הוֹי שׁוֹדֵד וְאַתָּה לֹא שָׁדוּד וּבוֹגֵד וְלֹא בָגְדוּ בוֹ כַּהֲתִמְךָ שׁוֹדֵד — תּוּשַּׁד כַּנְּלֹתְךָ לִבְגֹּד — יִבְגְּדוּ בָךְ

The prophet turns to the enemy: Woe, pillager, but you were not pillaged. You appear as a powerful force that can harm others and is invulnerable to any attack. And he is a traitor to others, but they did not betray him. You corrupt people should not suppose that you will not remain immune from harm forever. When you have finished pillaging, you will be pillaged; and when you have concluded betraying, they will betray you.

ה' חָנֵּנוּ לְךָ קִוִּינוּ הֱיֵה זְרֹעָם לַבְּקָרִים אַף יְשׁוּעָתֵנוּ בְּעֵת צָרָה

After mentioning the enemy, the prophet recites a short prayer for salvation: Lord, be gracious to us, we have longed for You; be their arm, Israel’s strength, every morning, even our salvation in a time of trouble.

מִקּוֹל הָמוֹן נָדְדוּ עַמִּים מֵרוֹמְמֻתֶךָ נָפְצוּ גּוֹיִם

From the sound of the tumult that You sounded in the past, peoples have wandered, have been forced to migrate; from Your exaltedness, nations are dispersed, and sent into exile.

וְאֻסַּף שְׁלַלְכֶם אֹסֶף הֶחָסִיל כְּמַשַּׁק גֵּבִים שׁוֹקֵק בּוֹ

The prophet returns to his descriptions of the downfall of the enemy: Your spoils that you captured from others will be gathered to be destroyed like the gathering of the locust that devastates crops; it crashes like the cascading [mashak] of pools [gevim]. The sound of water flowing until emptying out into pools is like the noise of the enemy’s property being gathered into one spot. Alternatively, mashak gevim means the sound of locusts.

נִשְׂגָּב ה' כִּי שֹׁכֵן מָרוֹם מִלֵּא צִיּוֹן מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה

The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

וְהָיָה אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ חֹסֶן יְשׁוּעֹת חָכְמַת וָדָעַת יִרְאַת ה' הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ

Before describing the destruction, the prophet reminds those who dwell in Zion: The faithfulness of your times, your faith at all times, will be the strength of salvation, a permanent source of strength through which you will be saved; as shall be your wisdom and knowledge; fear of the Lord, that is His storehouse, or a storehouse of strength. In other words, like a storehouse preserves produce, the fear of God preserves your strength, salvation, and knowledge.

הֵן אֶרְאֶלָּם צָעֲקוּ חֻצָה מַלְאֲכֵי שָׁלוֹם מַר יִבְכָּיוּן

The prophet depicts the destruction and the accompanying terror: Behold, their, Israel’s, angels cry out outside, in the streets, over the troubles of Israel; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.

נָשַׁמּוּ מְסִלּוֹת שָׁבַת עֹבֵר אֹרַח הֵפֵר בְּרִית מָאַס עָרִים לֹא חָשַׁב אֱנוֹשׁ

The highways are desolate, as wayfarers have ceased; he, the enemy, has breached the covenant that he made with Israel, he has spurned the cities, he did not regard man of any importance. The enemy has crushed everything.

אָבַל אֻמְלְלָה אָרֶץ הֶחְפִּיר לְבָנוֹן קָמַל הָיָה הַשָּׁרוֹן כָּעֲרָבָה וְנֹעֵר בָּשָׁן וְכַרְמֶל

Mourning, miserable is the abandoned land; Lebanon is ashamed; it, the formerly fertile land, withers, as it has lost its vibrancy and beauty; Sharon is desolate like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel have been emptied.

עַתָּה אָקוּם יֹאמַר ה' עַתָּה אֵרוֹמָם עַתָּה אֶנָּשֵׂא

Then the change will take place: Now, I will arise, the Lord will say; now, I will rise up; now, I will be exalted.

תַּהֲרוּ חֲשַׁשׁ תֵּלְדוּ קַשׁ רוּחֲכֶם אֵשׁ תֹּאכַלְכֶם

As for you, the Assyrian enemy, the consequences of your plans and deeds will be vanity and emptiness. Conceive stubble, dry grass, give birth to straw; and your spirit, your thought, is itself a fire that will consume you.

וְהָיוּ עַמִּים מִשְׂרְפוֹת שִׂיד קוֹצִים כְּסוּחִים בָּאֵשׁ יִצַּתּוּ

The prophet further develops the fire metaphor: Peoples will be like burnings of lime. Lime is burned in a furnace, in a large fire for a long time, producing a great deal of smoke. The peoples shall also be like cut thorns ignited with fire.

שִׁמְעוּ רְחוֹקִים אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי וּדְעוּ קְרוֹבִים גְּבֻרָתִי

Hear, distant ones, what I have done, and know, near ones, My might.

פָּחֲדוּ בְצִיּוֹן חַטָּאִים אָחֲזָה רְעָדָה חֲנֵפִים מִי יָגוּר לָנוּ אֵשׁ אוֹכֵלָה! מִי יָגוּר לָנוּ מוֹקְדֵי עוֹלָם!

The prophet again describes the unstable situation of the transgressors of Jerusalem, while comparing their worries to the security they would enjoy if they had led worthy lives. Sinners are afraid in Zion, trembling has seized the evil [h·]. While the root ḥet-nun-peh connotes flattery in modern Hebrew, in biblical Hebrew it refers more generally to corruption, impurity, and disgrace. Since they have no true protection, these ungodly individuals fear the enemy: Who of us will reside with consuming fire? Who of us will reside with eternal conflagrations?

