5:29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 4
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 5
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 6 he will rescue it.
44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it, saying,
‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’
44:20 He feeds on ashes; 8
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?’ 9
46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, 10
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you. 11
47:14 Look, they are like straw,
which the fire burns up;
they cannot rescue themselves
from the heat 12 of the flames.
There are no coals to warm them,
no firelight to enjoy. 13
49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,
“captives will be taken from a warrior;
spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.
I will oppose your adversary
and I will rescue your children.
1 tn The masculine noun מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbbeakh, “altar”) in v. 19 is probably the subject of the masculine singular verb הָיָה (hayah) rather than the feminine noun מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”), also in v. 19.
2 tn Heb “a sign and a witness to the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] in the land of Egypt.”
3 tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”
4 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.
7 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
8 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
9 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
10 tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”
11 sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.
12 tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.
13 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.