Isaiah 5:26

5:26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, ¹ 

he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.

Look, they ²  come quickly and swiftly.

Isaiah 13:5

13:5 They come from a distant land,

from the horizon. ³ 

It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, ⁴ 

coming to destroy the whole earth. ⁵ 

Isaiah 42:10

42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!

Praise him ⁶  from the horizon of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, ⁷ 

you coastlands ⁸  and those who live there!

Isaiah 43:6

43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’

and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’

Bring my sons from distant lands,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

[5:26]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[13:5]  ³ tn Heb “from the end of the sky.”

[13:5]  ⁴ tn Or “anger”; cf. KJV, ASV “the weapons of his indignation.”

[13:5]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “land” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT). Even though the heading and subsequent context (see v. 17) indicate Babylon’s judgment is in view, the chapter has a cosmic flavor that suggests that the coming judgment is universal in scope. Perhaps Babylon’s downfall occurs in conjunction with a wider judgment, or the cosmic style is poetic hyperbole used to emphasize the magnitude and importance of the coming event.

[42:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.

[42:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”

[42:10]  ⁷ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”