Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:8 
Context“Are not my officials all kings?
Isaiah 30:19
Context30:19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem 2 you will weep no more. 3
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you. 4
Isaiah 31:2
Context31:2 Yet he too is wise 5 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 6
He will attack the wicked nation, 7
and the nation that helps 8 those who commit sin. 9
Isaiah 44:12
Context44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool 10
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it 11 with hammers;
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy; 12
he drinks no water and gets tired.
Isaiah 44:16
Context44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –
over that half he cooks 13 meat;
he roasts a meal and fills himself.
Yes, he warms himself and says,
‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
Isaiah 49:2
Context49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpened 14 arrow,
he hid me in his quiver. 15
1 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
3 tn Heb “For people in Zion will live, in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”
4 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
5 sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.
6 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
7 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
8 sn That is, Egypt.
9 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
10 tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.
11 tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.
12 tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”
13 tn Heb “eats” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “roasts.”
14 tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”
15 sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.
