Isaiah 33:1-37:13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 33:1 tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.
2. Isaiah 33:1 tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.
3. Isaiah 33:1 tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”
4. Isaiah 33:2 tn Heb “Be their arm each morning.” “Arm” is a symbol for strength. The mem suffixed to the noun has been traditionally understood as a third person suffix, but this is contrary to the context, where the people speak of themselves in the first person. The mem (מ) is probably enclitic with ellipsis of the pronoun, which can be supplied from the context. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:589, n. 1.
5. Isaiah 33:2 tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”
6. Isaiah 33:3 tn Heb “at the sound of tumult the nations run away.”
7. Isaiah 33:3 tn Heb “because of your exaltation the nations scatter.”
8. Isaiah 33:4 tn The pronoun is plural; the statement is addressed to the nations who have stockpiled plunder from their conquests of others.
9. Isaiah 33:4 tn Heb “and your plunder is gathered, the gathering of the locust.”
10. Isaiah 33:4 tn Heb “like a swarm of locusts swarming on it.”
11. Isaiah 33:5 tn Or “elevated”; NCV, NLT “is very great.”
12. Isaiah 33:5 tn Or “for” (KJV, NASB, NIV).
13. Isaiah 33:5 tn Heb “on high” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “in the heavens.”
14. Isaiah 33:6 tn Heb “and he is the stability of your times.”
15. Isaiah 33:6 tn Heb “a rich store of deliverance, wisdom, and knowledge.”
16. Isaiah 33:6 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord, it is his treasure.”
17. Isaiah 33:7 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown. Proposals include “heroes” (cf. KJV, ASV “valiant ones”; NASB, NIV “brave men”); “priests,” “residents [of Jerusalem].” The present translation assumes that the term is synonymous with “messengers of peace,” with which it corresponds in the parallel structure of the verse.
18. Isaiah 33:7 tn Heb “messengers of peace,” apparently those responsible for negotiating the agreements that have been broken (see v. 8).
19. Isaiah 33:8 tn Or “desolate” (NAB, NASB); NIV, NRSV, NLT “deserted.”
20. Isaiah 33:8 tn Heb “the one passing by on the road ceases.”
21. Isaiah 33:8 tn Heb “one breaks a treaty”; NAB “Covenants are broken.”
22. Isaiah 33:8 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “he despises cities.” The term עָרִים (ʿarim, “cities”) probably needs to be emended to an original עֵדִים (ʿedim, “[legal] witnesses”), a reading that is preserved in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a. Confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר) is a well-attested scribal error.
23. Isaiah 33:8 tn Heb “he does not regard human beings.”
24. Isaiah 33:9 tn Or “earth” (KJV); NAB “the country.”
25. Isaiah 33:9 tn Or “mourns” (BDB 5 s.v. I אָבַל). HALOT 6-7 lists homonyms I אבל (“mourn”) and II אבל (“dry up”). They propose the second here on the basis of parallelism. See 24:4.
26. Isaiah 33:9 tn Heb “Lebanon is ashamed.” The Hiphil is exhibitive, expressing the idea, “exhibits shame.” In this context the statement alludes to the withering of vegetation.
27. Isaiah 33:9 sn Sharon was a fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast. See 35:2.
28. Isaiah 33:9 tn The rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) is a geographic feature extending from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. Especially in the vicinity of the Dead Sea and then ranging southward, it is very dry with little vegetation.
29. Isaiah 33:9 sn Both of these areas were known for their trees and vegetation. See 2:13; 35:2.
30. Isaiah 33:9 tn Heb “shake off [their leaves]” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB “are stripped bare.”
31. Isaiah 33:10 tn Or “lift myself up” (KJV); NLT “show my power and might.”
32. Isaiah 33:11 tn The second person verb and pronominal forms in this verse are plural. The hostile nations are the addressed, as the next verse makes clear.
33. Isaiah 33:11 sn The hostile nations’ plans to destroy God’s people will come to nothing; their hostility will end up being self-destructive.
