Discovery BoxIsaiah 36:7
Context36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’
Isaiah 36:18
Context36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 1
Isaiah 36:1
Context36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, 2 King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
Isaiah 10:1-34
Context10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, 3
those who are always instituting unfair regulations, 4
10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 5 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 6
10:3 What will you do on judgment day, 7
when destruction arrives from a distant place?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
10:4 You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,
or to fall among those who have been killed. 8
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 9
10:5 Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, 10
a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 11
10:6 I sent him 12 against a godless 13 nation,
I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, 14
to take plunder and to carry away loot,
to trample them down 15 like dirt in the streets.
10:7 But he does not agree with this,
his mind does not reason this way, 16
for his goal is to destroy,
and to eliminate many nations. 17
“Are not my officials all kings?
10:9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?
Hamath like Arpad?
Samaria like Damascus? 19
10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, 20
whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s 21 or Samaria’s.
10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,
so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” 22
10:12 But when 23 the sovereign master 24 finishes judging 25 Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I 26 will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. 27 10:13 For he says:
“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,
by my strategy that I devised.
I invaded the territory of nations, 28
and looted their storehouses.
Like a mighty conqueror, 29 I brought down rulers. 30
10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,
as one gathers up abandoned eggs,
I gathered up the whole earth.
There was no wing flapping,
or open mouth chirping.” 31
10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,
or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? 32
As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,
or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
10:16 For this reason 33 the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. 34 His majestic glory will go up in smoke. 35
10:17 The light of Israel 36 will become a fire,
their Holy One 37 will become a flame;
it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s 38 briers
and his thorns in one day.
10:18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard
will be completely destroyed, 39
as when a sick man’s life ebbs away. 40
10:19 There will be so few trees left in his forest,
a child will be able to count them. 41
10:20 At that time 42 those left in Israel, those who remain of the family 43 of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. 44 Instead they will truly 45 rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 46 10:21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 47 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as 48 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. 49 Destruction has been decreed; 50 just punishment 51 is about to engulf you. 52 10:23 The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land. 53
10:24 So 54 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 55 10:25 For very soon my fury 56 will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them 57 with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. 58 He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. 59
the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders, 61
and their yoke from your neck;
the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large. 62
10:28 63 They 64 attacked 65 Aiath,
moved through Migron,
depositing their supplies at Micmash.
10:29 They went through the pass,
spent the night at Geba.
Ramah trembled,
Gibeah of Saul ran away.
10:30 Shout out, daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah!
Answer her, Anathoth! 66
10:31 Madmenah flees,
the residents of Gebim have hidden.
10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,
they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain 67 –
at the hill of Jerusalem.
10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. 68
The tallest trees 69 will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall. 70
Isaiah 24:1-23
Context24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth
and leave it in ruins;
he will mar its surface
and scatter its inhabitants.
24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, 71
the master as well as the servant, 72
the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, 73
the seller as well as the buyer, 74
the borrower as well as the lender, 75
the creditor as well as the debtor. 76
24:3 The earth will be completely devastated
and thoroughly ransacked.
For the Lord has decreed this judgment. 77
24:4 The earth 78 dries up 79 and withers,
the world shrivels up and withers;
the prominent people of the earth 80 fade away.
24:5 The earth is defiled by 81 its inhabitants, 82
for they have violated laws,
disregarded the regulation, 83
and broken the permanent treaty. 84
24:6 So a treaty curse 85 devours the earth;
its inhabitants pay for their guilt. 86
This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear, 87
and are reduced to just a handful of people. 88
24:7 The new wine dries up,
the vines shrivel up,
all those who like to celebrate 89 groan.
24:8 The happy sound 90 of the tambourines stops,
the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,
the happy sound of the harp ceases.
24:9 They no longer sing and drink wine; 91
the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
24:10 The ruined town 92 is shattered;
all of the houses are shut up tight. 93
24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; 94
all joy turns to sorrow; 95
celebrations disappear from the earth. 96
24:12 The city is left in ruins; 97
the gate is reduced to rubble. 98
24:13 This is what will happen throughout 99 the earth,
among the nations.
