Font Size
Isaiah 21:3-5
New English Translation
Isaiah 21:3-5
New English Translation
3 For this reason my stomach churns;[a]
cramps overwhelm me
like the contractions of a woman in labor.
I am disturbed[b] by what I hear,
horrified by what I see.
4 My heart palpitates,[c]
I shake in fear;[d]
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
5 Arrange the table,
lay out[e] the carpet,
eat and drink![f]
Get up, you officers,
smear oil on the shields![g]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 21:3 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
- Isaiah 21:3 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
- Isaiah 21:4 tn Heb “wanders”; perhaps here, “is confused.”
- Isaiah 21:4 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
- Isaiah 21:5 tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).
- Isaiah 21:5 tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.
- Isaiah 21:5 sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.