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 65:25

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; ⁶ 

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, ⁷ 

and a snake’s food will be dirt. ⁸ 

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” ⁹  says the Lord.

[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).

[65:25]  ⁶ sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.

[65:25]  ⁷ sn These words also appear in 11:7.

[65:25]  ⁸ sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)

[65:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.