Isaiah 2:21

2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs

and the openings under the rocky overhangs, ¹ 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ² 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ³ 

Isaiah 58:10

58:10 You must ⁴  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ⁵ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ⁶ 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ⁷ 

Isaiah 59:19

59:19 In the west, people respect ⁸  the Lord’s reputation; ⁹ 

in the east they recognize his splendor. ¹⁰ 

For he comes like a rushing ¹¹  stream

driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ¹² 

[2:21]  ¹ sn The precise point of vv. 20-21 is not entirely clear. Are they taking the idols into their hiding places with them, because they are so attached to their man-made images? Or are they discarding the idols along the way as they retreat into the darkest places they can find? In either case it is obvious that the gods are incapable of helping them.

[2:21]  ² tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:21]  ³ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men. Almost all English versions translate “earth,” taking this to refer to universal judgment.

[58:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”

[59:19]  ⁷ tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”

[59:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”

[59:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”

[59:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”

[59:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).