9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 1 with their young men,
he took no pity 2 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 3 and did wicked things, 4
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 5
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 6
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 7
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 8
and in their many, many horsemen. 9
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 10
and do not seek help from the Lord.
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 11
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 12
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 13 deceiving, others will deceive you!
37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 14
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 15
nor will he build siege works against it.
54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
54:4 Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame!
Don’t be intimidated, 16 for you will not be humiliated!
You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;
you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment. 17
65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, 18
all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, 19
because I called to you, and you did not respond,
I spoke and you did not listen.
You did evil before me; 20
you chose to do what displeases me.”
1 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
2 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yÿrakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
3 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
4 tn מֵרַע (mera’) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
5 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
6 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
sn See the note at 9:12.
7 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
8 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
9 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
10 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
11 tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”
sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.
12 tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.
13 tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”
14 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
15 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
16 tn Or “embarrassed”; NASB “humiliated…disgraced.”
17 tn Another option is to translate, “the disgrace of our widowhood” (so NRSV). However, the following context (vv. 6-7) refers to Zion’s husband, the Lord, abandoning her, not dying. This suggests that an אַלְמָנָה (’almanah) was a woman who had lost her husband, whether by death or abandonment.
18 tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.
19 tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”
20 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”