Isaiah 8:7

8:7 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 

Isaiah 18:2

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, ⁴ 

to a people that are feared far and wide, ⁵ 

to a nation strong and victorious, ⁶ 

whose land rivers divide. ⁷ 

Isaiah 18:7

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. ⁸ 

The tribute ⁹  will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 33:21

33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. ¹¹ 

Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; ¹² 

no war galley will enter; ¹³ 

no large ships will sail through. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ¹⁵ 

Is my hand too weak ¹⁶  to deliver ¹⁷  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹⁸  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 66:12

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ²⁰ 

You will nurse from her breast ²¹  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

[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.”

[18:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”

[18:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.”

[18:7]  ⁷ tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.

[18:7]  ⁸ tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.

[18:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”

[33:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”

[33:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”

[33:21]  ¹² tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”

[33:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”

[50:2]  ¹³ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”

[66:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ¹⁷ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).