21:2 I have received a distressing message: 1
“The deceiver deceives,
the destroyer destroys.
Attack, you Elamites!
Lay siege, you Medes!
I will put an end to all the groaning!” 2
29:3 I will lay siege to you on all sides; 3
I will besiege you with troops; 4
I will raise siege works against you.
34:15 Owls 5 will make nests and lay eggs 6 there;
they will hatch them and protect them. 7
Yes, hawks 8 will gather there,
each with its mate.
54:11 “O afflicted one, driven away, 9 and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony
and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.
1 tn Heb “a severe revelation has been related to me.”
2 sn This is often interpreted to mean “all the groaning” that Babylon has caused others.
3 tc The Hebrew text has כַדּוּר (khadur, “like a circle”), i.e., “like an encircling wall.” Some emend this phrase to כְּדָוִד (kÿdavid, “like David”), which is supported by the LXX (see v. 1). However, the rendering in the LXX could have arisen from a confusion of the dalet (ד) and resh (ר).
4 tn The meaning of מֻצָּב (mutsav) is not certain. Because of the parallelism (note “siege works”), some translate “towers.” The noun is derived from נָצַב (natsav, “take one’s stand”) and may refer to the troops stationed outside the city to prevent entrance or departure.
5 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
6 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
7 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
8 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
9 tn Or, more literally, “windblown, storm tossed.”