Isaiah 9:20

9:20 They devoured ¹  on the right, but were still hungry,

they ate on the left, but were not satisfied.

People even ate ²  the flesh of their own arm! ³ 

Isaiah 37:30

37:30 ⁴ “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: ⁵  This year you will eat what grows wild, ⁶  and next year ⁷  what grows on its own. But the year after that ⁸  you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ⁹ 

Isaiah 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

Isaiah 59:16

The Lord Intervenes

59:16 He sees there is no advocate; ¹⁰ 

he is shocked ¹¹  that no one intervenes.

So he takes matters into his own hands; ¹² 

his desire for justice drives him on. ¹³ 

[9:20]  ¹ tn Or “cut.” The verb גָּזַר (gazar) means “to cut.” If it is understood here, then one might paraphrase, “They slice off meat on the right.” However, HALOT 187 s.v. I גזר, proposes here a rare homonym meaning “to devour.”

[9:20]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite without vav consecutive or an imperfect used in a customary sense, describing continual or repeated behavior in past time.

[9:20]  ³ tn Some suggest that זְרֹעוֹ (zÿro’o, “his arm”) be repointed זַרְעוֹ (zar’o, “his offspring”). In either case, the metaphor is that of a desperately hungry man who resorts to an almost unthinkable act to satisfy his appetite. He eats everything he can find to his right, but still being unsatisfied, then turns to his left and eats everything he can find there. Still being desperate for food, he then resorts to eating his own flesh (or offspring, as this phrase is metaphorically understood by some English versions, e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT). The reality behind the metaphor is the political turmoil of the period, as the next verse explains. There was civil strife within the northern kingdom; even the descendants of Joseph were at each other’s throats. Then the northern kingdom turned on their southern brother, Judah.

[37:30]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.

[37:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).

[37:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).

[37:30]  ⁹ 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.

[59:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”

[59:16]  ⁸ tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”

[59:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”

[59:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”