Discovery BoxIsaiah 11:9 
Context11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain. 1
For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,
just as the waters completely cover the sea. 2
Isaiah 17:12
Context17:12 The many nations massing together are as good as dead, 3
those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. 4
The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, 5
those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves. 6
Isaiah 21:1
Context21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea: 7
Like strong winds blowing in the south, 8
one invades from the desert,
from a land that is feared.
Isaiah 48:18
Context48:18 If only you had obeyed my 9 commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, 10
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. 11
1 tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” In the most basic sense the Lord’s “holy mountain” is the mountain from which he rules over his kingdom (see Ezek 28:14, 16). More specifically it probably refers to Mount Zion/Jerusalem or to the entire land of Israel (see Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; Isa 56:7; 57:13; Ezek 20:40; Ob 16; Zeph 3:11). If the Lord’s universal kingdom is in view in this context (see the note on “earth” at v. 4), then the phrase would probably be metonymic here, standing for God’s worldwide dominion (see the next line).
2 tn Heb “for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” The translation assumes that a universal kingdom is depicted here, but אֶרֶץ (’erets) could be translated “land” (see the note at v. 4). “Knowledge of the Lord” refers here to a recognition of the Lord’s sovereignty which results in a willingness to submit to his authority. See the note at v. 2.
3 tn Heb “Woe [to] the massing of the many nations.” The word הוֹי (hoy) could be translated as a simple interjection here (“ah!”), but since the following verses announce the demise of these nations, it is preferable to take הוֹי as a funeral cry. See the note on the first phrase of 1:4.
4 tn Heb “like the loud noise of the seas, they make a loud noise.”
5 tn Heb “the uproar of the peoples.” The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse; the words “are as good as dead” are supplied in the translation to reflect this.
6 tn Heb “like the uproar of mighty waters they are in an uproar.”
7 sn The phrase is quite cryptic, at least to the modern reader. Verse 9 seems to indicate that this message pertains to Babylon. Southern Mesopotamia was known as the Sealand in ancient times, because of its proximity to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps the reference to Babylon as a “desert” foreshadows the destruction that would overtake the city, making it like a desolate desert.
8 tn Or “in the Negev” (NASB).
9 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
10 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
11 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
