Emendation yields “Who chained to his palace gate/All the kings of nations?/Yet they were all laid in honor.…” The practice of chaining captive chieftains to gates is attested in Mesopotamia.
i So several ancient versions; cf. postbiblical nesel, “putrefying flesh or blood.”
j-j Emendation yields “…countries,/Murdered peoples.”
k Heb. “fathers.”
l Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
m Heb. “mountains”; for the designation of the entire land of Israel as the Lord’s mountain, cf. 11.9.
n Heb. “his.” The last two lines of this verse would read well after v. 26.
o Others “fiery serpent”; cf. Num. 21.6, 8.
p-p Emendation yields “The poor shall graze in his pasture.” This line and the next would read well after v. 32.
q-q Emendation yields “It shall kill your offspring with its venom (zar‘ekh berosho).”
r-r Meaning of Heb. uncertain; the rendering “stout one” is suggested by the Syriac ‘ashshāin.
a Regarded as the principal city of Moab.
b-b Change of vocalization yields “The loins of Moab are trembling.”
c Emendation yields “tears.”
d Cf. 16.9.
e Emendation yields “tears”; cf. Ugaritic ’dm‘t.
a Meaning of vv. 1 and 2 uncertain.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Heb. “my outcasts, Moab.”
d 14.32, above, would read well here.
e Baddaw is a suffixed form of the preposition bede: Nah. 2.13; Hab. 2.13; Job 39.25; with suffixes, Job 11.3, 41.4.
f Jer. 48.36 has “men.”
g-g Jer. 48.32 reads “A ravager has come down/Upon your fig and grape harvests.”
h-h Lit. “I have silenced.”
a-a Emendation yields (cf. Septuagint) “Its towns shall be deserted forevermore.”
b Emendation yields “Aram.”
c-c Lit. “on her boughs, the many-branched one.”
d-d Septuagint reads “the Amorites and the Hivites.”
e Emendation yields “true.” So Vulgate (cf. Septuagint); cf. Jer. 2.21.
a-a Or “Most sheltered land”; cf., e.g., 30.2, 3; Ps. 36.8; 57.2; 61.5.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain; cf. 28.10. Biblical writers often characterize distant nations by theirunintelligible speech; cf. 33.19; Deut. 28.49; Jer. 5.15.
d-d Brought down from beginning of verse for clarity. The Hebrew verb for “sends” agrees in gender with “nation,” not with “land.”
e Cf. hibbit “to rely” (Job 6.19). The related noun mabbat occurs with similar meaning in Isa. 20.5, 6.
f-f I.e., like a threat of disaster; cf. Eccl. 11.4.
g Emendation yields “vintage.”
h A figure of speech for the defeated enemy.
a I.e., the various districts of Egypt, which is Isaiah’s time were governed by hereditary princes.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Meaning of verse uncertain; emendation yields “Her drinkers shall be dejected, / And all her brewers despondent.”
d Or “advisers.” The wisdom of the Kedemites was proverbial; cf. I Kings 5.10.
e I.e., a man of either high or low station; cf. 9.13, 14.
f Lit. “five.”
g Or “each one.”
h Meaning uncertain. Many Heb. mss. read heres, “sun,” which may refer to Heliopolis, i.e., Sun City, in Egypt. Targum’s “Beth Shemesh” (cf. Jer. 43.13) has the same meaning.
i As a symbol of the Lord’s sovereignty over Egypt.
j I.e., a standard by which blessing is invoked; cf. Gen. 12.2 with note.
a An Assyrian title meaning “General”; cf. 2 Kings 18.17 and note.
b Lit. “At that time.”
a-a Emendation yields “The ‘From the Desert’ Pronouncement,” agreeing with the phrase farther on in the verse.
b-b Emendation yields “betrayed … ravaged”; cf. 33.1.
c-c Emendation yields “Put an end to all her merrymaking!”
d Emendation yields “grasp.”
e-e 1QIsa reads “The watcher.”
f-f Or “On a lookout, my lord.”
g-g Connection of Heb. uncertain.
h Name of a people; cf. Gen. 25.14.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Vv. 1–3 describe a scene of mourning to take place in Jerusalem in the near future. In the ancient Near East, public weeping took place on the low flat roofs as well as in the streets and squares; cf. above, 15.3; Jer. 48.38.
c I.e., executed, instead of dying in battle.
d-d Lit. “the young woman, my people.”
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain. On Kir see 2 Kings 16.9; Amos 1.5; 9.7; on Shoa see Ezek. 23.23.
f Brought up from 8a for clarity.
g Judah’s gateway is the upper course of the Valley of Elah. The screen is the fortress Azekah, at the mouth of the gateway, which was captured by the Assyrians.
h See I Kings 7.2–5; 10.16–17.
i-i This clause would read well after the prose part of v. 11a.
j Heb. “his,” “himself.”
k-k Emendation yields “as a garment is shaken out.”
l I.e., and walk off with you; cf. Jer. 43.12.
m-m Emendation yields “as a turban is wound about.”
n-n Emendation yields “abode [cf. v. 16] of your body” [cf. 10.3, 16].
o Emendation yields “masters”; cf. v. 18 end.
p Apparently continues v. 19.
a-a See note at 2.16.
b Heb. “her.”
c-c Lit. “I have.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “Pass on to the land of Kittim, / You ships of Tarshish.”
e Meaning of Heb. uncertain; taking mezah as a by-form of mahoz: cf. Ps. 107.30.
f Heb. “Canaan’s.”
g Meaning of verse uncertain. Emendation yields “The land of Kittim itself—/Which the Sidonian people founded,/Whose watchtowers they raised,/Whose citadels they erected—/Exists no more;/ Assyria has turned it into a ruin.”
h-h I.e., “trading … trade.”
a-a Change of vocalization yields “both sky and earth.”
b I.e., the moral law, which is binding on all men (cf. Gen. 9.4–6).
c Emendation yields “left.”
d-d Change of vocalization yields “They shall say.”
