the Lord’s divine power (see Isa 2:16).

[27:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps “Large merchant ships.” The expression “ships of Tarshish” may describe a class of vessel, that is, large oceangoing merchant ships.