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 44:12

44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool ⁴ 

and forges metal over the coals.

He forms it ⁵  with hammers;

he makes it with his strong arm.

He gets hungry and loses his energy; ⁶ 

he drinks no water and gets tired.

Isaiah 29:8

29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,

only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. ⁷ 

It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,

only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. ⁸ 

So it will be for the horde from all the nations

that fight against Mount Zion.

[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.

[44:12]  ⁴ tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.

[44:12]  ⁵ tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.

[44:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”

[29:8]  ⁷ tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”

[29:8]  ⁸ tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”