11:15 The Lord will divide 1 the gulf 2 of the Egyptian Sea; 3
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River 4 and send a strong wind, 5
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, 6
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals 7
and covered with pools of stagnant water.
I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” 8
says the Lord who commands armies.
38:12 My dwelling place 9 is removed and taken away 10 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 11
from the loom he cuts me off. 12
You turn day into night and end my life. 13
42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; 14
I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. 15
I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,
and level out the rough ground. 16
This is what I will do for them.
I will not abandon them.
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 17
Is my hand too weak 18 to deliver 19 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 20 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 21
1 tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”
2 tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
3 sn That is, the Red Sea.
4 tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.
5 tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.
6 tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.
7 tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).
8 tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”
9 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
10 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
11 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
12 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
13 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
14 tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”
15 tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”
16 tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”
17 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
18 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
19 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
20 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
21 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”