Isaiah 27:8

27:8 When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; ¹ 

he drives her away ²  with his strong wind in the day of the east wind. ³ 

Isaiah 48:4

48:4 I did this ⁴  because I know how stubborn you are.

Your neck muscles are like iron

and your forehead like bronze. ⁵ 

Isaiah 14:3

14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, ⁶  and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,

Isaiah 19:4

19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;

a powerful king will rule over them,”

says the sovereign master, ⁷  the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 21:2

21:2 I have received a distressing message: ⁸ 

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!” ⁹ 

Isaiah 27:1

27:1 At that time ¹⁰  the Lord will punish

with his destructive, ¹¹  great, and powerful sword

Leviathan the fast-moving ¹²  serpent,

Leviathan the squirming serpent;

he will kill the sea monster. ¹³ 

[27:8]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “in [?], in sending her away, you oppose her.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The form בְּסַאסְּאָה (bÿsa’ssÿ’ah) is taken as an infinitive from סַאסְּאָה (sa’ssÿ’ah) with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. (The MT does not have a mappiq in the final he [ה], however). According to HALOT 738 s.v. סַאסְּאָה the verb is a Palpel form from an otherwise unattested root cognate with an Arabic verb meaning “to gather beasts with a call.” Perhaps it means “to call, summon” here, but this is a very tentative proposal. בְּשַׁלְחָהּ (bÿshalkhah, “in sending her away”) appears to be a Piel infinitive with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. Since the Piel of שָׁלָח (shalakh) can sometimes mean “divorce” (HALOT 1514-15 s.v.) and the following verb רִיב (riv, “oppose”) can be used in legal contexts, it is possible that divorce proceedings are alluded to here. This may explain why Israel is referred to as feminine in this verse, in contrast to the masculine forms used in vv. 6-7 and 9.

[27:8]  ² tn The Hebrew text has no object expressed, but one can understand a third feminine singular pronominal object and place a mappiq in the final he (ה) of the form to indicate the suffix.

[27:8]  ³ sn The “east wind” here symbolizes violent divine judgment.

[48:4]  ⁴ tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.

[48:4]  ⁵ sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.

[14:3]  ⁷ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[19:4]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[21:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”

[21:2]  ¹⁴ sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.

[27:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[27:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”

[27:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”

[27:1]  ¹⁹ tn The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon (Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַנִּין [tannin, translated “sea monster” here]) vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling (Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן [’aqallaton, translated “squirming” here]) serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14).” (See CTA 3 iii 38-39.) (2) “for all that you smote Leviathan the slippery (Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ [bariakh, translated “fast-moving” here]) serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5 i 1-3.)