It will be like when they beat an olive tree,
and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest. 100
24:14 They 101 lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise 102 the majesty of the Lord in the west.
24:15 So in the east 103 extol the Lord,
along the seacoasts extol 104 the fame 105 of the Lord God of Israel.
24:16 From the ends of the earth we 106 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 107
But I 108 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 109
24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 110
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 111
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 112 are opened up 113
and the foundations of the earth shake.
24:19 The earth is broken in pieces,
the earth is ripped to shreds,
the earth shakes violently. 114
24:20 The earth will stagger around 115 like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. 116
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.
24:21 At that time 117 the Lord will punish 118
the heavenly forces in the heavens 119
and the earthly kings on the earth.
24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, 120
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time, 121 they will be punished. 122
24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 123
the bright sun 124 will be darkened; 125
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 126
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 127
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 128
Isaiah 29:1-24
Context29:1 Ariel is as good as dead 129 –
Ariel, the town David besieged! 130
Keep observing your annual rituals,
celebrate your festivals on schedule. 131
29:2 I will threaten Ariel,
and she will mourn intensely
and become like an altar hearth 132 before me.
29:3 I will lay siege to you on all sides; 133
I will besiege you with troops; 134
I will raise siege works against you.
29:4 You will fall;
while lying on the ground 135 you will speak;
from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. 136
Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; 137
from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation. 138
29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,
the horde of tyrants 139 like chaff that is blown away.
It will happen suddenly, in a flash.
29:6 Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, 140
accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise,
by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.
29:7 It will be like a dream, a night vision.
There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel,
those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.
29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. 141
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. 142
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
29:9 You will be shocked and amazed! 143
You are totally blind! 144
They are drunk, 145 but not because of wine;
they stagger, 146 but not because of beer.
29:10 For the Lord has poured out on you
a strong urge to sleep deeply. 147
He has shut your eyes (the prophets),
and covered your heads (the seers).
29:11 To you this entire prophetic revelation 148 is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read 149 and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” 29:12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read 150 and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” 151
29:13 The sovereign master 152 says,
“These people say they are loyal to me; 153
they say wonderful things about me, 154
but they are not really loyal to me. 155
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual. 156
29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –
an absolutely extraordinary deed. 157
Wise men will have nothing to say,
the sages will have no explanations.” 158
29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, 159
who do their work in secret and boast, 160
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” 161
29:16 Your thinking is perverse! 162
Should the potter be regarded as clay? 163
Should the thing made say 164 about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?
29:17 In just a very short time 165
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 166
29:18 At that time 167 the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,
and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. 168
29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight 169 in the Holy One of Israel. 170
29:20 For tyrants will disappear,
those who taunt will vanish,
and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated 171 –
29:21 those who bear false testimony against a person, 172
who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate 173
and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges. 174
29:22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: 175
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;
their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. 176
29:23 For when they see their children,
whom I will produce among them, 177
they will honor 178 my name.
They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; 179
they will respect 180 the God of Israel.
29:24 Those who stray morally will gain understanding; 181
those who complain will acquire insight. 182
[36:18] 1 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[36:1] 1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[10:1] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[10:1] 2 tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.
[10:2] 1 tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”
[10:2] 2 tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”
[10:3] 1 tn Heb “the day of visitation” (so KJV, ASV), that is, the day when God arrives to execute justice on the oppressors.
[10:4] 1 tn Heb “except one kneels in the place of the prisoner, and in the place of the slain [who] fall.” On the force of בִּלְתִּי (bilti, “except”) and its logical connection to what precedes, see BDB 116 s.v. בֵלֶת. On the force of תַּחַת (takhat, “in the place of”) here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:258, n. 6.
[10:4] 2 tn Heb “in all this his anger was not turned, and still his hand was outstretched”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “his had is stretched out still.”
