44:20 He feeds on ashes; 1
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 2
47:14 Look, they are like straw,
which the fire burns up;
they cannot rescue themselves
from the heat 3 of the flames.
There are no coals to warm them,
no firelight to enjoy. 4
59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,
we grope like those who cannot see; 5
we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.
Though others are strong, we are like dead men. 6
1 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
2 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
3 tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.
4 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.
5 tn Heb “like there are no eyes.”
6 tn Heb among the strong, like dead men.”