Discovery BoxIsaiah 10:6 
Context10:6 I sent him 1 against a godless 2 nation,
I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, 3
to take plunder and to carry away loot,
to trample them down 4 like dirt in the streets.
Isaiah 10:12
Context10:12 But when 5 the sovereign master 6 finishes judging 7 Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I 8 will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. 9
Isaiah 10:22
Context10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as 10 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. 11 Destruction has been decreed; 12 just punishment 13 is about to engulf you. 14
Isaiah 10:24
Context10:24 So 15 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 16
Isaiah 10:34
Context10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall. 17
1 sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).
2 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”
3 tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”
4 tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”
5 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
6 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
7 tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”
8 tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.
9 tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.
10 tn Heb “are like.”
11 sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).
12 tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”
13 tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.
14 tn Or “is about to overflow.”
15 tn Heb “therefore.” The message that follows is one of encouragement, for it focuses on the eventual destruction of the Assyrians. Consequently “therefore” relates back to vv. 5-21, not to vv. 22-23, which must be viewed as a brief parenthesis in an otherwise positive speech.
16 tn Heb “in the way [or “manner”] of Egypt.”
17 tn The Hebrew text has, “and Lebanon, by/as [?] a mighty one, will fall.” The translation above takes the preposition בְּ (bet) prefixed to “mighty one” as indicating identity, “Lebanon, as a mighty one, will fall.” In this case “mighty one” describes Lebanon. (In Ezek 17:23 and Zech 11:2 the adjective is used of Lebanon’s cedars.) Another option is to take the preposition as indicating agency and interpret “mighty one” as a divine title (see Isa 33:21). One could then translate, “and Lebanon will fall by [the agency of] the Mighty One.”
