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 5:30
Context5:30 At that time 4 they will growl over their prey, 5
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. 6
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness. 7
Isaiah 16:9
Context16:9 So I weep along with Jazer 8
over the vines of Sibmah.
I will saturate you 9 with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly
over your fruit and crops. 10
Isaiah 31:5
Context31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 11
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 12
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 13 he will rescue it.
Isaiah 42:24
Context42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?
Who handed Israel over to the looters? 14
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
They refused to follow his commands;
they disobeyed his law. 15
Isaiah 51:23
Context51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors 16
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
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 Or “in that day” (KJV).
5 tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”
7 tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”
sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).
8 tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).
9 tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).
10 tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”
11 tn Heb “just as birds fly.” The words “over a nest” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
12 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
13 tn The only other occurrence of this verb is in Exod 12:13, 23, 27, where the Lord “passes over” (i.e., “spares”) the Israelite households as he comes to judge their Egyptian oppressors. The noun פֶּסַח (pesakh, “Passover”) is derived from the verb. The use of the verb in Isa 31:5 is probably an intentional echo of the Exodus event. As in the days of Moses the Lord will spare his people as he comes to judge their enemies.
14 tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (mÿshoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (mÿshissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”
15 tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”
16 tn That is, to make them drink it.
