Discovery BoxIsaiah 7:23 
Context7:23 At that time 1 every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun 2 with thorns and briers.
Isaiah 9:10
Context9:10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;
the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.” 3
Isaiah 14:12
Context14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn! 4
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror 5 of the nations! 6
Isaiah 33:12
Context33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 7
like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
Isaiah 42:14
Context42:14 “I have been inactive 8 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 9
Isaiah 53:5
Context53:5 He was wounded because of 10 our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well; 11
because of his wounds we have been healed. 12
Isaiah 61:4
Context61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins
and restore the places that were desolate; 13
they will reestablish the ruined cities,
the places that have been desolate since ancient times.
1 tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
2 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”
3 sn Though judgment (see v. 8) had taken away the prosperity they did have (symbolized by the bricks and sycamore fig trees), they arrogantly expected the future to bring even greater prosperity (symbolized by the chiseled stone and cedars).
4 tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.
sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061).
5 tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”
6 sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.
7 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
8 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
9 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
10 tn The preposition מִן (min) has a causal sense (translated “because of”) here and in the following clause.
11 tn Heb “the punishment of our peace [was] on him.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is here a genitive of result, i.e., “punishment that resulted in our peace.”
12 sn Continuing to utilize the imagery of physical illness, the group acknowledges that the servant’s willingness to carry their illnesses (v. 4) resulted in their being healed. Healing is a metaphor for forgiveness here.
13 tn Heb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”