[10:5] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] Assyria, the club of my anger.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[10:5] 2 tn Heb “a cudgel is he, in their hand is my anger.” It seems likely that the final mem (ם) on בְיָדָם (bÿyadam) is not a pronominal suffix (“in their hand”), but an enclitic mem. If so, one can translate literally, “a cudgel is he in the hand of my anger.”
[10:6] 1 sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).
[10:6] 2 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”
[10:6] 3 tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”
[10:6] 4 tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”
[10:7] 1 tn Heb “but he, not so does he intend, and his heart, not so does it think.”
[10:7] 2 tn Heb “for to destroy [is] in his heart, and to cut off nations, not a few.”
[10:8] 1 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[10:9] 1 sn Calneh … Carchemish … Hamath … Arpad … Samaria … Damascus. The city states listed here were conquered by the Assyrians between 740-717
[10:10] 1 tn Heb “Just as my hand found the kingdoms of the idol[s].” The comparison is expanded in v. 11a (note “as”) and completed in v. 11b (note “so”).
[10:10] 2 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:11] 1 tn The statement is constructed as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text: “Is it not [true that] just as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols?”
[10:12] 1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[10:12] 2 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[10:12] 3 tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”
[10:12] 4 tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.
[10:12] 5 tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.
[10:13] 1 tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”
[10:13] 2 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).
[10:13] 3 tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.
[10:14] 1 sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.
[10:15] 1 tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”
[10:16] 1 sn The irrational arrogance of the Assyrians (v. 15) will prompt the judgment about to be described.
[10:16] 2 tn Heb “will send leanness against his healthy ones”; NASB, NIV “will send a wasting disease.”
[10:16] 3 tc Heb “and in the place of his glory burning will burn, like the burning of fire.” The highly repetitive text (יֵקַד יְקֹד כִּיקוֹד אֵשׁ, yeqad yiqod kiqod ’esh) may be dittographic; if the second consonantal sequence יקד is omitted, the text would read “and in the place of his glory, it will burn like the burning of fire.”
[10:17] 1 tn In this context the “Light of Israel” is a divine title (note the parallel title “his holy one”). The title points to God’s royal splendor, which overshadows and, when transformed into fire, destroys the “majestic glory” of the king of Assyria (v. 16b).
[10:17] 2 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[10:17] 3 tn Heb “his.” In vv. 17-19 the Assyrian king and his empire is compared to a great forest and orchard that are destroyed by fire (symbolic of the Lord).
[10:18] 1 tn Heb “from breath to flesh it will destroy.” The expression “from breath to flesh” refers to the two basic components of a person, the immaterial (life’s breath) and the material (flesh). Here the phrase is used idiomatically to indicate totality.
[10:18] 2 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. מָסַס (masas), which is used elsewhere of substances dissolving or melting, may here mean “waste away” or “despair.” נָסַס (nasas), which appears only here, may mean “be sick” or “stagger, despair.” See BDB 651 s.v. I נָסַס and HALOT 703 s.v. I נסס. One might translate the line literally, “like the wasting away of one who is sick” (cf. NRSV “as when an invalid wastes away”).
[10:19] 1 tn Heb “and the rest of the trees of his forest will be counted, and a child will record them.”
[10:20] 1 tn Or “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[10:20] 2 tn Heb “house” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[10:20] 3 tn Heb “on one who strikes him down.” This individual is the king (“foreign leader”) of the oppressing nation (which NLT specifies as “the Assyrians”).
[10:20] 4 tn Or “sincerely”; KJV, ASV, NAB, NRSV “in truth.”
[10:20] 5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[10:21] 1 tn The referent of אֵל גִּבּוֹר (’el gibbor, “mighty God”) is uncertain. The title appears only here and in 9:6, where it is one of the royal titles of the coming ideal Davidic king. (Similar titles appear in Deut 10:17 and Neh 9:32 [“the great, mighty, and awesome God”] and in Jer 32:18 [“the great and mighty God”]. Both titles refer to God.) Though Hos 3:5 pictures Israel someday seeking “David their king,” and provides some support for a messianic interpretation of Isa 10:21, the Davidic king is not mentioned in the immediate context of Isa 10:21 (see Isa 11, however). The preceding verse mentions Israel relying on the Lord, so it is likely that the title refers to God here.
