Isaiah 45:2

45:2 “I will go before you

and level mountains. ¹ 

Bronze doors I will shatter

and iron bars ²  I will hack through.

Isaiah 15:5

15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, ³ 

and for the fugitives ⁴  stretched out ⁵  as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;

they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. ⁶ 

[45:2]  ¹ tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) makes little, if any, sense here. It is probably a corruption of an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”).

[45:2]  ² tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”

[15:5]  ³ tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.

[15:5]  ⁴ tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.

[15:5]  ⁵ tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”