Discovery BoxIsaiah 24:16 
Context24:16 From the ends of the earth we 1 hear songs –
the Just One is majestic. 2
But I 3 say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!
Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 4
Isaiah 32:7
Context32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 5
he dreams up evil plans 6
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 7
1 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
2 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
3 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
4 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”
tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away…”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.
5 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
6 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
7 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
