Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:13 
Context10:13 For he says:
“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,
by my strategy that I devised.
I invaded the territory of nations, 1
and looted their storehouses.
Like a mighty conqueror, 2 I brought down rulers. 3
Isaiah 10:33
Context10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. 4
The tallest trees 5 will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
Isaiah 14:11
Context14:11 Your splendor 6 has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. 7
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you. 8
Isaiah 16:10
Context16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,
and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;
no one treads out juice in the wine vats 9 –
I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. 10
Isaiah 23:4
Context23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea 11 says this, O fortress of the sea:
“I have not gone into labor
or given birth;
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.” 12
Isaiah 41:20
Context41:20 I will do this so 13 people 14 will observe and recognize,
so they will pay attention and understand
that the Lord’s power 15 has accomplished this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” 16
Isaiah 49:1
Context49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! 17
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth; 18
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. 19
Isaiah 63:11
Context63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. 20
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of 21 his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, 22
1 tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”
2 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).
3 tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.
4 tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.
sn As in vv. 12 (see the note there) and 18, the Assyrians are compared to a tree/forest in vv. 33-34.
5 tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).
6 tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”
7 tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).
8 tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”
9 tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”
10 sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.
11 tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.
12 tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).
sn The sea is personified here as a lamenting childless woman. The foreboding language anticipates the following announcement of Tyre’s demise, viewed here as a child of the sea, as it were.
13 tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”
14 tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”
15 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
16 tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”
17 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”
sn The Lord’s special servant, introduced in chap. 42, speaks here of his commission.
18 tn Heb “called me from the womb.”
19 tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”
20 tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.
21 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.
