Discovery BoxIsaiah 14:31 
Context14:31 Wail, O city gate!
Cry out, O city!
Melt with fear, 1 all you Philistines!
For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,
and there are no stragglers in its ranks. 2
Isaiah 40:26
ContextWho created all these heavenly lights? 4
He is the one who leads out their ranks; 5
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
1 tn Or “despair” (see HALOT 555 s.v. מוג). The form נָמוֹג (namog) should be taken here as an infinitive absolute functioning as an imperative. See GKC 199-200 §72.v.
2 tn Heb “and there is no one going alone in his appointed places.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. בּוֹדֵד (boded) appears to be a participle from בָּדַד (badad, “be separate”; see BDB 94 s.v. בָּדַד). מוֹעָד (mo’ad) may mean “assembly” or, by extension, “multitude” (see HALOT 558 s.v. *מוֹעָד), but the referent of the third masculine pronominal suffix attached to the noun is unclear. It probably refers to the “nation” mentioned in the next line.
3 tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”
4 tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.
5 tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)
