⁴ sn The name Rehoboth Ir means “and broad streets of a city,” perhaps referring to a suburb of Nineveh.

² sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.

⁴ tn Heb “missile” or “javelin.” This term appears to function as a synecdoche for the city’s defenses as a whole (cf. NASB, NIV, TEV). Some scholars instead understand the reference to be an aqueduct by which the locusts (or armies) entered the city.

¹ tn Heb “Behold, I am against you, proud one.” The word “city” is not in the text, but it is generally agreed that the word is being used as a personification of the city, which had “proudly defied” the Lord (v. 29). The word “city” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹ sn “Because there isn’t any food left in the city” is rhetorical exaggeration; the food did not run out until just before the city fell. Perhaps the intent is to refer to the fact that there was no food in the city for people so confined (i.e., in solitary confinement).

¹ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27, ” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

³ tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend עִיר (ʿir), “city,” to דְּבִיר (d^evir) “holy place,” or suggest that עִיר is due to dittography of the immediately preceding עַד (ʿad) “to.” Perhaps עִיר is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.”

² tc The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים (meʿir m^etim, “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם (meʿir m^etom, “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).

⁴ sn The blessing pronounced on the city of Zion/Jerusalem by the restored exiles looks at the restoration of its once exalted state as the city known for its sanctity and its just dealing (see Isa 1:21 and Ps 122). This was a reversal of the state of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, where wickedness, not righteousness, characterized the inhabitants of the city (cf. Isa 1:21; Jer 4:14; 5:1; 13:27). The blessing here presupposes the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple, which gave the city its sanctity.

¹ sn Jesus’ general point is that in the day of judgment the Gentile cities will come off better than the cities of Galilee. This is not to indicate toleration for the sins of the Gentile cities, but to show how badly the judgment will go for the Galilean ones. In the OT prophetic oracles were pronounced repeatedly against Tyre and Sidon: Isa 23:1-18; Ezek 26:1-28:26; Joel 4:4; Zech 9:2-4.

¹ sn Jesus’ general point is that in the day of judgment the Gentile cities will come off better than the cities of Galilee. This is not to indicate toleration for the sins of the Gentile cities, but to show how badly the judgment will go for the Galilean ones. In the OT prophetic oracles were pronounced repeatedly against Tyre and Sidon: Isa 23:1-18; Ezek 26:1-28:26; Joel 4:4; Zech 9:2-4.

² tn The Greek word for “anger” here is θυμός (thumos), a wordplay on the “passion” (θυμός) of the personified city of Babylon in 14:8.

⁴ sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.

¹ tn Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically—that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.”

² sn Syracuse was a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sicily. It was 75 mi (120 km) from Malta.

³ sn Lasea was a city on the southern coast of the island of Crete. This was about 60 mi (96 km) farther.

² sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

³ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

² sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

¹ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.