20:1 The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. 1
27:10 For the fortified city 2 is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves 3 graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare. 4
28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; 5
your agreement 6 with Sheol will not last. 7
When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, 8
you will be overrun by it. 9
1 tn Heb “In the year the commanding general came to Ashdod, when Sargon king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and captured it.”
sn This probably refers to the Assyrian campaign against Philistia in 712 or 711
2 sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.
3 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
4 tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.
5 tn On the meaning of כָּפַר (kafar) in this context, see HALOT 494 s.v. I כפר and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:515, n. 9.
6 tn Normally the noun חָזוּת (khazut) means “vision.” See the note at v. 15.
7 tn Or “will not stand” (NIV, NRSV).
8 tn See the note at v. 15.
9 tn Heb “you will become a trampling place for it.”