Isaiah 33:9

33:9 The land ¹  dries up ²  and withers away;

the forest of Lebanon shrivels up ³  and decays.

Sharon ⁴  is like the desert; ⁵ 

Bashan and Carmel ⁶  are parched. ⁷ 

Isaiah 65:10

65:10 Sharon ⁸  will become a pasture for sheep,

and the Valley of Achor ⁹  a place where cattle graze; ¹⁰ 

they will belong to my people, who seek me. ¹¹ 

[33:9]  ¹ tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”

[33:9]  ² tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.

[33:9]  ³ tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.

[33:9]  ⁴ sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.

[33:9]  ⁵ tn Or “the Arabah” (NIV). See 35:1.

[33:9]  ⁶ sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.

[33:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”

[65:10]  ⁸ sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.

[65:10]  ⁹ sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.

[65:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”

[65:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”