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 10:2

10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,

and to deprive ³  the oppressed among my people of justice,

so they can steal what widows own,

and loot what belongs to orphans. ⁴ 

Isaiah 10:26

10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them ⁵  with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. ⁶  He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. ⁷ 

Isaiah 60:6

60:6 Camel caravans will cover your roads, ⁸ 

young camels from Midian and Ephah.

All the merchants of Sheba ⁹  will come,

bringing gold and incense

and singing praises to the Lord. ¹⁰ 

[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.

[10:2]  ³ tn Or “rob” (ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV); KJV “take away the right from the poor.”

[10:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that widows are their plunder, and they can loot orphans.”

[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.

[60:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “an abundance of camels will cover you.”

[60:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “all of them, from Sheba.”

[60:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they will announce the praises of the Lord.”