Isaiah 31:8
Context31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 1
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 2
They will run away from this sword 3
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
Ezekiel 30:21-25
Context30:21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm 4 of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 5 Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. 30:22 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 6 I am against 7 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. 30:23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries. 30:24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon. 8 30:25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.
[31:8] 1 tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”
[31:8] 2 tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”
[31:8] 3 tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”
[30:21] 4 sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
[30:21] 5 sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
[30:22] 6 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[30:22] 7 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[30:24] 8 tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.