[10:22] 2 sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).
[10:22] 3 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
[10:22] 4 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
[10:22] 5 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
[10:23] 1 tn Heb “Indeed (or perhaps “for”) destruction and what is decreed the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is about to accomplish in the middle of all the land.” The phrase כָלָא וְנֶחֱרָצָה (khala’ venekheratsah, “destruction and what is decreed”) is a hendiadys; the two terms express one idea, with the second qualifying the first.
[10:24] 1 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
[10:24] 2 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
[10:25] 1 tc The Hebrew text has simply “fury,” but the pronominal element can be assumed on the basis of what immediately follows (see “my anger” in the clause). It is possible that the suffixed yod (י) has been accidentally dropped by virtual haplography. Note that a vav (ו) is prefixed to the form that immediately follows; yod and vav are very similar in later script phases.
[10:26] 1 tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”
[10:26] 2 sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.
[10:26] 3 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.
[10:27] 1 tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[10:27] 2 tn Heb “he [i.e., the Lord] will remove his [i.e, Assyria’s] burden from upon your shoulder.”
[10:27] 3 tc The meaning of this line is uncertain. The Hebrew text reads literally, “and the yoke will be destroyed (or perhaps, “pulled down”) because of fatness.” Perhaps this is a bizarre picture of an ox growing so fat that it breaks the yoke around its neck or can no longer fit into its yoke. Fatness would symbolize the Lord’s restored blessings; the removal of the yoke would symbolize the cessation of Assyrian oppression. Because of the difficulty of the metaphor, many prefer to emend the text at this point. Some emend וְחֻבַּל (vÿkhubbal, “and it will be destroyed,” a perfect with prefixed vav), to יִחְבֹּל (yikhbol, “[it] will be destroyed,” an imperfect), and take the verb with what precedes, “and their yoke will be destroyed from your neck.” Proponents of this view (cf. NAB, NRSV) then emend עֹל (’ol, “yoke”) to עָלָה (’alah, “he came up”) and understand this verb as introducing the following description of the Assyrian invasion (vv. 28-32). מִפְּנֵי־שָׁמֶן (mippÿney-shamen, “because of fatness”) is then emended to read “from before Rimmon” (NAB, NRSV), “from before Samaria,” or “from before Jeshimon.” Although this line may present difficulties, it appears best to regard the line as a graphic depiction of God’s abundant blessings on his servant nation.
[10:28] 1 sn Verses 28-31 display a staccato style; the statements are short and disconnected (no conjunctions appear in the Hebrew text). The translation to follow strives for a choppy style that reflects the mood of the speech.
[10:28] 2 tn Heb “he,” that is, the Assyrians (as the preceding context suggests). Cf. NCV “The army of Assyria.”
[10:28] 3 tn Heb “came against,” or “came to.”
[10:30] 1 tc The Hebrew text reads “Poor [is] Anathoth.” The parallelism is tighter if עֲנִיָּה (’aniyyah,“poor”) is emended to עֲנִיהָ (’aniha, “answer her”). Note how the preceding two lines have an imperative followed by a proper name.
[10:32] 1 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “a mountain of a house (בֵּית, bet), Zion,” but the marginal reading (Qere) correctly reads “the mountain of the daughter (בַּת, bat) of Zion.” On the phrase “Daughter Zion,” see the note on the same phrase in 1:8.
[10:33] 1 tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.
[10:33] 2 tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[10:34] 1 tn The Hebrew text has, “and Lebanon, by/as [?] a mighty one, will fall.” The translation above takes the preposition בְּ (bet) prefixed to “mighty one” as indicating identity, “Lebanon, as a mighty one, will fall.” In this case “mighty one” describes Lebanon. (In Ezek 17:23 and Zech 11:2 the adjective is used of Lebanon’s cedars.) Another option is to take the preposition as indicating agency and interpret “mighty one” as a divine title (see Isa 33:21). One could then translate, “and Lebanon will fall by [the agency of] the Mighty One.”