34. Isaiah 33:12 tn Heb “will be a burning to lime.” See Amos 2:1.
35. Isaiah 33:14 tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”
36. Isaiah 33:14 tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”
37. Isaiah 33:14 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
38. Isaiah 33:14 tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
39. Isaiah 33:15 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
40. Isaiah 33:15 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
41. Isaiah 33:15 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
42. Isaiah 33:15 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
43. Isaiah 33:15 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
44. Isaiah 33:16 tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”
45. Isaiah 33:16 tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”
46. Isaiah 33:17 tn Heb “your eyes will see a king in his beauty”; NIV, NRSV “the king.”
47. Isaiah 33:17 tn Heb “a land of distances,” i.e., an extensive land.
48. Isaiah 33:18 tn Heb “your heart will meditate on terror.”
49. Isaiah 33:18 tn The words “and you will ask yourselves” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
50. Isaiah 33:18 sn The people refer to various Assyrian officials who were responsible for determining the amount of taxation or tribute Judah must pay to the Assyrian king.
51. Isaiah 33:19 tn The Hebrew form נוֹעָז (noʿaz) is a Niphal participle derived from יָעַז (yaʿaz, an otherwise unattested verb) or from עָזָז (ʿazaz, “be strong,” unattested elsewhere in the Niphal). Some prefer to emend the form to לוֹעֵז (loʿez) which occurs in Ps 114:1 with the meaning “speak a foreign language.” See HALOT 809 s.v. עזז, 533 s.v. לעז. In this case, one might translate “people who speak a foreign language.”
52. Isaiah 33:19 tn Heb “a people too deep of lip to hear.” The phrase “deep of lip” must be an idiom meaning “lips that speak words that are unfathomable [i.e., incomprehensible].”
53. Isaiah 33:19 tn Heb “derision of tongue there is no understanding.” The Niphal of לָעַג (laʿag) occurs only here. In the Qal and Hiphil the verb means “to deride, mock.” A related noun is used in 28:11.
54. Isaiah 33:20 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
55. Isaiah 33:20 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
56. Isaiah 33:21 tn Heb “But there [as] a mighty one [will be] the Lord for us.”
57. Isaiah 33:21 tn Heb “a place of rivers, streams wide of hands [i.e., on both sides].”
58. Isaiah 33:21 tn Heb “a ship of rowing will not go into it.”
59. Isaiah 33:21 tn Heb “and a mighty ship will not pass through it.”
60. Isaiah 33:23 tn The words “though at this time” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first half of the verse is addressed to Judah and contrasts the nation’s present weakness with its future prosperity. Judah is compared to a ship that is incapable of sailing.
61. Isaiah 33:23 tn Heb “they do not fasten the base of their mast.” On כֵּן (ken, “base”) see BDB 487 s.v. III כֵּן and HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן.
62. Isaiah 33:23 tn Or perhaps, “flag.”
63. Isaiah 33:23 tn Heb “then there will be divided up loot of plunder [in] abundance.”
64. Isaiah 33:23 sn Judah’s victory over its enemies will be so thorough there will be more than enough plunder for everyone, even slow-moving lame men who would normally get left out in the rush to gather the loot.
65. Isaiah 33:24 tn The words “of Zion” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
66. Isaiah 34:1 tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”
67. Isaiah 34:3 tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”
68. Isaiah 34:3 tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”
69. Isaiah 34:3 tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”
70. Isaiah 34:4 tc Heb “and all the host of heaven will rot.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a inserts “and the valleys will be split open,” but this reading may be influenced by Mic 1:4. On the other hand, the statement, if original, could have been omitted by homoioarcton, a scribe’s eye jumping from the conjunction prefixed to “the valleys” to the conjunction prefixed to the verb “rot.”
