Isaiah 8:8

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, ¹  O Immanuel.” ² 

Isaiah 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ³  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ⁴  Destruction has been decreed; ⁵  just punishment ⁶  is about to engulf you. ⁷ 

Isaiah 28:2

28:2 Look, the sovereign master ⁸  sends a strong, powerful one. ⁹ 

With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, ¹⁰ 

with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, ¹¹ 

he will knock that crown ¹²  to the ground with his hand. ¹³ 

Isaiah 28:18

28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; ¹⁴ 

your agreement ¹⁵  with Sheol will not last. ¹⁶ 

When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, ¹⁷ 

you will be overrun by it. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 30:28

30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river ¹⁹ 

that reaches one’s neck.

He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; ²⁰ 

he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. ²¹ 

Isaiah 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ²²  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ²³  you.

[8:8]  ¹ 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]  ² 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].)

[10:22]  ³ tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ⁴ sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).

[10:22]  ⁵ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ⁶ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ⁷ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[28:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”

[28:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”

[28:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”

[28:2]  ⁹ tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.

[28:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “by [his] power.”

[28:18]  ⁷ tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.

[28:18]  ⁸ tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ⁹ tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).

[28:18]  ¹⁰ tn See the note at v. 15.

[28:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”

[30:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.

[30:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.

[30:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.

[43:2]  ¹¹ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ¹² tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”