11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;
he will gather Israel’s dispersed people 10
and assemble Judah’s scattered people
from the four corners of the earth.
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? 11
As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,
or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
10:24 So 12 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 13
1 tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).
3 tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).
4 tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”
5 tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”
6 sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).
7 tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).
8 tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
9 tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”
10 tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.
11 tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”
12 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
13 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”