Discovery BoxIsaiah 4:1 
Context4:1 Seven women will grab hold of
one man at that time. 1
They will say, “We will provide 2 our own food,
we will provide 3 our own clothes;
but let us belong to you 4 –
take away our shame!” 5
Isaiah 28:23
Context28:23 Pay attention and listen to my message! 6
Be attentive and listen to what I have to say! 7
Isaiah 40:26
ContextWho created all these heavenly lights? 9
He is the one who leads out their ranks; 10
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
1 tn Or “in that day” (ASV).
sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.
2 tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”
3 tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”
4 tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.
5 sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.
6 tn Heb “to my voice.”
7 tn Heb “to my word”; cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “hear my speech.”
8 tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”
9 tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.
10 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.”)
