Discovery BoxIsaiah 8:7-8
Context8:7 So look, the sovereign master 1 is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River 2 – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 3 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, 4 O Immanuel.” 5
Isaiah 10:5-6
Context10:5 Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, 6
a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 7
10:6 I sent him 8 against a godless 9 nation,
I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, 10
to take plunder and to carry away loot,
to trample them down 11 like dirt in the streets.
Isaiah 36:1--37:38
Context36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, 12 King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser 13 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 14 along with a large army. The chief adviser 15 stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 16 36:3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.
36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 17 36:5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 18 In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 36:6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ 36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 19 36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” 20
36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 21 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 22 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 23 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” 24
36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 25 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 26 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 27 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? 28 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 29 from my power? 30 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 31 36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief 32 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, 33 he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 34 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 35 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 36 and humiliation, 37 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 38 37:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 39 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 40 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 41
37:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 42 37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 43 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 44 with a sword in his own land.”’”
37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 45 37:9 The king 46 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia 47 was marching out to fight him. 48 He again sent 49 messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 37:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 50 Do you really think you will be rescued? 51 37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors 52 destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 53 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, 54 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter 55 from the messengers and read it. 56 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! 57 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 58 and the earth. 37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 59 37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations 60 and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, 61 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 62 37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” 63
37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 64 37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: 65
“The virgin daughter Zion 66
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 67
37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly? 68
At the Holy One of Israel! 69
37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 70
‘With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions, 71
its thickest woods.
37:25 I dug wells
and drank water. 72
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
37:26 73 Certainly you must have heard! 74
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned 75 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 76
37:27 Their residents are powerless; 77
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation. 78
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 79
when it is scorched by the east wind. 80
37:28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me. 81
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears, 82
I will put my hook in your nose, 83
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:30 84 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 85 This year you will eat what grows wild, 86 and next year 87 what grows on its own. But the year after that 88 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 89 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 90
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 91 will accomplish this.
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 92
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 93
nor will he build siege works against it.
37:34 He will go back the way he came –
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 94
37:36 The Lord’s messenger 95 went out and killed 185,000 troops 96 in the Assyrian camp. When they 97 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 98 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 99 37:38 One day, 100 as he was worshiping 101 in the temple of his god Nisroch, 102 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 103 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
Isaiah 37:2
Context37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 104 clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:
Isaiah 18:1--19:2
Context18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, 105
the one beyond the rivers of Cush,
18:2 that sends messengers by sea,
who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, 106
to a people that are feared far and wide, 107
to a nation strong and victorious, 108
whose land rivers divide. 109
18:3 All you who live in the world,
who reside on the earth,
you will see a signal flag raised on the mountains;
you will hear a trumpet being blown.
18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:
“I will wait 110 and watch from my place,
like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, 111
like a cloud of mist 112 in the heat 113 of harvest.” 114
18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,
and the ripening fruit appears, 115
he will cut off the unproductive shoots 116 with pruning knives;
he will prune the tendrils. 117
18:6 They will all be left 118 for the birds of the hills
and the wild animals; 119
the birds will eat them during the summer,
and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.
18:7 At that time
tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,
by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,
a people that are feared far and wide,
a nation strong and victorious,
whose land rivers divide. 120
The tribute 121 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 122
19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage. 123
19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, 124
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms. 125
Isaiah 28:19-21
Context28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, 126 every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.” 127
When this announcement is understood,
it will cause nothing but terror.
28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. 128
28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, 129
he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, 130
to accomplish his work,
his peculiar work,
to perform his task,
his strange task. 131
Isaiah 32:1-2
Context32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 132
officials will promote justice. 133
32:2 Each of them 134 will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from a rainstorm;
like streams of water in a dry region
and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
Isaiah 33:11
Contextyou give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you. 136
Isaiah 36:6-20
Context36:6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 36:7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ 36:8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 36:9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 137 36:10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” 138
36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 139 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 140 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 141 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” 142
36:13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 143 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 36:14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 36:15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 36:16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 144 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 36:17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 145 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? 146 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 147 from my power? 148 36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 149
Nehemiah 9:32
Context9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity 150 – do not regard as inconsequential 151 all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!
[8:7] 1 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[8:7] 2 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] 3 tn Heb “it will go up over all its stream beds and go over all its banks.”
[8:8] 4 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] 5 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].)
[10:5] 6 tn Heb “Woe [to] Assyria, the club of my anger.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[10:5] 7 tn Heb “a cudgel is he, in their hand is my anger.” It seems likely that the final mem (ם) on בְיָדָם (bÿyadam) is not a pronominal suffix (“in their hand”), but an enclitic mem. If so, one can translate literally, “a cudgel is he in the hand of my anger.”
[10:6] 8 sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).
