Discovery BoxIsaiah 3:17
Context3:17 So 1 the sovereign master 2 will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women 3 with skin diseases, 4
the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” 5
Isaiah 16:2
Context16:2 At the fords of the Arnon 6
the Moabite women are like a bird
that flies about when forced from its nest. 7
Isaiah 32:9
Contextget up and listen to me!
You carefree 9 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
Isaiah 3:16
Context3:16 The Lord says,
“The women 10 of Zion are proud.
They walk with their heads high 11
and flirt with their eyes.
They skip along 12
and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. 13
Isaiah 4:4
Context4:4 At that time 14 the sovereign master 15 will wash the excrement 16 from Zion’s women,
he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst, 17
as he comes to judge
and to bring devastation. 18
Isaiah 13:21
Context13:21 Wild animals will rest there,
the ruined 19 houses will be full of hyenas. 20
Ostriches will live there,
wild goats will skip among the ruins. 21
[3:17] 1 tn In the Hebrew text vv. 16-17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.
[3:17] 2 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[3:17] 3 tn Heb “the daughters of Zion.”
[3:17] 4 tn Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”
[3:17] 5 tn The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”
[16:2] 6 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[16:2] 7 tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”
[32:9] 11 tn Or “self-assured”; NASB, NRSV “who are at ease.”
[32:9] 12 tn Or “self-confident”; NAB “overconfident.”
[3:16] 16 tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).
[3:16] 17 tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.
[3:16] 18 tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”
[3:16] 19 tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”
[4:4] 21 tn Heb “when” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); CEV “after”; NRSV “once.”
[4:4] 22 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[4:4] 23 tn The word refers elsewhere to vomit (Isa 28:8) and fecal material (Isa 36:12). Many English versions render this somewhat euphemistically as “filth” (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV). Ironically in God’s sight the beautiful jewelry described earlier is nothing but vomit and feces, for it symbolizes the moral decay of the city’s residents (cf. NLT “moral filth”).
[4:4] 24 sn See 1:21 for a related concept.
[4:4] 25 tn Heb “by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” The precise meaning of the second half of the verse is uncertain. רוּחַ (ruakh) can be understood as “wind” in which case the passage pictures the Lord using a destructive wind as an instrument of judgment. However, this would create a mixed metaphor, for the first half of the verse uses the imagery of washing and rinsing to depict judgment. Perhaps the image would be that of a windstorm accompanied by heavy rain. רוּחַ can also mean “spirit,” in which case the verse may be referring to the Lord’s Spirit or, more likely, to a disposition that the Lord brings to the task of judgment. It is also uncertain if בָּעַר (ba’ar) here means “burning” or “sweeping away, devastating.”
[13:21] 26 tn The word “ruined” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[13:21] 27 tn The precise referent of this word in uncertain. See HALOT 29 s.v. *אֹחַ. Various English versions translate as “owls” (e.g., NAB, NASB), “wild dogs” (NCV); “jackals” (NIV); “howling creatures” (NRSV, NLT).
