13:8 They panic –
cramps and pain seize hold of them
like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.
They look at one another in astonishment;
their faces are flushed red. 1
19:3 The Egyptians will panic, 2
and I will confuse their strategy. 3
They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,
from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. 4
22:5 For the sovereign master, 5 the Lord who commands armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. 6
In the Valley of Vision 7 people shout 8
and cry out to the hill. 9
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 10 a stone in Zion,
an approved 11 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 12
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 13
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! 14
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock; 15 I know of none.
44:11 Look, all his associates 16 will be put to shame;
the craftsmen are mere humans. 17
Let them all assemble and take their stand!
They will panic and be put to shame.
1 tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.
2 tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”
3 tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.
4 tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.
5 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
6 tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”
7 tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.
8 tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.
9 sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.
10 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
11 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
12 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
13 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
14 tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
15 tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
16 tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.
17 sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”