Isaiah 21:5

21:5 Arrange the table,

lay out ¹  the carpet,

eat and drink! ² 

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields! ³ 

Isaiah 22:13

22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! ⁴ 

You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,

eat meat and drink wine.

Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ⁵ 

Isaiah 37:30

37:30 ⁶ “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: ⁷  This year you will eat what grows wild, ⁸  and next year ⁹  what grows on its own. But the year after that ¹⁰  you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ¹¹ 

[21:5]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).

[21:5]  ² tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.

[21:5]  ³ sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.

[22:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “happiness and joy.”

[22:13]  ⁵ tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.

[37:30]  ⁷ tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).

[37:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.

[37:30]  ⁹ sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.

[37:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).

[37:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).

[37:30]  ¹² tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.