Isaiah 26:14

26:14 The dead do not come back to life,

the spirits of the dead do not rise. ¹ 

That is because ²  you came in judgment ³  and destroyed them,

you wiped out all memory of them.

Isaiah 26:18

26:18 We were pregnant, we strained,

we gave birth, as it were, to wind. ⁴ 

We cannot produce deliverance on the earth;

people to populate the world are not born. ⁵ 

Isaiah 33:23

33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, ⁶ 

the mast is not secured, ⁷ 

and the sail ⁸  is not unfurled,

at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; ⁹ 

even the lame will drag off plunder. ¹⁰ 

[26:14]  ¹ sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.

[26:14]  ² tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen) normally indicates a cause-effect relationship between what precedes and follows and is translated, “therefore.” Here, however, it infers the cause from the effect and brings out what is implicit in the previous statement. See BDB 487 s.v.

[26:14]  ³ tn Heb “visited [for harm]” (cf. KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “you have punished.”

[26:18]  ⁴ tn On the use of כְּמוֹ (kÿmo, “like, as”) here, see BDB 455 s.v. Israel’s distress and suffering, likened here to the pains of childbirth, seemed to be for no purpose. A woman in labor endures pain with the hope that a child will be born; in Israel’s case no such positive outcome was apparent. The nation was like a woman who strains to bring forth a child, but can’t push the baby through to daylight. All her effort produces nothing.

[26:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the world do not fall.” The term נָפַל (nafal) apparently means here, “be born,” though the Qal form of the verb is not used with this nuance anywhere else in the OT. (The Hiphil appears to be used in the sense of “give birth” in v. 19, however.) The implication of verse 18b seems to be that Israel hoped its suffering would somehow end in deliverance and an increase in population. The phrase “inhabitants of the world” seems to refer to the human race in general, but the next verse, which focuses on Israel’s dead, suggests the referent may be more limited.

[33:23]  ⁷ tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.

[33:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.

[33:23]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps, “flag.”

[33:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”

[33:23]  ¹¹ sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.