28:22 So now, do not mock,
or your chains will become heavier!
For I have heard a message about decreed destruction,
from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. 6
30:28 His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river 7
that reaches one’s neck.
He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; 8
he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction. 9
34:11 Owls and wild animals 10 will live there, 11
all kinds of wild birds 12 will settle in it.
The Lord 13 will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line 14 of destruction. 15
43:17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, 16
together with a mighty army.
They fell down, 17 never to rise again;
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
47:11 Disaster will overtake you;
you will not know how to charm it away. 18
Destruction will fall on you;
you will not be able to appease it.
Calamity will strike you suddenly,
before you recognize it. 19
60:18 Sounds of violence 20 will no longer be heard in your land,
or the sounds of 21 destruction and devastation within your borders.
You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’
and your gates, ‘Praise.’
1 tn Heb “are like.”
2 sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).
3 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
4 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
5 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
6 tn Or “the whole earth” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV).
7 tn Heb “his breath is like a flooding river.” This might picture the Lord breathing heavily as he runs down his enemy, but in light of the preceding verse, which mentions his lips and tongue, “breath” probably stands metonymically for the word or battle cry that he expels from his mouth as he shouts. In Isa 34:16 and Ps 33:6 the Lord’s “breath” is associated with his command.
8 tn Heb “shaking nations in a sieve of worthlessness.” It is not certain exactly how שָׁוְא (shavÿ’, “emptiness, worthlessness”) modifies “sieve.” A sieve is used to separate grain from chaff and isolate what is worthless so that it might be discarded. Perhaps the nations are likened to such chaff; God’s judgment will sift them out for destruction.
9 tn Heb “and a bit that leads astray [is] in the jaws of the peoples.” Here the nations are likened to horse that can be controlled by a bit placed in its mouth. In this case the Lord uses his sovereign control over the “horse” to lead it to its demise.
10 tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
11 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
12 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
15 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
16 tn Heb “led out chariots and horses.” The words “to destruction” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The verse refers to the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
17 tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”
18 tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.
19 tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”
20 tn The words “sounds of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
21 tn The words “sounds of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.