Discovery BoxIsaiah 37:12-13
Context37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors 1 destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 2 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, 3 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
Isaiah 37:17-18
Context37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 4 37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations 5 and their lands.
Isaiah 37:2
Context37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 6 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:
Isaiah 18:1
Context18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, 7
the one beyond the rivers of Cush,
Isaiah 19:12-13
Context19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? 8
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.
19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphis 9 are misled;
the rulers 10 of her tribes lead Egypt astray.
Isaiah 19:17-18
Context19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them. 11
19:18 At that time five cities 12 in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 13
Isaiah 19:2
Context19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, 14
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms. 15
Isaiah 32:13-17
Context32:13 Mourn 16 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 17
in the city filled with revelry. 18
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 19 city is abandoned.
Hill 20 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 21
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 22
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 23
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 24
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 25
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 26
and result in lasting security. 27
Psalms 115:2-8
Context115:2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
115:3 Our God is in heaven!
He does whatever he pleases! 28
115:4 Their 29 idols are made of silver and gold –
they are man-made. 30
115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
115:6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
115:7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats. 31
115:8 Those who make them will end up 32 like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
Psalms 135:5-6
Context135:5 Yes, 33 I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
135:6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
Psalms 135:15-18
Context135:15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold,
they are man-made. 34
135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe. 35
135:18 Those who make them will end up 36 like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
Jeremiah 10:3-5
Context10:3 For the religion 37 of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 38
10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it 39 together
so that it will not fall over.
10:5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.” 40
Jeremiah 10:10-12
Context10:10 The Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
When he shows his anger the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
10:11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear 41 from the earth and from under the heavens.’ 42
10:12 The Lord is the one who 43 by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
Daniel 3:15
Context3:15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?” 44
Habakkuk 2:19-20
Context2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead 45 –
he who says 46 to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’
Can it give reliable guidance? 47
It is overlaid with gold and silver;
it has no life’s breath inside it.
2:20 But the Lord is in his majestic palace. 48
The whole earth is speechless in his presence!” 49
[37:12] 1 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
[37:12] 2 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[37:13] 3 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[37:17] 4 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:18] 5 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
[37:2] 6 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
[18:1] 7 tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[19:12] 8 tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.
[19:13] 9 tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”
[19:13] 10 tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.
[19:17] 11 tn Heb “and the land of Judah will become [a source of] shame to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it [i.e., the land of Judah] will fear because of the plan of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] which he is planning against him.”
[19:18] 12 sn The significance of the number “five” in this context is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:376-77.
[19:18] 13 tc The Hebrew text has עִיר הַהֶרֶס (’ir haheres, “City of Destruction”; cf. NASB, NIV) but this does not fit the positive emphasis of vv. 18-22. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and some medieval Hebrew
[19:2] 14 tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).
[19:2] 15 tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.
[32:13] 16 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
[32:13] 17 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
[32:13] 18 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
[32:14] 19 tn Or “noisy” (NAB, NIV, NCV).
[32:14] 20 tn Hebrew עֹפֶל (’ofel), probably refers here to a specific area within the city of Jerusalem. See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
[32:14] 21 tn The Hebrew text has בְעַד מְעָרוֹת (vÿ’ad mÿ’arot). The force of בְעַד, which usually means “behind, through, round about,” or “for the benefit of,” is uncertain here. HALOT 616 s.v. *מְעָרָה takes מְעָרוֹת (mÿ’arot) as a homonym of “cave” and define it here as “cleared field.” Despite these lexical problems, the general point of the statement seems clear – the city will be uninhabited.
[32:14] 22 tn Heb “the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”
[32:15] 23 tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.
[32:15] 24 sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.
[32:16] 25 sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.
[32:17] 26 tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”
[32:17] 27 tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”
[115:3] 28 sn He does whatever he pleases. Such sovereignty is characteristic of kings (see Eccl 8:3).
[115:4] 29 tn The referent of the pronominal suffix is “the nations” (v. 2).
[115:4] 30 tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
[115:7] 31 tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).
[115:8] 32 tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”
[135:15] 34 tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
[135:17] 35 tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”
[135:18] 36 tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”
[10:3] 37 tn Heb “statutes.” According to BDB 350 s.v. חֻקָּה 2.b it refers to the firmly established customs or practices of the pagan nations. Compare the usage in Lev 20:23; 2 Kgs 17:8. Here it is essentially equivalent to דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) in v. 1, which has already been translated “religious practices.”
[10:3] 38 sn This passage is dripping with sarcasm. It begins by talking about the “statutes” of the pagan peoples as a “vapor” using a singular copula and singular predicate. Then it suppresses the subject, the idol, as though it were too horrible to mention, using only the predications about it. The last two lines read literally: “[it is] a tree which one cuts down from the forest; the work of the hands of a craftsman with his chisel.”
[10:4] 39 tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.
[10:5] 40 tn Heb “And it is not in them to do good either.”
[10:11] 41 tn Aram “The gods who did not make…earth will disappear…” The sentence is broken up in the translation to avoid a long, complex English sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
[10:11] 42 tn This verse is in Aramaic. It is the only Aramaic sentence in Jeremiah. Scholars debate the appropriateness of this verse to this context. Many see it as a gloss added by a postexilic scribe which was later incorporated into the text. Both R. E. Clendenen (“Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10,” JBL 106 [1987]: 401-8) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:324-25, 334-35) have given detailed arguments that the passage is not only original but the climax and center of the contrast between the
[10:12] 43 tn The words “The
[3:15] 44 tn Aram “hand.” So also in v. 17.
[2:19] 45 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.
[2:19] 46 tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.
[2:19] 47 tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).
[2:20] 48 tn Or “holy temple.” The
