Isaiah 18:5

18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,

and the ripening fruit appears,

he will cut off the unproductive shoots with pruning knives;

he will prune the tendrils.

Isaiah 2:4

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.


tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”

tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.

tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”

sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.