Isaiah 9:10

9:10 “The bricks have fallen,

but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;

the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,

but we will replace them with cedars.” ¹ 

Isaiah 21:1

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: ² 

Like strong winds blowing in the south, ³ 

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

Isaiah 24:5

24:5 The earth is defiled by ⁴  its inhabitants, ⁵ 

for they have violated laws,

disregarded the regulation, ⁶ 

and broken the permanent treaty. ⁷ 

Isaiah 41:1

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ⁸ 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ⁹ 

[9:10]  ¹ sn Though judgment (see v. 8) had taken away the prosperity they did have (symbolized by the bricks and sycamore fig trees), they arrogantly expected the future to bring even greater prosperity (symbolized by the chiseled stone and cedars).

[21:1]  ² sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.

[21:1]  ³ tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).

[24:5]  ³ tn Heb “beneath”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “under”; NAB “because of.”

[24:5]  ⁴ sn Isa 26:21 suggests that the earth’s inhabitants defiled the earth by shedding the blood of their fellow human beings. See also Num 35:33-34, which assumes that bloodshed defiles a land.

[24:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “moved past [the?] regulation.”

[24:5]  ⁶ tn Or “everlasting covenant” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the ancient covenant”; CEV “their agreement that was to last forever.”

[41:1]  ⁴ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:1]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.