Isaiah 22:11

22:11 You made a reservoir between the two walls

for the water of the old pool –

but you did not trust in ¹  the one who made it; ² 

you did not depend on ³  the one who formed it long ago!

Isaiah 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ⁴  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ⁵ 

O sovereign master, ⁶  I am oppressed;

help me! ⁷ 

Isaiah 52:15

52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human ⁸  –

so now ⁹  he will startle ¹⁰  many nations.

Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, ¹¹ 

for they will witness something unannounced to them,

and they will understand something they had not heard about.

[22:11]  ¹ tn Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”

[22:11]  ² tn The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.

[22:11]  ³ tn Heb “did not see.”

[38:14]  ⁴ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[52:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”

[52:15]  ⁸ tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.

[52:15]  ⁹ tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.

[52:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.