translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: ISA

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “What to you, then?”


text: Heb “the boisterous town.” The phrase is parallel to “the noisy city” in the preceding line.


text: Verse 3 reads literally, “All your leaders ran away, apart from a bow they were captured, all your found ones were captured together, to a distant place they fled.” J. N. Oswalt ( Isaiah [NICOT], 1:403, n. 3) suggests that the lines of the verse are arranged chiastically; lines 1 and 4 go together, while lines 2 and 3 are parallel. To translate the lines in the order they appear in the Hebrew text is misleading to the English reader, who is likely unfamiliar with, or at least insensitive to, chiastic parallelism. Consequently, the translation above arranges the lines as follows: line 1 (Hebrew) = line 1 (in translation); line 2 (Hebrew) = line 4 (in translation); line 3 (Hebrew) = line 3 (in translation); line 4 (Hebrew) = line 2 (in translation).


text: Heb “all your found ones.” To achieve tighter parallelism (see “your leaders”) some prefer to emend the form to אַמִּיצַיִךְ (’ ammitsayikh , “your strong ones”) or to נֶאֱמָצַיִךְ ( ne ’ ematsayikh , “your strengthened ones”).


text: Heb “apart from [i.e., without] a bow they were captured”; cf. NAB, NRSV “without the use of a bow.”


text: Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).


text: Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).


text: Heb “the daughter of my people.” “Daughter” is here used metaphorically to express the speaker’s emotional attachment to his people, as well as their vulnerability and weakness.


text: The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’ adonay ).


text: Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”


text: The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.


text: The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר ( qir ) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.


text: Heb “[with] the chariots of men, horsemen.”


text: Heb “Kir uncovers” (so NAB, NIV).


text: The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2 .


text: Heb “taking a stand, take their stand.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. The translation attempts to bring out this emphasis with the adverb “confidently.”


text: Heb “he,” i.e., the enemy invader. NASB, by its capitalization of the pronoun, takes this to refer to the Lord.


text: Heb “covering.”


text: Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of v. 12 .


text: Heb “the breaks of the city of David, you saw that they were many.”


text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: Heb “you demolished the houses to fortify the wall.”


text: Heb “look at”; NAB, NRSV “did not look to.”


text: The antecedent of the third feminine singular suffix here and in the next line is unclear. The closest feminine noun is “pool” in the first half of the verse. Perhaps this “old pool” symbolizes the entire city, which had prospered because of God’s provision and protection through the years.


text: Heb “did not see.”


text: Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2 .


text: Heb “happiness and joy.”


text: The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.


text: Heb “it was revealed in my ears [by?] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”


text: Heb “Certainly this sin will not be atoned for until you die.” This does not imply that their death will bring atonement; rather it emphasizes that their sin is unpardonable. The statement has the form of an oath.


text: Heb “who is over the house” (so ASV); NASB “who is in charge of the royal household.”


text: The words “and tell him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


text: Heb “What to you here? And who to you here?” The point of the second question is not entirely clear. The interpretation reflected in the translation is based on the following context, which suggests that Shebna has no right to think of himself so highly and arrange such an extravagant burial place for himself.


text: Heb “that you chisel out.”


text: Heb “will throw you with a throwing.”


text: Heb “O man” (so NASB); NAB “mortal man”; NRSV “my fellow.”


text: Heb “and the one who wraps you [will] wrap.”


text: Heb “and he will tightly [or “surely”] wind you [with] winding like a ball, to a land broad of hands [i.e., “sides”].”


text: Heb “and there the chariots of your splendor.”


text: Heb “I will push you away from.”


text: Heb “he will throw you down.” The shift from the first to third person is peculiar and abrupt, but certainly not unprecedented in Hebrew poetry. See GKC 462 §144. p . The third person may be indefinite (“one will throw you down”), in which case the passive translation is justified.


text: Or “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 .


text: Heb “and your dominion I will place in his hand.”


text: Heb “a father to.” The Hebrew term אָב (’ av , “father”) is here used metaphorically of one who protects and supports those under his care and authority, like a father does his family. For another example of this metaphorical use of the word, see Job 29:16 .


text: Heb “house.”


text: Heb “and he will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.”


text: Heb “and all the glory of the house of his father they will hang on him.” The Lord returns to the peg metaphor of v. 23 a. Eliakim’s secure position of honor will bring benefits and jobs to many others in the family.


text: The precise meaning and derivation of this word are uncertain. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “the issue”; CEV “relatives.”


text: Heb “all the small vessels, from the vessels that are bowls to all the vessels that are jars.” The picture is that of a single peg holding the weight of all kinds of containers hung from it.


text: Or “In that day” (KJV).


text: Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).