Discovery BoxIsaiah 24:16-23
Context24:16 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
24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 5
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 6
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 7 are opened up 8
and the foundations of the earth shake.
24:19 The earth is broken in pieces,
the earth is ripped to shreds,
the earth shakes violently. 9
24:20 The earth will stagger around 10 like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. 11
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.
24:21 At that time 12 the Lord will punish 13
the heavenly forces in the heavens 14
and the earthly kings on the earth.
24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, 15
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time, 16 they will be punished. 17
24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 18
the bright sun 19 will be darkened; 20
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 21
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 22
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 23
[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.”
[24:17] 5 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
[24:18] 6 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:18] 7 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
[24:18] 8 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
[24:19] 9 tn Once more repetition is used to draw attention to a statement. In the Hebrew text each lines ends with אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”). Each line also uses a Hitpolel verb form from a geminate root preceded by an emphatic infinitive absolute.
[24:20] 10 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
[24:20] 11 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[24:21] 12 tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:21] 13 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
[24:21] 14 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).
[24:22] 15 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
[24:22] 16 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
[24:22] 17 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”
[24:23] 18 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
[24:23] 19 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
[24:23] 20 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
[24:23] 21 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
[24:23] 22 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