71. Isaiah 34:4 tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”
72. Isaiah 34:5 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
73. Isaiah 34:5 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.
74. Isaiah 34:5 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
75. Isaiah 34:6 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
76. Isaiah 34:6 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77. Isaiah 34:6 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
78. Isaiah 34:6 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
79. Isaiah 34:6 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
80. Isaiah 34:6 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
81. Isaiah 34:7 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
82. Isaiah 34:7 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
83. Isaiah 34:8 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
84. Isaiah 34:8 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
85. Isaiah 34:9 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
86. Isaiah 34:10 tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
87. Isaiah 34:11 tn קָאַת (qaʾat) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
88. Isaiah 34:11 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
89. Isaiah 34:11 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof v^eʿorev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
90. Isaiah 34:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91. Isaiah 34:11 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
92. Isaiah 34:11 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
93. Isaiah 34:12 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
94. Isaiah 34:13 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
95. Isaiah 34:13 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
96. Isaiah 34:14 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
97. Isaiah 34:14 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
98. Isaiah 34:14 tn The precise meaning of לִילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”
99. Isaiah 34:14 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
100. Isaiah 34:15 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
101. Isaiah 34:15 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
102. Isaiah 34:15 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
103. Isaiah 34:15 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
104. Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”sn It is uncertain what particular scroll is referred to here. Perhaps the phrase simply refers to this prophecy and is an admonition to pay close attention to the details of the message.
105. Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
106. Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
107. Isaiah 34:16 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and a few medieval mss have פִּיהוּ (pihu, “his mouth [has commanded]”), while a few other medieval mss read פִּי יְהוָה (pi y^ehvah, “the mouth of the Lord [has commanded]”).
108. Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
109. Isaiah 34:17 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
110. Isaiah 34:17 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
111. Isaiah 34:17 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
112. Isaiah 35:1 tn The final mem (ם) on the verb יְשֻׂשׂוּם (y^esusum) is dittographic (note the initial mem on the following noun מִדְבָּר [midbar]). The ambiguous verbal form is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel). The jussive is used rhetorically here, not as a literal command or prayer.
113. Isaiah 35:1 tn This verse employs three terms for desolate paces: מִדְבָּר (midbar, “wilderness”), צִיָּה (tsiyyah, “dry place, desert”), and עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah, “rift valley”). A midbar is an area that receives less than twelve inches of rain per year. It may have some pasturage (if receiving six to twelve inches of rain), but often has desert-like qualities. A tsiyyah is not a sandy desert per se, but of the three terms most clearly indicates a dry, desert region. The rift valley includes the Jordan Valley, but it still has a reputation as a dry, desolate place from its conditions near the Dead Sea and southward.
114. Isaiah 35:2 tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).
115. Isaiah 35:2 tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).
116. Isaiah 35:2 tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.
117. Isaiah 35:3 tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”
118. Isaiah 35:4 tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.
119. Isaiah 35:4 tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (v^eyoshaʿakhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.
120. Isaiah 35:6 tn The rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. Near the Dead Sea and southward its conditions are very dry and desolate. Other translations render it as “desert” (KJV, NIV, NRSV), “wastelands” (NLT), or by its Hebrew name, “the Arabah” (NASB).
121. Isaiah 35:8 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (v^ederekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.
122. Isaiah 35:8 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.
123. Isaiah 35:8 tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.
124. Isaiah 35:9 tn Heb “will go up on it”; TEV “will pass that way.”
125. Isaiah 35:10 tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”
126. Isaiah 35:10 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
127. Isaiah 35:10 tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”
128. Isaiah 35:10 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
129. Isaiah 36:1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
130. Isaiah 36:2 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
131. Isaiah 36:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
132. Isaiah 36:2 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
133. Isaiah 36:4 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
134. Isaiah 36:5 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
135. Isaiah 36:9 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms, and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
136. Isaiah 36:10 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
137. Isaiah 36:11 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
138. Isaiah 36:11 tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”
139. Isaiah 36:12 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
140. Isaiah 36:12 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
141. Isaiah 36:13 tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
142. Isaiah 36:16 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
143. Isaiah 36:18 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
144. Isaiah 36:19 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “Nowhere. They seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
145. Isaiah 36:19 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
146. Isaiah 36:20 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
147. Isaiah 36:22 sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
148. Isaiah 37:1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
149. Isaiah 37:2 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
150. Isaiah 37:3 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
151. Isaiah 37:3 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
152. Isaiah 37:3 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
153. Isaiah 37:3 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
154. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
155. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
156. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
157. Isaiah 37:6 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
158. Isaiah 37:7 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
159. Isaiah 37:7 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
160. Isaiah 37:8 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
161. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
162. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
163. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
164. Isaiah 37:9 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
165. Isaiah 37:11 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
166. Isaiah 37:11 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
167. Isaiah 37:12 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
168. Isaiah 37:12 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
169. Isaiah 37:13 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.