2:19 They 1 will go into caves in the rocky cliffs
and into holes in the ground, 2
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord 3
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth. 4
5:6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, 5
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
21:9 Look what’s coming!
A charioteer,
a team of horses.” 6
When questioned, he replies, 7
“Babylon has fallen, fallen!
All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
25:12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your 8 walls) 9 he will knock down,
he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground. 10
26:5 Indeed, 11 the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,
he brings down an elevated town;
he brings it down to the ground, 12
he throws it down to the dust.
28:2 Look, the sovereign master 13 sends a strong, powerful one. 14
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, 15
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, 16
he will knock that crown 17 to the ground with his hand. 18
44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground 19
and cause streams to flow 20 on the dry land.
I will pour my spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,
O virgin 21 daughter Babylon!
Sit on the ground, not on a throne,
O daughter of the Babylonians!
Indeed, 22 you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.
51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors 23
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops
and a garden yields its produce,
so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance 24 to grow,
and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. 25
1 tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.
2 tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”
3 tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.
5 tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.
6 tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”
7 tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).
8 sn Moab is addressed.
9 tn Heb “a fortification, the high point of your walls.”
10 tn Heb “he will bring [it] down, he will make [it] touch the ground, even to the dust.”
11 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
12 tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.
13 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
14 tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”
15 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”
16 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”
17 tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.
18 tn Or “by [his] power.”
19 tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)
20 tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
21 tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).
22 tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).
23 tn That is, to make them drink it.
24 tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).
25 tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”