Isaiah 11:14-16

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 11:14 tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.
2. Isaiah 11:14 tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.
3. Isaiah 11:14 tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).
4. Isaiah 11:15 tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”
5. Isaiah 11:15 tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
6. Isaiah 11:15 sn That is, the Red Sea.
7. Isaiah 11:15 tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.
8. Isaiah 11:15 tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (ʿayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (ʿotsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.
9. Isaiah 11:15 tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried-up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.
10. Isaiah 11:16 tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”
11. Isaiah 11:16 tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).