Discovery BoxIsaiah 4:5 
Context4:5 Then the Lord will create
over all of Mount Zion 1
and over its convocations
a cloud and smoke by day
and a bright flame of fire by night; 2
indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. 3
Isaiah 24:23
Context24:23 The full moon will be covered up, 4
the bright sun 5 will be darkened; 6
for the Lord who commands armies will rule 7
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem 8
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. 9
Isaiah 30:8
Context30:8 Now go, write it 10 down on a tablet in their presence, 11
inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it might be preserved for a future time
as an enduring witness. 12
Isaiah 63:9
Context63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 13
The messenger sent from his very presence 14 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 15 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 16
1 tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”
2 tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.
sn The imagery of the cloud by day and fire by night recalls the days of Moses, when a cloud and fire were tangible reminders that the Lord was guiding and protecting his people (Exod 13:21-22; 14:19, 24). In the future age envisioned in Isa 4, the Lord’s protective presence will be a reality.
3 tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.
4 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
5 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
6 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
7 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
8 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
9 tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”
10 tn The referent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix is uncertain. Perhaps it refers to the preceding message, which accuses the people of rejecting the Lord’s help in favor of an alliance with Egypt.
11 tn Heb “with them.” On the use of the preposition here, see BDB 86 s.v. II אֵת.
12 sn Recording the message will enable the prophet to use it in the future as evidence that God warned his people of impending judgment and clearly spelled out the nation’s guilt. An official record of the message will also serve as proof of the prophet’s authority as God’s spokesman.
13 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
14 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.
15 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
16 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
