Isaiah 47:9

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ¹ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ² 

despite ³  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ⁴ 

Isaiah 47:13

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ⁵ 

Let them take their stand –

the ones who see omens in the sky,

who gaze at the stars,

who make monthly predictions –

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ⁶ 

Isaiah 60:2

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ⁷  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ⁸  appears over you.

Isaiah 60:5

60:5 Then you will look and smile, ⁹ 

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. ¹⁰ 

For the riches of distant lands ¹¹  will belong to you

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

Isaiah 62:5

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ¹²  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

[47:9]  ¹ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9]  ² tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ³ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  ⁴ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.

[47:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”

[60:2]  ⁹ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”

[60:5]  ¹³ tn Or “shine,” or “be radiant” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and it will tremble and be wide, your heart.”

[60:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the wealth of the sea,” i.e., wealth that is transported from distant lands via the sea.

[62:5]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).