Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:17 
Context10:17 The light of Israel 1 will become a fire,
their Holy One 2 will become a flame;
it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s 3 briers
and his thorns in one day.
Isaiah 26:11
Context26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, 4
but they don’t even notice.
They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, 5
yes, fire will consume your enemies. 6
1 tn In this context the “Light of Israel” is a divine title (note the parallel title “his holy one”). The title points to God’s royal splendor, which overshadows and, when transformed into fire, destroys the “majestic glory” of the king of Assyria (v. 16b).
2 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
3 tn Heb “his.” In vv. 17-19 the Assyrian king and his empire is compared to a great forest and orchard that are destroyed by fire (symbolic of the Lord).
4 tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”
5 tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”
6 tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”
