9:18 For 5 evil burned like a fire, 6
it consumed thorns and briers;
it burned up the thickets of the forest,
and they went up in smoke. 7
27:4 I am not angry.
I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!
Then I would march against them 8 for battle;
I would set them 9 all on fire,
32:13 Mourn 10 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 11
in the city filled with revelry. 12
34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow 13 in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there. 14
1 tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”
3 tn Heb “and all the hills which were hoed with a hoe, you will not go there [for] fear of the thorns and briers.”
4 tn Heb “and it will become a pasture for cattle and a trampling place for sheep.”
sn At this point one is able to summarize the content of the “sign” (vv. 14-15) as follows: A young woman known to be present when Isaiah delivered this message to Ahaz (perhaps a member of the royal family or the prophetess mentioned in 8:3) would soon give birth to a boy whom the mother would name Immanuel, “God is with us.” Eventually Immanuel would be forced to eat sour milk and honey, which would enable him to make correct moral decisions. How would this situation come about and how would it constitute a sign? Before this situation developed, the Israelites and Syrians would be defeated. But then the Lord would usher in a period of time unlike any since the division of the kingdom almost 200 years before. The Assyrians would overrun the land, destroy the crops, and force the people to subsist on goats’ milk and honey. At that time, as the people saw Immanuel eating his sour milk and honey, the Davidic family would be forced to acknowledge that God was indeed with them. He was present with them in the Syrian-Israelite crisis, fully capable of rescuing them; but he was also present with them in judgment, disciplining them for their lack of trust. The moral of the story is quite clear: Failure to appropriate God’s promises by faith can turn potential blessing into disciplinary judgment.
5 tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
6 sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.
7 tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).
8 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense. For other examples of a cohortative expressing resolve after a hypothetical statement introduced by נָתַן with מִי (miwith natan), see Judg 9:29; Jer 9:1-2; Ps 55:6.
9 tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.
10 tn “Mourn” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 12-13 are one long sentence.
11 tn Heb “indeed, over all the houses of joy.” It is not certain if this refers to individual homes or to places where parties and celebrations were held.
12 sn This same phrase is used in 22:2.
13 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
14 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)