Isaiah 24:16-18

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 24:16 sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.
2. Isaiah 24:16 tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.
3. Isaiah 24:16 sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.
4. Isaiah 24:16 tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”tn Verse 16b is a classic example of Hebrew wordplay. In the first line (“I’m wasting away….”) four consecutive words end with hireq yod ( ִי); in the second line all forms are derived from the root בָּגַד (bagad). The repetition of sound draws attention to the prophet’s lament.
5. Isaiah 24:17 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת ,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פ and ח (pe and khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ד and ת, dalet and tav). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
6. Isaiah 24:18 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
7. Isaiah 24:18 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
8. Isaiah 24:18 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).