Discovery BoxIsaiah 2:4 
Context2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares, 1
and their spears into pruning hooks. 2
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
Isaiah 14:19
Context14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave
like a shoot that is thrown away. 3
You lie among 4 the slain,
among those who have been slashed by the sword,
among those headed for 5 the stones of the pit, 6
as if you were a mangled corpse. 7
Isaiah 34:6
Context34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 8 with fat;
it drips 9 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 10 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 11 in Bozrah, 12
a bloody 13 slaughter in the land of Edom.
Isaiah 65:12
Context65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, 14
all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, 15
because I called to you, and you did not respond,
I spoke and you did not listen.
You did evil before me; 16
you chose to do what displeases me.”
1 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
2 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.
3 tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”
4 tn Heb “are clothed with.”
5 tn Heb “those going down to.”
6 tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.
7 tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.
8 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
9 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
11 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
12 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
13 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
14 tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.
15 tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”
16 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