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “Villain [Arabic razīil], foolish villain!/The faithless who acted faithlessly/Have been betrayed in turn.”
f-f Heb. pahad wa-pahath, wa-pah.
a See 9.5.
b Emendation yields “arrogant men.”
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “rainstorm”; cf. 4d.
e I.e., the Holy Land, as in 11.9; 14.25; 57.13.
f Perhaps an allusion to the mass killings committed by the Assyrians; cf. 10.7; 14.20.
g-g Emendation yields “peoples.”
h Emendation yields “Assyria”; cf. 14.25.
i A village near Jerusalem; see 10.31. Emendation yields “As straw gets shredded in the threshing.”
j Lit. “midst.”
k-k Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “their citadels”; cf. the next verse.
l Heb. “your.”
a-a Emendation yields “my spirit in the morning.”
b Meaning of verse uncertain.
c Meaning of vv. 15–16 uncertain.
d Lit. “anguish”; taking saqun as a noun formed like zadon and sason.
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
f Grammar of Heb. unclear.
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b The monster which the Lord vanquished of old (cf. 51.9; Ps. 74.13–14) was the embodiment of chaos; here it stands for the forces of evil in the present world.
c Apparently the earth; cf. 26.21.
d So some mss. (cf. Amos 5.11); other mss. and the editions have “Wine.”
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “My eye is open upon it.”
f-f Lit. “Striving with her”; meaning of verse uncertain.
g This verse would read well before v. 6; the thought of vv. 7–8, dealing with the punishment of Israel’s enemies, is continued in vv. 10–11.
h-h Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “Or like a terebinth whose boughs/Break when its crown is withered.”
a Ge is contracted from ge’e; cf. Ibn Ezra.
b Lit. “water.”
c-c Emendation yields “on the bough.”
d This is the drunkards’ reaction to Isaiah’s reproof.
e I.e., do not embark on any political adventure at this time.
f I.e., embark on the political adventure.
g-g Or “composers of taunt-verses for that people.”
h-h Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
i As in 1.27; 5.16; 10.22.
j I.e., I will make judgment and retribution My plan of action; cf. 34.11; 2 Kings 21.13.
k Instead of giving victory, as at Baal-perazim and Gibeon (cf. 2 Sam. 5.19–25; 1 Chron. 14.9–16), He will inflict punishment.
l In some Near Eastern countries, wheat is actually planted rather than scattered.
m Emendation yields “threshed.”
n-n Taking lo as equivalent to lu.
a A poetic name of Jerusalem; cf. 33.7.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain; Septuagint reads “like David”; cf. v. 1.
d-d Manuscript IQIsa reads “haughty men.”
e-e Meaning of first line uncertain; emendation yields “Should the potter be accounted/Like the
f-f Emendation yields “He did not fashion me.”
g-g Emendation yields “Whose fathers He redeemed.”
a Or “Tanis.”
b Emendation yields “kings”; cf. 19.2 with note.
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “Through the wasteland of the Negeb/Through a.…”
d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e See note on 14.29.
f-f Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “Disgrace and chagrin”; cf. v. 5.
g Understanding ‘ad, with Targum, as a variant of ‘ed.
h Change of vocalization yields “keep.”
i-i Lit. “The name of the LORD.”
j-j Presumably with a heavy load of punishment. Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
k Interpreting naphath like Arabic nāaf; meaning of line uncertain.
l-l Brought from v. 32 for clarity.
m A site near Jerusalem at which human beings were sacrificed by fire in periods of paganizing; see 2 Kings 23.10.
n Cf. Molech, Lev. 18.21; 20.2–5.
a Lit. “help.”
b-b Emendation yields “Then the children of Israel shall return.”
c From root mss; cf. 10.18; others “flee.”
d-d From root mss; cf. 10.18; others “become tributary.”
e-e Cf. note c; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
f Cf. 30.33.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Emendation yields “for the fields.”
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “Brushland, desert.”
d Emendation yields “onagers”; cf. Job 39.5.
e I.e., the transformed wilderness will surpass in fertility what is now used as farm land.
f Meaning of verse uncertain.
g-g Lit. “let loose the feet of cattle and asses”; cf. 7.25 end.
a-a Emendation yields “You have been our help.”
b Heb. “your spoil.”
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “booty”; cf. v. 23.
d Taking &sbreve;qq as a cognate of q&sbreve;&sbreve;.
e Apparently for food; cf. Lev. 11.22.
f-f Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
g Heb. “his.”
h So a few manuscripts; cf. 29.1.
i I.e., Jerusalem’s; cf. Salem (Heb. Shalem), Ps. 76.3.
j 1QIsa reads “A pact.”
k-k Emendation yields “an obligation.”
l Heb. “your.”
m Emendation yields “brambles”; cf. 32.13.
n-n Emendation yields “perfection of beauty”; cf. Ps. 50.2.
o As in 59.13 and elsewhere; others “heart.”
p-p Brought up from v. 23 for clarity. The passage means that the Lord will render Jerusalem as inaccessible to enemies as if it were surrounded by an impassable sea.
q Heb. “your.”
r-r Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “even a blind man shall divide much spoil.”
a-a IQIsa reads “And the valleys shall be cleft,/And all the host of heaven shall wither.”
b-b IQIsa