Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:15 
Context10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,
or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? 1
As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,
or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
Isaiah 10:26
Context10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them 2 with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. 3 He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. 4
1 tn Heb “the one who pushes it back and forth”; KJV “him that shaketh it”; ASV “him that wieldeth it.”
2 tn Heb “him” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); the singular refers to the leader or king who stands for the entire nation. This is specified by NCV, CEV as “the Assyrians.”
3 sn According to Judg 7:25, the Ephraimites executed the Midianite general Oreb at a rock which was subsequently named after the executed enemy.
4 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his staff [will be] against the sea, and he will lift it in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.” If the text is retained, “the sea” symbolizes Assyria’s hostility, the metaphor being introduced because of the reference to Egypt. The translation above assumes an emendation of עַל הַיָּם (’al hayyam, “against the sea”) to עַלֵיהֶם (’alehem, “against them”). The proposed shift from the third singular pronoun (note “beat him” earlier in the verse) to the plural is not problematic, for the singular is collective. Note that a third plural pronoun is used at the end of v. 25 (“their destruction”). The final phrase, “in the way/manner of Egypt,” probably refers to the way in which God used the staff of Moses to bring judgment down on Egypt.
