Isaiah 9:4

9:4 For their oppressive yoke

and the club that strikes their shoulders,

the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, ¹ 

you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. ² 

Isaiah 10:15

10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,

or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? ³ 

As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,

or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

Isaiah 10:26

10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ⁴  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ⁵  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ⁶ 

Isaiah 28:27

28:27 Certainly ⁷  caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,

nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. ⁸ 

Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick,

and cumin seed with a flail.

Isaiah 30:32

30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, ⁹ 

with which the Lord will beat them, ¹⁰ 

will be accompanied by music from the ¹¹  tambourine and harp,

and he will attack them with his weapons. ¹² 

[9:4]  ¹ tn Heb “for the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the scepter of the oppressor against him.” The singular pronouns are collective, referring to the people. The oppressed nation is compared to an ox weighed down by a heavy yoke and an animal that is prodded and beaten.

[9:4]  ² sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.

[10:15]  ³ tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”

[10:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”

[10:26]  ⁶ sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.

[10:26]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.

[28:27]  ⁷ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB).

[28:27]  ⁸ sn Both of these seeds are too small to use the ordinary threshing techniques.

[30:32]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew mss, assumes an emendation of מוּסָדָה (musadah, “founded”) to מוּסָרֹה (musaroh, “his discipline”).

[30:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”

[30:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).

[30:32]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvÿmilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.