[24:2] 1 tn Heb “and it will be like the people, like the priest.”
[24:2] 2 tn Heb “like the servant, like his master.”
[24:2] 3 tn Heb “like the female servant, like her mistress.”
[24:2] 4 tn Heb “like the buyer, like the seller.”
[24:2] 5 tn Heb “like the lender, like the borrower.”
[24:2] 6 tn Heb “like the creditor, just as the one to whom he lends.”
[24:3] 1 tn Heb “for the Lord has spoken this word.”
[24:4] 1 tn Some prefer to read “land” here, but the word pair אֶרֶץ/תֵּבֵל (erets/tevel [see the corresponding term in the parallel line]) elsewhere clearly designates the earth/world (see 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Chr 16:30; Job 37;12; Pss 19:4; 24:1; 33:8; 89:11; 90:2; 96:13; 98:9; Prov 8:26, 31; Isa 14:16-17; 34:1; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Lam 4:12). According to L. Stadelmann, תבל designates “the habitable part of the world” (The Hebrew Conception of the World [AnBib], 130).
[24:4] 2 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists the homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism.
[24:4] 3 tn Heb “the height of the people of the earth.” The translation assumes an emendation of the singular form מְרוֹם (mÿrom, “height of”) to the plural construct מְרֹמֵי (mÿrome, “high ones of”; note the plural verb at the beginning of the line), and understands the latter as referring to the prominent people of human society.
[24:5] 1 tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”
[24:5] 2 sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.
[24:5] 3 tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”
[24:5] 4 tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”
[24:6] 1 sn Ancient Near Eastern treaties often had “curses,” or threatened judgments, attached to them. (See Deut 28 for a biblical example of such curses.) The party or parties taking an oath of allegiance acknowledged that disobedience would activate these curses, which typically threatened loss of agricultural fertility as depicted in the following verses.
[24:6] 2 tn The verb אָשַׁם (’asham, “be guilty”) is here used metonymically to mean “pay, suffer for one’s guilt” (see HALOT 95 s.v. אשׁם).
[24:6] 3 tn BDB 359 s.v. חָרַר derives the verb חָרוּ (kharu) from חָרַר (kharar, “burn”), but HALOT 351 s.v. II חרה understands a hapax legomenon חָרָה (kharah, “to diminish in number,” a homonym of חָרָה) here, relating it to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “to decrease.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חורו, perhaps understanding the root as חָוַר (khavar, “grow pale”; see Isa 29:22 and HALOT 299 s.v. I חור).
[24:6] 4 tn Heb “and mankind is left small [in number].”
[24:7] 1 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “all the joyful in heart,” but the context specifies the context as parties and drinking bouts.
[24:8] 1 tn Heb “the joy” (again later in this verse).
[24:9] 1 tn Heb “with a song they do not drink wine.”
[24:10] 1 tn Heb “the city of chaos” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Isaiah uses the term תֹּהוּ (tohu) rather frequently of things (like idols) that are empty and worthless (see BDB 1062 s.v.), so the word might characterize the city as rebellious or morally worthless. However, in this context, which focuses on the effects of divine judgment, it probably refers to the ruined or worthless condition in which the city is left (note the use of the word in Isa 34:11). For a discussion of the identity of this city, see R. Chisholm, “The ‘Everlasting Covenant’ and the ‘City of Chaos’: Intentional Ambiguity and Irony in Isaiah 24,” CTR 6 (1993): 237-53. In the context of universal judgment depicted in Isa 24, this city represents all the nations and cities of the world which, like Babylon of old and the powers/cities mentioned in chapters 13-23, rebel against God’s authority. Behind the stereotypical language one can detect various specific manifestations of this symbolic and paradigmatic city, including Babylon, Moab, and Jerusalem, all of which are alluded or referred to in chapters 24-27.
