Isaiah 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. 1 

They will say, “We will provide 2  our own food,

we will provide 3  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you 4  –

take away our shame!” 5 

Isaiah 37:7

37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 6  he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 7  with a sword in his own land.”’”

1 tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.

2 tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

3 tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

4 tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

5 sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

6 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.

7 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”