[10:6] 9 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”
[10:6] 10 tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”
[10:6] 11 tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”
[36:1] 12 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[36:2] 13 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[36:2] 14 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:2] 15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[36:2] 16 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[36:4] 17 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[36:5] 18 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[36:9] 19 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[36:10] 20 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[36:11] 21 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
[36:11] 22 tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”
[36:12] 23 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[36:12] 24 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[36:13] 25 tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
[36:16] 26 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[36:18] 27 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[36:19] 28 tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[36:19] 29 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[36:19] 30 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
[36:20] 31 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
[36:22] 32 tn Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning.
[37:1] 33 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[37:2] 34 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
[37:3] 35 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
[37:3] 36 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
[37:3] 37 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
[37:3] 38 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[37:4] 39 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:4] 40 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
[37:4] 41 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[37:6] 42 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[37:7] 43 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
[37:7] 44 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
[37:8] 45 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
[37:9] 46 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:9] 47 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
[37:9] 48 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
[37:9] 49 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
[37:11] 50 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[37:11] 51 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[37:12] 52 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
[37:12] 53 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[37:13] 54 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[37:14] 55 tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).
[37:14] 56 tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).
[37:16] 57 sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
[37:16] 58 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[37:17] 59 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[37:18] 60 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
[37:19] 61 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[37:19] 62 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
[37:20] 63 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
[37:21] 64 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”
[37:22] 65 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
[37:22] 66 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[37:22] 67 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[37:23] 68 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”
[37:23] 69 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[37:24] 70 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[37:24] 71 tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”
[37:25] 72 tc The Hebrew text has simply, “I dug and drank water.” But the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:24 has “foreign waters.” זָרִים (zarim, “foreign”) may have accidentally dropped out of the Isaianic text by homoioteleuton (cf. NCV, NIV, NLT). Note that the preceding word, מַיִם (mayim, “water) also ends in mem (ם). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has “foreign waters” for this line. However, in several other passages the 1QIsaa scroll harmonizes with 2 Kgs 19 against the MT (Isa 36:5; 37:9, 20). Since the addition of “foreign” to this text in Isaiah by a later scribe would be more likely than its deletion, the MT reading should be accepted.
[37:26] 73 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[37:26] 74 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
[37:26] 75 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
[37:26] 76 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
[37:27] 77 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
[37:27] 78 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[37:27] 79 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[37:27] 80 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.
[37:28] 81 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.
[37:29] 82 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (sha’anankha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (shÿ’onÿkha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).
[37:29] 83 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[37:30] 84 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
[37:30] 85 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[37:30] 86 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[37:30] 87 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
[37:30] 88 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
[37:30] 89 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
[37:31] 90 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[37:32] 91 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.
[37:33] 92 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
[37:33] 93 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[37:35] 94 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[37:36] 95 tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[37:36] 96 tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
[37:36] 97 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[37:36] 98 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”
[37:37] 99 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[37:38] 100 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
[37:38] 101 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[37:38] 102 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
[37:38] 103 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
[37:2] 104 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
[18:1] 105 tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
[18:2] 106 tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
[18:2] 107 tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
[18:2] 108 tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
[18:2] 109 tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”
[18:4] 110 tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”
[18:4] 111 tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.
[18:4] 112 tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”
[18:4] 113 tc Some medieval Hebrew
[18:4] 114 sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.
[18:5] 115 tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”
[18:5] 116 tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.
[18:5] 117 tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”
[18:6] 118 tn Heb “they will be left together” (so NASB).
[18:6] 119 tn Heb “the beasts of the earth” (so KJV, NASB).
[18:7] 120 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
[18:7] 121 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
[18:7] 122 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
[19:1] 123 tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”
[19:2] 124 tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).
[19:2] 125 tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.
[28:19] 126 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[28:19] 127 tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.
[28:20] 128 sn The bed and blanket probably symbolize their false sense of security. A bed that is too short and a blanket that is too narrow may promise rest and protection from the cold, but in the end they are useless and disappointing. In the same way, their supposed treaty with death will prove useless and disappointing.
[28:21] 129 sn This probably alludes to David’s victory over the Philistines at Baal Perazim. See 2 Sam 5:20.
[28:21] 130 sn This probably alludes to the Lord’s victory over the Canaanites at Gibeon, during the days of Joshua. See Josh 10:10-11.
[28:21] 131 sn God’s judgment of his own people is called “his peculiar work” and “his strange task,” because he must deal with them the way he treated their enemies in the past.
[32:1] 132 tn Heb “will reign according to fairness.”
[32:1] 133 tn Heb “will rule according to justice.”
[32:2] 134 tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.
[33:11] 135 tn The second person verb and pronominal forms in this verse are plural. The hostile nations are the addressed, as the next verse makes clear.
[33:11] 136 sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
[36:9] 137 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[36:10] 138 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[36:11] 139 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
[36:11] 140 tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”
[36:12] 141 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[36:12] 142 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[36:13] 143 tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
[36:16] 144 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[36:18] 145 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[36:19] 146 tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[36:19] 147 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[36:19] 148 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
[36:20] 149 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
[9:32] 150 tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.
