2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 1
and their spears into pruning hooks. 2
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 3 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 4
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 5 of the Holy One of Israel. 6
9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 7 with their young men,
he took no pity 8 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 9 and did wicked things, 10
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 11
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 12
15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, 13
and for the fugitives 14 stretched out 15 as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.
For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;
they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. 16
30:6 This is a message 17 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 18
by snakes and darting adders, 19
they transport 20 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 21
49:23 Kings will be your children’s 24 guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children. 25
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on 26 your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. 27
Then all humankind 28 will recognize that
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector, 29 the powerful ruler of Jacob.” 30
1 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.
2 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.
3 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
4 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
5 tn Heb “the word.”
6 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
7 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
8 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yÿrakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
9 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
10 tn מֵרַע (mera’) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
11 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
12 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
sn See the note at 9:12.
13 tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.
14 tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.
15 tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
16 tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”
17 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
18 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
19 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
20 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
21 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
22 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
23 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
24 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
25 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
26 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”
27 sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.
28 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).
29 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
30 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.