Discovery BoxIsaiah 34:16
Context34:16 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 40:2
Context40:2 “Speak kindly to 6 Jerusalem, 7 and tell her
that her time of warfare is over, 8
that her punishment is completed. 9
For the Lord has made her pay double 10 for all her sins.”
[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 1QIsaa and a few medieval
[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).
[40:2] 6 tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.
[40:2] 7 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[40:2] 8 tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.
[40:2] 9 tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”
[40:2] 10 tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).
