5:6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, 1
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
5:30 At that time 2 they will growl over their prey, 3
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. 4
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness. 5
45:8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers 6 of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it 7 so salvation may grow, 8
and deliverance may sprout up 9 along with it.
I, the Lord, create it. 10
1 tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.
2 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
3 tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”
5 tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”
sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).
6 tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”
7 tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”
8 tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).
9 tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).
10 tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).