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 8:22

8:22 When one looks out over the land, he sees ³  distress and darkness, gloom ⁴  and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. ⁵ 

Isaiah 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ⁶ 

by morning they vanish. ⁷ 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ⁸ 

Isaiah 49:12

49:12 Look, they come from far away!

Look, some come from the north and west,

and others from the land of Sinim! ⁹ 

[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.

[8:22]  ³ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[8:22]  ⁴ tn The precise meaning of מְעוּף (mÿ’uf) is uncertain; the word occurs only here. See BDB 734 s.v. מָעוּף.

[8:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “ and darkness, pushed.” The word מְנֻדָּח (mÿnudakh) appears to be a Pual participle from נדח (“push”), but the Piel is unattested for this verb and the Pual occurs only here.

[17:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[49:12]  ⁷ tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).