Isaiah 28:15

28:15 For you say,

“We have made a treaty with death,

with Sheol ¹  we have made an agreement. ² 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by ³ 

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” ⁴ 

Isaiah 33:21

33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. ⁵ 

Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; ⁶ 

no war galley will enter; ⁷ 

no large ships will sail through. ⁸ 

[28:15]  ¹ sn Sheol is the underworld, land of the dead, according to the OT world view.

[28:15]  ² tn Elsewhere the noun חֹזֶה (khozeh) refers to a prophet who sees visions. In v. 18 the related term חָזוּת (khazut, “vision”) is used. The parallelism in both verses (note “treaty”) seems to demand a meaning “agreement” for both nouns. Perhaps חֹזֶה and חזוּת are used in a metonymic sense in vv. 15 and 18. Another option is to propose a homonymic root. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:514, and HALOT 301 s.v. II חֹזֶה.

[28:15]  ³ tn Heb “the overwhelming scourge, when it passes by” (NRSV similar).

[28:15]  ⁴ sn “Lie” and “deceitful word” would not be the terms used by the people. They would likely use the words “promise” and “reliable word,” but the prophet substitutes “lie” and “deceitful word” to emphasize that this treaty with death will really prove to be disappointing.

[33:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”

[33:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”

[33:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”

[33:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”