Isaiah 24:16

24:16 From the ends of the earth we ¹  hear songs –

the Just One is majestic. ² 

But I ³  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ⁴ 

Isaiah 33:1

The Lord Will Restore Zion

33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, ⁵ 

you who have not been destroyed!

The deceitful one is as good as dead, ⁶ 

the one whom others have not deceived!

When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;

when you finish ⁷  deceiving, others will deceive you!

Isaiah 33:1

The Lord Will Restore Zion

33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, ⁸ 

you who have not been destroyed!

The deceitful one is as good as dead, ⁹ 

the one whom others have not deceived!

When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;

when you finish ¹⁰  deceiving, others will deceive you!

Isaiah 24:13

24:13 This is what will happen throughout ¹¹  the earth,

among the nations.

It will be like when they beat an olive tree,

and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. ¹² 

Jeremiah 51:44

51:44 I will punish the god Bel in Babylon.

I will make him spit out what he has swallowed.

The nations will not come streaming to him any longer.

Indeed, the walls of Babylon will fall.” ¹³ 

Jeremiah 51:48-49

51:48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them

will sing for joy over Babylon.

For destroyers from the north will attack it,”

says the Lord. ¹⁴ 

51:49 “Babylon must fall ¹⁵ 

because of the Israelites she has killed, ¹⁶ 

just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell

because of Babylon. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 51:53

51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky ¹⁸ 

and fortifies her elevated stronghold, ¹⁹ 

I will send destroyers against her,” ²⁰ 

says the Lord. ²¹ 

Revelation 13:10

13:10 If anyone is meant for captivity,

into captivity he will go.

If anyone is to be killed by the sword, ²² 

then by the sword he must be killed.

This ²³  requires steadfast endurance ²⁴  and faith from the saints.

[24:16]  ¹ sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.

[24:16]  ² tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.

[24:16]  ³ sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.

[24:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”

[33:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”

[33:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.

[33:1]  ⁷ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”

[33:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”

[33:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.

[33:1]  ¹⁰ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”

[24:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[24:13]  ¹² sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.

[51:44]  ¹³ tn Heb “And I will punish Bel in Babylon…And the nations will not come streaming to him anymore. Yea, the walls of Babylon have fallen.” The verbs in the first two lines are vav consecutive perfects and the verb in the third line is an imperfect all looking at the future. That indicates that the perfect that follows and the perfects that precede are all prophetic perfects. The translation adopted seemed to be the best way to make the transition from the pasts which were adopted in conjunction with the taunting use of אֵיךְ (’ekh) in v. 41 to the futures in v. 44. For the usage of גַּם (gam) to indicate a climax, “yea” or “indeed” see BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 3. It seemed to be impossible to render the meaning of v. 44 in any comprehensible way, even in a paraphrase.

[51:48]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[51:49]  ¹⁵ tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate what is about to take place. See IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.

[51:49]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the slain of Israel.” The words “because of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The preceding context makes it clear that Babylon would be judged for its atrocities against Israel (see especially 50:33-34; 51:10, 24, 35).

[51:49]  ¹⁷ tn The juxtaposition of גַם…גַם (gam...gam), often “both…and,” here indicates correspondence. See BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 4. Appropriately Babylon will fall slain just as her victims, including God’s covenant people, did.

[51:53]  ¹⁸ tn Or “ascends [into] heaven.” Note the use of the phrase in Deut 30:12; 2 Kgs 2:11; and Amos 9:2.

[51:53]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong elevated place.”

[51:53]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”

[51:53]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[13:10]  ²² tc Many mss (C 051* 2351 Ï^A pc) read “if anyone will kill with the sword, it is necessary for him to be killed with the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτενεῖ, δεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Other mss (א 1006 1611* 1854 al) are similar except that they read a present tense “kills” (ἀποκτείνει, apokteinei) in this sentence. Both of these variants may be regarded as essentially saying the same thing. On the other hand, codex A reads “if anyone is to be killed by the sword, he is to be killed by the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Thus the first two variants convey the idea of retribution, while the last variant, supported by codex A, does not. (There are actually a dozen variants here, evidence that scribes found the original text quite difficult. Only the most important variants are discussed in this note.) The first two variants seem to be in line with Jesus’ comments in Matt 26:52: “everyone who takes up the sword will die by the sword.” The last variant, however, seems to be taking up an idea found in Jer 15:2: “Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.” Though G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 169-70, gives four arguments in favor of the first reading (i.e., “whoever kills with the sword must with the sword be killed”), the arguments he puts forward can be read equally as well to support the latter alternative. In the end, the reading in codex A seems to be original. The fact that this sentence seems to be in parallel with 10a (which simply focuses on God’s will and suffering passively and is therefore akin to the reading in codex A), and that it most likely gave rise to the others as the most difficult reading, argues for its authenticity.

[13:10]  ²³ tn On ὧδε (Jwde) here, BDAG 1101 s.v. 2 states: “a ref. to a present event, object, or circumstance, in this case, at this point, on this occasion, under these circumstances…in this case moreover 1 Cor 4:2. ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν…Rv 13:18; cf. 17:9. ὧδέ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονή…13:10; 14:12.”

[13:10]  ²⁴ tn Or “perseverance.”