Isaiah 50:11

50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with ¹  flaming arrows, ² 

walk ³  in the light ⁴  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ⁵ 

This is what you will receive from me: ⁶ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ⁷ 

Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ⁸  of Egypt and the revenue ⁹  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ¹⁰  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ¹¹ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ¹² 

‘Truly God is with ¹³  you; he has no peer; ¹⁴ 

there is no other God!’”

[50:11]  ¹ tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).

[50:11]  ² tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ³ tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ⁵ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ⁷ sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.

[45:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ¹¹ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ¹² sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.