1:8 Daughter Zion 1 is left isolated,
like a hut in a vineyard,
or a shelter in a cucumber field;
she is a besieged city. 2
3:17 So 3 the sovereign master 4 will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women 5 with skin diseases, 6
the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” 7
10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,
they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain 8 –
at the hill of Jerusalem.
14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? 9
Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;
the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.
16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, 10
from Sela in the desert 11
to the hill of Daughter Zion.
33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
panic 12 grips the godless. 13
They say, 14 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 15 fire?’
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 16
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 17
“The virgin daughter Zion 19
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 20
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 21 will accomplish this.
52:8 Listen, 22 your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes 23
the Lord’s return to Zion.
62:11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth: 24
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him
and his reward goes before him!’” 25
1 tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.
2 tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).
3 tn In the Hebrew text vv. 16-17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.
4 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
5 tn Heb “the daughters of Zion.”
6 tn Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”
7 tn The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”
8 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “a mountain of a house (בֵּית, bet), Zion,” but the marginal reading (Qere) correctly reads “the mountain of the daughter (בַּת, bat) of Zion.” On the phrase “Daughter Zion,” see the note on the same phrase in 1:8.
9 sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.
10 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Send [a plural imperatival form is used] a ram [to] the ruler of the land.” The term כַּר (kar, “ram”) should be emended to the plural כָּרִים (karim). The singular form in the text is probably the result of haplography; note that the next word begins with a mem (מ).
11 tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”
12 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
13 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
14 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
15 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
16 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
17 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
18 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
19 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
20 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
21 tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.
22 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
23 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
24 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so NASB, NRSV).
25 sn As v. 12 indicates, the returning exiles are the Lord’s reward/prize. See also 40:10 and the note there.