Isaiah 42:15

42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; ¹ 

I will dry up all their vegetation.

I will turn streams into islands, ² 

and dry up pools of water. ³ 

Isaiah 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ⁴  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ⁵ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ⁶ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Isaiah 45:3

45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, ⁷ 

riches stashed away in secret places,

so you may recognize that I am the Lord,

the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ⁸  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ⁹ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Isaiah 48:14-15

48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!

Who among them ¹⁰  announced these things?

The Lord’s ally ¹¹  will carry out his desire against Babylon;

he will exert his power against the Babylonians. ¹² 

48:15 I, I have spoken –

yes, I have summoned him;

I lead him and he will succeed. ¹³ 

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ¹⁴ In the third ¹⁵  year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. ¹⁶  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

[42:15]  ¹ tn Heb “I will dry up the mountains and hills.” The “mountains and hills” stand by synecdoche for the trees that grow on them. Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonymic root and translate, “I will lay waste.”

[42:15]  ² tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will turn streams into coastlands [or “islands”].” Scholars who believe that this reading makes little sense have proposed an emendation of אִיִּים (’iyyim, “islands”) to צִיּוֹת (tsiyyot, “dry places”; cf. NCV, NLT, TEV). However, since all the versions support the MT reading, there is insufficient grounds for an emendation here. Although the imagery of changing rivers into islands is somewhat strange, J. N. Oswalt describes this imagery against the backdrop of rivers of the Near East. The receding of these rivers at times occasioned the appearance of previously submerged islands (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:126).

[42:15]  ³ sn The imagery of this verse, which depicts the Lord bringing a curse of infertility to the earth, metaphorically describes how the Lord will destroy his enemies.

[45:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ⁵ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[45:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”

[46:11]  ⁸ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[48:14]  ¹⁰ sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).

[48:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.”

[48:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”

[48:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”

[10:1]  ¹⁴ sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.

[10:1]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  ¹⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.