[24:10] 2 tn Heb “every house is closed up from entering.”
[24:11] 1 tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”
[24:11] 2 tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.
[24:11] 3 tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”
[24:12] 1 tn Heb “and there is left in the city desolation.”
[24:12] 2 tn Heb “and [into] rubble the gate is crushed.”
[24:13] 1 tn Heb “in the midst of” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
[24:13] 2 sn The judgment will severely reduce the earth’s population. See v. 6.
[24:14] 1 sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.
[24:14] 2 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
[24:15] 1 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “in the lights,” interpreted by some to mean “in the region of light,” referring to the east. Some scholars have suggested the emendation of בָּאֻרִים (ba’urim) to בְּאִיֵּי הַיָּם (bÿ’iyyey hayyam, “along the seacoasts”), a phrase that is repeated in the next line. In this case, the two lines form synonymous parallelism. If one retains the MT reading (as above), “in the east” and “along the seacoasts” depict the two ends of the earth to refer to all the earth (as a merism).
[24:15] 2 tn The word “extol” is supplied in the translation; the verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
[24:15] 3 tn Heb “name,” which here stands for God’s reputation achieved by his mighty deeds.
[24:16] 1 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
[24:16] 2 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
[24:16] 3 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
[24:16] 4 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”
[24:17] 1 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
[24:18] 1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:18] 2 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
[24:18] 3 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).
[24:19] 1 tn Once more repetition is used to draw attention to a statement. In the Hebrew text each lines ends with אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”). Each line also uses a Hitpolel verb form from a geminate root preceded by an emphatic infinitive absolute.
[24:20] 1 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
[24:20] 2 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
[24:21] 1 tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[24:21] 2 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
[24:21] 3 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).
[24:22] 1 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
[24:22] 2 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
[24:22] 3 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”
[24:23] 1 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
[24:23] 2 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
[24:23] 3 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
[24:23] 4 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
[24:23] 5 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:23] 6 tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”
[29:1] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] Ariel.” The meaning of the name “Ariel” is uncertain. The name may mean “altar hearth” (see v. 2) or, if compound, “lion of God.” The name is used here as a title for Mount Zion/Jerusalem (see v. 8).
[29:1] 2 tn Heb “the town where David camped.” The verb חָנָה (khanah, “camp”) probably has the nuance “lay siege to” here. See v. 3. Another option is to take the verb in the sense of “lived, settled.”
[29:1] 3 tn Heb “Add year to year, let your festivals occur in cycles.” This is probably a sarcastic exhortation to the people to keep up their religious rituals, which will not prevent the coming judgment. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:527.
[29:2] 1 tn The term אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el, “Ariel”) is the word translated “altar hearth” here. The point of the simile is not entirely clear. Perhaps the image likens Jerusalem’s coming crisis to a sacrificial fire.
[29:3] 1 tc The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khadur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (kÿdavid, “like David”), which is supported by the LXX (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the LXX could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
[29:3] 2 tn The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
[29:4] 1 tn Heb “from the ground” (so NIV, NCV).
[29:4] 2 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will be low.”
[29:4] 3 tn Heb “and your voice will be like a ritual pit from the earth.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19. Here the word is used metonymically for the voice that emerges from such a pit.
[29:4] 4 tn Heb “and from the dust your word will chirp.” The words “as if muttering an incantation” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the parallelism and 8:19.
[29:5] 1 tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”
[29:6] 1 tn Heb “from the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] there will be visitation.” The third feminine singular passive verb form תִּפָּקֵד (tippaqed, “she/it will be visited”) is used here in an impersonal sense. See GKC 459 §144.b.
[29:8] 1 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
[29:8] 2 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
[29:9] 1 tn The form הִתְמַהְמְהוּ (hitmahmÿhu) is a Hitpalpel imperative from מָהַהּ (mahah, “hesitate”). If it is retained, one might translate “halt and be amazed.” The translation assumes an emendation to הִתַּמְּהוּ (hittammÿhu), a Hitpael imperative from תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). In this case, the text, like Hab 1:5, combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of תָּמַה (tamah). A literal translation might be “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sound draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572 §34.4c.
