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 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ⁵  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ⁶ 

O sovereign master, ⁷  I am oppressed;

help me! ⁸ 

Isaiah 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ⁹ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ¹⁰  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ¹¹ 

Isaiah 10:14

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ¹² 

[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.

[38:14]  ⁵ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[8:19]  ⁹ tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.

[8:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

[8:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.

[10:14]  ¹³ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.