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 7:20

7:20 At that time ⁴  the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, ⁵  the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; ⁶  it will also shave off the beard.

Isaiah 18:5

18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,

and the ripening fruit appears, ⁷ 

he will cut off the unproductive shoots ⁸  with pruning knives;

he will prune the tendrils. ⁹ 

Isaiah 22:18

22:18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball

and throw you into a wide, open land. ¹⁰ 

There you will die,

and there with you will be your impressive chariots, ¹¹ 

which bring disgrace to the house of your master. ¹² 

Isaiah 55:3

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ¹³ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ¹⁴  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ¹⁵ 

[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.

[7:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”

[7:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.

[18:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”

[18:5]  ⁸ tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.

[18:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”

[22:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”

[22:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”

[22:18]  ¹² sn Apparently the reference to chariots alludes to Shebna’s excessive pride, which in turn brings disgrace to the royal family.

[55:3]  ¹³ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”