Isaiah 29:4

29:4 You will fall;

while lying on the ground ¹  you will speak;

from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. ² 

Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; ³ 

from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. ⁴ 

Isaiah 2:10

2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,

hide in the ground.

Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, ⁵ 

from his royal splendor!

Isaiah 25:12

25:12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your ⁶  walls) ⁷  he will knock down,

he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground. ⁸ 

Isaiah 34:7

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ⁹  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ¹⁰ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

Isaiah 34:9

34:9 Edom’s ¹¹  streams will be turned into pitch

and her soil into brimstone;

her land will become burning pitch.

Isaiah 52:2

52:2 Shake off the dirt! ¹² 

Get up, captive ¹³  Jerusalem!

Take off the iron chains around your neck,

O captive daughter Zion!

Isaiah 2:19

2:19 They ¹⁴  will go into caves in the rocky cliffs

and into holes in the ground, ¹⁵ 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ¹⁶ 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 26:5

26:5 Indeed, ¹⁸  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ¹⁹ 

he throws it down to the dust.

Isaiah 26:19

26:19 ²⁰ Your dead will come back to life;

your corpses will rise up.

Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! ²¹ 

For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, ²² 

and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits. ²³ 

Isaiah 40:12

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters ²⁴  in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully ²⁵  measured the sky, ²⁶ 

or carefully weighed ²⁷  the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales? ²⁸ 

Isaiah 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ²⁹ 

Who ³⁰  officially commissions him for service? ³¹ 

He hands nations over to him, ³² 

and enables him to subdue ³³  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ³⁴ 

Isaiah 47:1

Babylon Will Fall

47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,

O virgin ³⁵  daughter Babylon!

Sit on the ground, not on a throne,

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed, ³⁶  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

Isaiah 49:23

49:23 Kings will be your children’s ³⁷  guardians;

their princesses will nurse your children. ³⁸ 

With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you

and they will lick the dirt on ³⁹  your feet.

Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;

those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

Isaiah 65:25

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ⁴⁰ 

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ⁴¹ 

and a snake’s food will be dirt. ⁴² 

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” ⁴³  says the Lord.

[29:4]  ¹ tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).

[29:4]  ² tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”

[29:4]  ³ tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.

[29:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “get away” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[25:12]  ⁹ sn Moab is addressed.

[25:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a fortification, the high point of your walls.”

[25:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he will bring [it] down, he will make [it] touch the ground, even to the dust.”

[34:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.

[34:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[52:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “Shake yourself free from the dirt.”

[52:2]  ²² tc The Hebrew text has שְּׂבִי (shÿvi), which some understand as a feminine singular imperative from יָשַׁב (yashav, “sit”). The LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, and the Targum support the MT reading (the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does indirectly). Some interpret this to mean “take your throne”: The Lord exhorts Jerusalem to get up from the dirt and sit, probably with the idea of sitting in a place of honor (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:361). However, the form is likely a corruption of שְׁבִיָּה (shÿviyyah, “captive”), which appears in the parallel line.

[2:19]  ²⁵ tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.

[2:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”

[2:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:19]  ²⁸ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.

[26:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ³⁰ tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.

[26:19]  ³³ sn At this point the Lord (or prophet) gives the people an encouraging oracle.

[26:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “dust” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[26:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for the dew of lights [is] your dew.” The pronominal suffix on “dew” is masculine singular, like the suffixes on “your dead” and “your corpses” in the first half of the verse. The statement, then, is addressed to collective Israel, the speaker in verse 18. The plural form אוֹרֹת (’orot) is probably a plural of respect or magnitude, meaning “bright light” (i.e., morning’s light). Dew is a symbol of fertility and life. Here Israel’s “dew,” as it were, will soak the dust of the ground and cause the corpses of the dead to spring up to new life, like plants sprouting up from well-watered soil.

[26:19]  ³⁶ sn It is not certain whether the resurrection envisioned here is intended to be literal or figurative. A comparison with 25:8 and Dan 12:2 suggests a literal interpretation, but Ezek 37:1-14 uses resurrection as a metaphor for deliverance from exile and the restoration of the nation (see Isa 27:12-13).

[40:12]  ³⁷ tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has מי ים (“waters of the sea”), a reading followed by NAB.

[40:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “with a span.” A “span” was the distance between the ends of the thumb and the little finger of the spread hand” (BDB 285 s.v. זֶרֶת).

[40:12]  ³⁹ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[40:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “or weighed by a third part [of a measure].”

[40:12]  ⁴¹ sn The implied answer to the rhetorical questions of v. 12 is “no one but the Lord. The Lord, and no other, created the world. Like a merchant weighing out silver or commodities on a scale, the Lord established the various components of the physical universe in precise proportions.

[41:2]  ⁴¹ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ⁴² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ⁴⁵ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ⁴⁶ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[47:1]  ⁴⁵ tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).

[47:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[49:23]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).

[49:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.

[49:23]  ⁵¹ tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”

[65:25]  ⁵³ sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.

[65:25]  ⁵⁴ sn These words also appear in 11:7.

[65:25]  ⁵⁵ sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)

[65:25]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.