[29:9] 2 tn Heb “Blind yourselves and be blind!” The Hitpalpel and Qal imperatival forms of שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blind”) are combined to draw attention to the statement. The imperatives have the force of an emphatic assertion.
[29:9] 3 tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.
[29:9] 4 tc Some prefer to emend the perfect form of the verb to an imperative (e.g., NAB, NCV, NRSV), since the people are addressed in the immediately preceding and following contexts.
[29:10] 1 tn Heb “a disposition [or “spirit”] of deep sleep.” Through this mixed metaphor (sleep is likened to a liquid which one pours and in turn symbolizes spiritual dullness) the prophet emphasizes that God himself has given the people over to their spiritual insensitivity as a form of judgment.
[29:11] 1 tn Heb “vision” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[29:11] 2 tn Heb “one who knows a/the scroll.”
[29:12] 1 tn Heb “and if the scroll is handed to one who does not know a scroll.”
[29:12] 2 tn Heb “I do not know a scroll.”
[29:13] 1 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
[29:13] 2 tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”
[29:13] 3 tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”
[29:13] 4 tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.
[29:13] 5 tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”
[29:14] 1 tn Heb “Therefore I will again do something amazing with these people, an amazing deed, an amazing thing.” This probably refers to the amazing transformation predicted in vv. 17-24, which will follow the purifying judgment implied in vv. 15-16.
[29:14] 2 tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”
[29:15] 1 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.
[29:15] 2 tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”
[29:15] 3 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.
[29:16] 1 tn Heb “your overturning.” The predicate is suppressed in this exclamation. The idea is, “O your perversity! How great it is!” See GKC 470 §147.c. The people “overturn” all logic by thinking their authority supersedes God’s.
[29:16] 2 tn The expected answer to this rhetorical question is “of course not.” On the interrogative use of אִם (’im), see BDB 50 s.v.
[29:16] 3 tn Heb “that the thing made should say.”
[29:17] 1 tn The Hebrew text phrases this as a rhetorical question, “Is it not yet a little, a short [time]?”
[29:17] 2 sn The meaning of this verse is debated, but it seems to depict a reversal in fortunes. The mighty forest of Lebanon (symbolic of the proud and powerful, see 2:13; 10:34) will be changed into a common orchard, while the common orchard (symbolic of the oppressed and lowly) will grow into a great forest. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:538.
[29:18] 1 tn Or “In that day” (KJV).
[29:18] 2 tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”
[29:19] 1 tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).
[29:19] 2 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[29:20] 1 tn Heb “and all the watchers of wrong will be cut off.”
[29:21] 1 tn Heb “the ones who make a man a sinner with a word.” The Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) here has a delocutive sense: “declare a man sinful/guilty.”
[29:21] 2 sn Legal disputes were resolved at the city gate, where the town elders met. See Amos 5:10.
[29:21] 3 tn Heb “and deprive by emptiness the innocent.”
[29:22] 1 tn Heb “So this is what the Lord says to the house of Jacob, the one who ransomed Abraham.” The relative pronoun must refer back to “the Lord,” not to the immediately preceding “Jacob.” It is uncertain to what event in Abraham’s experience this refers. Perhaps the name “Abraham” stands here by metonymy for his descendants through Jacob. If so, the Exodus is in view.
[29:22] 2 tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
[29:23] 1 tn Heb “for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst.”
[29:23] 2 tn Or “treat as holy” (also in the following line); NASB, NRSV “will sanctify.”
[29:23] 3 sn Holy One of Jacob is similar to the phrase “Holy One of Israel” common throughout Isaiah; see the sn at Isa 1:4.
[29:23] 4 tn Or “fear,” in the sense of “stand in awe of.”
[29:24] 1 tn Heb “and the ones who stray in spirit will know understanding.”
[29:24] 2 tn Heb “will learn instruction”; cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “will accept instruction.”
