Discovery BoxIsaiah 5:25-30
Context5:25 So the Lord is furious 1 with his people;
he lifts 2 his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure 3 in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 4
5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, 5
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they 6 come quickly and swiftly.
5:27 None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest. 7
5:28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared. 8
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, 9
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. 10
5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
5:30 At that time 11 they will growl over their prey, 12
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. 13
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness. 14
Isaiah 8:7-8
Context8:7 So look, the sovereign master 15 is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River 16 – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 17 8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, 18 O Immanuel.” 19
Jeremiah 52:4
Context52:4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. 20 They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 21
Lamentations 2:15-16
Contextס (Samek)
2:15 All who passed by on the road
clapped their hands to mock you. 22
They sneered and shook their heads
at Daughter Jerusalem.
“Ha! Is this the city they called 23
‘The perfection of beauty, 24
the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” 25
פ (Pe)
2:16 All your enemies
gloated over you. 26
They sneered and gnashed their teeth;
they said, “We have destroyed 27 her!
Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.
We have lived to see it!” 28
Joel 3:2-15
Context3:2 Then I will gather all the nations,
and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. 29
I will enter into judgment 30 against them there
concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, 31
whom they scattered among the nations.
They partitioned my land,
3:3 and they cast lots for my people.
They traded 32 a boy for a prostitute;
they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. 33
3:4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? 34
Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? 35
I will very quickly repay you for what you have done! 36
3:5 For you took my silver and my gold
and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces. 37
3:6 You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks,
removing them far from their own country. 38
3:7 Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them.
I will repay you for what you have done! 39
3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to 40 the people of Judah. 41
They will sell them to the Sabeans, 42 a nation far away.
Indeed, the Lord has spoken!
3:9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for a holy war!
Call out the warriors!
Let all these fighting men approach and attack! 43
3:10 Beat your plowshares 44 into swords,
and your pruning hooks 45 into spears! 46
Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ 47
3:11 Lend your aid 48 and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves 49 to that place.”
Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! 50
3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up
to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.
3:13 Rush forth with 51 the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!
Come, stomp the grapes, 52 for the winepress is full!
The vats overflow.
Indeed, their evil is great! 53
3:14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,
for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! 54
3:15 The sun and moon are darkened;
the stars withhold 55 their brightness.
[5:25] 1 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”
[5:25] 2 tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”
[5:25] 3 tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”
[5:25] 4 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
[5:26] 5 tc The Hebrew text has literally, “for nations from a distance.” The following verses use singular forms to describe this nation, so the final mem (ם) on לְגּוֹיִם (lÿgoyim) may be enclitic or dittographic. In the latter case one could read לְגוֹי מֵרָחוֹק (lÿgoy merakhoq, “for a nation from a distance”; see Deut 28:49; Joel 3:8). Another possibility is to emend the text from לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק (laggoyim merakhoq) to לְגוֹי מִמֶּרְחָק (lÿgoy mimmerkhaq, “for a nation from a distant place”) a phrase which occurs in Jer 5:15. In this case an error of misdivision has occurred in MT, the mem of the prefixed preposition being accidentally taken as a plural ending on the preceding word.
[5:26] 6 tn Heb “he.” Singular forms are used throughout vv. 26-30 to describe this nation, but for stylistic reasons the translation uses the plural for these collective singulars.
[5:27] 7 tn Heb “and the belt on his waist is not opened, and the thong of his sandals is not torn in two.”
[5:28] 8 tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”
[5:28] 9 tn Heb “regarded like flint.”
[5:28] 10 sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.
[5:30] 11 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
[5:30] 12 tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:30] 13 tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”
[5:30] 14 tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”
[8:7] 15 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[8:7] 16 tn Heb “the mighty and abundant waters of the river.” The referent of “the river” here, the Euphrates River, has been specified in the translation for clarity. As the immediately following words indicate, these waters symbolize the Assyrian king and his armies which will, as it were, inundate the land.
[8:7] 17 tn Heb “it will go up over all its stream beds and go over all its banks.”
[8:8] 18 tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.
[8:8] 19 sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)
[52:4] 21 sn This would have been January 15, 588
[2:15] 22 tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).
[2:15] 23 tn Heb “of which they said.”
[2:15] 24 tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.
[2:15] 25 tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.
[2:16] 26 tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”
[2:16] 27 tn Heb “We have swallowed!”
[2:16] 28 tn Heb “We have attained, we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsa’nu ra’inu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic 1st person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited, we destroyed, we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.
[3:2] 29 sn There is a play on words here. Jehoshaphat in Hebrew means “the Lord has judged,” and the next line in v. 2 further explicates this thought. The location of this valley is uncertain (cf. v. 12). Many interpreters have understood the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the Kidron Valley, located on the east side of old Jerusalem. Since this is described as a scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have desired to be buried in the vicinity, a fact attested to in modern times by the presence of many graves in the area. A variation of this view is mentioned by Eusebius, Onomasticon 1:10. According to this view, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is located in the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the old city. Yet another view is held by many modern scholars, who understand the reference to this valley to be one of an idealized and nonliteral scene of judgment.
[3:2] 30 tn Heb “I will execute judgment.”
[3:2] 31 tn Heb “concerning my people and my inheritance Israel.”
[3:3] 33 sn Heb “and they drank.” Joel vividly refers to a situation where innocent human life has little value; its only worth is its use in somehow satisfying selfish appetites of wicked people who have control over others (cf. Amos 2:6 and 8:6).
[3:4] 34 tn Heb “What [are] you [doing] to me, O Tyre and Sidon?”
[3:4] 36 tn Heb “quickly, speedily, I will return your recompense on your head.” This is an idiom for retributive justice and an equitable reversal of situation.
[3:5] 37 tn Or perhaps, “temples.”
[3:7] 39 tn Heb “I will return your recompense on your head.”
[3:8] 40 tn Heb “into the hand of.”
[3:8] 41 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
[3:8] 42 sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.
[3:9] 43 tn Heb “draw near and go up.”
[3:10] 44 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
[3:10] 45 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
[3:10] 46 sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.
[3:10] 47 sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.
[3:11] 48 tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).
[3:11] 49 tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.
[3:11] 50 tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O
[3:13] 52 tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[3:13] 53 sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).
[3:14] 54 sn The decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the verdict handed out by the divine judge.
