Isaiah 33:18

33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹ 

and you will ask yourselves, ²  “Where is the scribe?

Where is the one who weighs the money?

Where is the one who counts the towers?” ³ 

Isaiah 36:19

36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ⁴  Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria ⁵  from my power? ⁶ 

[33:18]  ¹ tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”

[33:18]  ² tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[33:18]  ³ 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.

[36:19]  ⁴ tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”

[36:19]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[36:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).