Isaiah 38:13

38:13 I cry out ¹  until morning;

like a lion he shatters all my bones;

you turn day into night and end my life. ² 

Isaiah 57:9

57:9 You take olive oil as tribute ³  to your king, ⁴ 

along with many perfumes. ⁵ 

You send your messengers to a distant place;

you go all the way to Sheol. ⁶ 

Isaiah 62:7

62:7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, ⁷ 

until he makes Jerusalem the pride ⁸  of the earth.

[38:13]  ¹ tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Piel from שָׁוַה (shavah). There are two homonyms שָׁוַה, one meaning in the Piel “level, smooth out,” the other “set, place.” Neither fits in v. 13. It is likely that the original reading was שִׁוַּעְתִּי (shivva’ti, “I cry out”) from the verbal root שָׁוַע (shava’), which occurs exclusively in the Piel.

[38:13]  ² tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[57:9]  ³ tn Heb “you journey with oil.”

[57:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the king.” Since the context refers to idolatry and child sacrifice (see v. 5), some emend מֶלֶך (melekh, “king”) to “Molech.” Perhaps Israel’s devotion to her idols is likened here to a subject taking tribute to a ruler.

[57:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you multiply your perfumes.”

[57:9]  ⁶ sn Israel’s devotion to her idols is inordinate, irrational, and self-destructive.

[62:7]  ⁵ tn “Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; note the following line.

[62:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the object of] praise.”