Isaiah 22:13

22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! ¹ 

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

eat meat and drink wine.

Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ² 

Isaiah 37:30

37:30 ³ “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: ⁴  This year you will eat what grows wild, ⁵  and next year ⁶  what grows on its own. But the year after that ⁷  you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ⁸ 

[22:13]  ¹ tn Heb “happiness and joy.”

[22:13]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.

[37:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).

[37:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).

[37:30]  ⁸ 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.