24:16 From the ends of the earth we 1 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 2
But I 3 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 4
43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector, 5 the Holy One of Israel: 6
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives, 7
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 8
1 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
2 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
3 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
4 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”
tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away…”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.
5 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
6 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
7 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
8 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.