Isaiah 34:16

34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! ¹ 

Not one of these creatures will be missing, ² 

none will lack a mate. ³ 

For the Lord has issued the decree, ⁴ 

and his own spirit gathers them. ⁵ 

Isaiah 38:1

The Lord Hears Hezekiah’s Prayer

38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ⁶  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’”

[34:16]  ¹ tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”

[34:16]  ² tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:16]  ³ tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”

[34:16]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and a few medieval mss have פִּיהוּ (pihu, “his mouth [has commanded]”), while a few other medieval mss read פִּי יְהוָה (pi yÿhvah, “the mouth of the Lord [has commanded]”).

[34:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[38:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying”; NRSV “became sick and was at the point of death.”