Discovery BoxIsaiah 54:1 
Context54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 57:13
Context57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols 1 help you!
The wind blows them all away, 2
a breeze carries them away. 3
But the one who looks to me for help 4 will inherit the land
and will have access to 5 my holy mountain.”
1 tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.
2 tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”
3 tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”
4 tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”
5 tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.