הֹלֵךְ צְדָקוֹת וְדֹבֵר מֵישָׁרִים מֹאֵס בְּבֶצַע מַעֲשַׁקּוֹת נֹעֵר כַּפָּיו מִתְּמֹךְ בַּשֹּׁחַד אֹטֵם אָזְנוֹ מִשְּׁמֹעַ דָּמִים וְעֹצֵם עֵינָיו מֵרְאוֹת בְּרָע

One who walks righteously, speaks fairly, spurns the profit of exploitations, shakes off his hands from being supported by bribery so that no trace of bribery cleaves to him, stops his ears from conspiring that will lead to bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from conceiving anything evil, this man of integrity is secure and blessed.

הוּא מְרוֹמִים יִשְׁכֹּן מְצָדוֹת סְלָעִים מִשְׂגַּבּוֹ לַחְמוֹ נִתָּן מֵימָיו נֶאֱמָנִים

He will dwell on high, rocky citadels are his stronghold, fortified and protected from any possible external danger. Yet, the land shall be blessed: His bread will be given to him without delay, and his water will be assured, available and ready for him at all times.

מֶלֶךְ בְּיָפְיוֹ תֶּחֱזֶינָה עֵינֶיךָ תִּרְאֶינָה אֶרֶץ מַרְחַקִּים

Isaiah again depicts the cycle of terror and salvation. In the first stage, your eyes, the eyes of the residents of Jerusalem, will behold a king, of Assyria, in his beauty; they will see him from a distant land. The king is seen in his glorious majesty, and when the enemy comes near you will feel unprotected. Some commentaries explain that the reference here to a king seen in his beauty is to Hizkiyahu; after having beheld the king of Assyria in a distant land, Israel will then see its own, triumphant king Hizkiyahu in his beauty.

לִבְּךָ יֶהְגֶּה אֵימָה אַיֵּה סֹפֵר! אַיֵּה שֹׁקֵל ! אַיֵּה סֹפֵר אֶת הַמִּגְדָּלִים!

Your heart will consider frightening thoughts in the terror faced by the besieged city: Where is the one who counts, the one who is supposed to examine the military men and their weapons? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?

אֶת עַם נוֹעָז לֹא תִרְאֶה עַם עִמְקֵי שָׂפָה מִשְּׁמוֹעַ נִלְעַג לָשׁוֹן אֵין בִּינָה

Ultimately, you will have no need for all those thoughts, as you will not see a daring people near you; a people whose speech is too obscure to understand, those who speak a foreign language, who are of an inarticulate tongue, or a tongue that arouses mockery and scorn, without understanding. The threat will dissipate without your having to deal with it directly. This verse is alluding to the miraculous downfall of the Assyrian army before it was able to attack Jerusalem.

חֲזֵה צִיּוֹן קִרְיַת מוֹעֲדֵנוּ עֵינֶיךָ תִרְאֶינָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם נָוֶה שַׁאֲנָן אֹהֶל בַּל יִצְעָן בַּל יִסַּע יְתֵדֹתָיו לָנֶצַח וְכָל חֲבָלָיו בַּל יִנָּתֵקוּ

Rather, look upon Zion, city of our assemblies on festivals; your eyes, which previously looked upon a foreign king, will see Jerusalem as a tranquil abode, a tent that will not be moved from place to place, or uprooted. Alternatively, this is a reference to a tent that shall not be taken down. Its stakes will not be uprooted forever, and all its ropes will not be severed. Although it is tied by stakes and cords, this tent will not move like others, but will remain prominently affixed to its spot.

כִּי אִם שָׁם אַדִּיר ה' לָנוּ מְקוֹם נְהָרִים יְאֹרִים רַחֲבֵי יָדָיִם בַּל תֵּלֶךְ בּוֹ אֳנִי שַׁיִט וְצִי אַדִּיר לֹא יַעַבְרֶנּוּ

Rather, there, in Jerusalem, the Lord will be mighty for us. Zion, God’s dwelling place, will be inaccessible to strangers, as though it is a place of broad rivers and streams, surrounded by water; no cruising ship will go by it, and a mighty craft will not cross over it. It will be fully protected from all hostile forces.

כִּי ה' שֹׁפְטֵנוּ ה' מְחֹקְקֵנוּ ה' מַלְכֵּנוּ — הוּא יוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ

For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us, as He is the source of our security.

נִטְּשׁוּ חֲבָלָיִךְ בַּל יְחַזְּקוּ כֵן תָּרְנָם בַּל פָּרְשׂוּ נֵס

The prophet offers a different metaphor for Jerusalem, this time as a ship in a secure port: Your ropes are abandoned, as they are not needed; they will not support the base of their mast, they cannot spread a sail. Isaiah concludes by returning to the matter with which he began his prophecy: Then, in those days, plunder and abundant spoils of the enemy, probably Sennacherib, were divided. There will be so much plunder that even the lame, who do not fight in war, will have looted loot.

אָז חֻלַּק עַד שָׁלָל מַרְבֶּה פִּסְחִים בָּזְזוּ בַז וּבַל יֹאמַר שָׁכֵן חָלִיתִי הָעָם הַיֹּשֵׁב בָּהּ נְשֻׂא עָוֹן

A dweller of this place will not say now: I am sick, as the people who live in it, Zion, are forgiven iniquity. All their sins will be pardoned, and therefore they will have no more concerns about weaknesses and illnesses.