Discovery BoxIsaiah 33:14-19
Context33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
They say, 3 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 4 fire?’
33:15 The one who lives 5 uprightly 6
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 7
the one who does not plot violent crimes 8
and does not seek to harm others 9 –
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 10
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 11
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; 12
you will see a wide land. 13
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 14
and you will ask yourselves, 15 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 16
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant 17 people
whose language you do not comprehend, 18
whose derisive speech you do not understand. 19
[33:14] 1 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
[33:14] 2 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
[33:14] 3 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[33:14] 4 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[33:15] 5 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
[33:15] 6 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
[33:15] 7 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
[33:15] 8 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
[33:15] 9 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
[33:16] 9 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
[33:16] 10 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
[33:17] 13 tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
[33:17] 14 tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
[33:18] 17 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
[33:18] 18 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[33:18] 19 sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.
[33:19] 21 tn The Hebrew form נוֹעָז (no’az) is a Niphal participle derived from יָעַז (ya’az, an otherwise unattested verb) or from עָזָז (’azaz, “be strong,” unattested elsewhere in the Niphal). Some prefer to emend the form to לוֹעֵז (lo’ez) which occurs in Ps 114:1 with the meaning “speak a foreign language.” See HALOT 809 s.v. עזז, 533 s.v. לעז. In this case, one might translate “people who speak a foreign language.”
[33:19] 22 tn Heb “a people too deep of lip to hear.” The phrase “deep of lip” must be an idiom meaning “lips that speak words that are unfathomable [i.e., incomprehensible].”
[33:19] 23 tn Heb “derision of tongue there is no understanding.” The Niphal of לָעַג (la’ag) occurs only here. In the Qal and Hiphil the verb means “to deride, mock.” A related noun is used in 28:11.
